Illegal Aliens’ Income Taxes Withheld, Center Survey Shows

An immigration expert says it is a misconception that hiring illegal aliens from Mexico saves employers money because neither worker nor employer pays withholding taxes.

Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California, San Diego, cited the results of a study showing that 93% of the aliens surveyed have had state and federal taxes withheld from their paychecks this year.

The study also showed that 83% of the workers had taxes withheld last year and that 59% filed federal income tax returns in 1984.

Cornelius, who led the study, said the results debunk the myth that undocumented Mexican workers receive under-the-table cash payments without any tax deductions.

“While there certainly may be pockets of tax evasion,” he said last week at a conference on immigration rights, “they by no means characterize the general situation, at least in California.”

The survey included data on 103 undocumented Mexicans interviewed in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco between February and June, 1984.

Most were married men who had lived in the United States for five years and who had attended elementary school for a few years.

The aliens earned a median wage of $4.69 an hour in light manufacturing, hotels, restaurants, electronics, food processing, construction and building landscaping and maintenance.

A significant finding in the study, Cornelius said, was that persevering undocumented aliens can rise from the lowest job levels.

About 30% of those surveyed had been promoted.