19-05-2025
Deportation fears trigger decline in tax filings in immigrant communities
The phones rang again and again with callers asking the same questions this spring: Is it safe to file my taxes? Could I be deported?
For years, tax preparers at DAPA Multiservices Advisors in Laurel, Maryland, have told their largely working-class, Latin American clients that filing federal taxes is not only safe, but the right thing to do. Immigrants, both documented and undocumented, pay federal, state and local taxes.
But days before this year's tax filing deadline, the IRS said it would give the Department of Homeland Security access to confidential records to aid in the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign. Against that backdrop, tax and financial services firms around the country told The Washington Post that they witnessed a sharp drop in tax filings.
'Our clients want to pay taxes and want to do good,' Diana Avellaneda, a DAPA co-owner, told The Post. 'But what happens if immigration [authorities] came because they filed their taxes and they got deported?'
As of April 15, DAPA had filed 488 tax returns or extensions, compared with 968 returns at the same time last year, Avellaneda said. Even some DAPA clients with legal status decided against submitting taxes because they feared drawing attention to undocumented relatives.
In the D.C. suburbs, where DAPA is located, a number of actions by the Trump administration have ratcheted up fears. In March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested and deported residents, including Kilmar Abrego García, whose mistaken deportation landed him in a Salvadoran megaprison. Then in April, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent agreed to allow DHS to use highly protected personal IRS taxpayer data to confirm the names and addresses of people suspected of being in the country illegally.
The news sent a chill through immigrant households.
'It was difficult to tell [clients] like, 'Listen you should file taxes because it's the right thing to do,'' said Avellaneda, who started the tax preparation business with her husband and other relatives, who are from Colombia.
The move to share personal tax information could have significant consequences for the nation's financial health. Researchers at Yale University's Budget Lab found that rising tax noncompliance from undocumented immigrants could cost up to $479 billion over 10 years. The Treasury Department, IRS and DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
Tax law requires all individuals who earn above a certain threshold — $14,600 in 2024 — to file a federal tax return, regardless of immigration status. Filers without a Social Security number, including undocumented immigrants, can file with an individual taxpayer identification number. Immigrants contribute to payroll taxes, which help fund Social Security and Medicare, though those without legal status cannot collect benefits from the programs.
Some on the right say the loss of tax revenue is an expected consequence of President Donald Trump's agenda.
'There are costs and benefits to every policy decision,' said Ken Cuccinelli, a former acting deputy homeland security secretary under the first Trump administration. On the plus side, he said, 'using tax data will make the Department of Homeland Security much more efficient in locating illegal alien fugitives, both where they live and where they work,' enabling 'large-scale numbers of deportations.'
On the negative side, Cuccinelli said, 'Tax people may say, 'People will be less forthright with their taxes.' That's true.' But, he said, 'That's why we elect presidents and other elected officials to other offices. They make those balancing-act calls.'
Kyle Pomerleau, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank, argued that there's a broader cost to the IRS's information-sharing agreement with DHS, because it will not only reduce tax revenue this year but could also undermine civic engagement with the federal tax system. 'We want policies that encourage compliance with tax laws,' Pomerleau said, 'but this one clearly does not.'
Complying with tax laws has long been an important part of the immigrant journey. In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which created a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers — provided they paid their taxes.
Just before the law passed, Carlos Lopez founded a multilingual tax preparation firm, in Salinas, California, to help those working the area's sprawling lettuce, spinach and strawberry fields navigate the new rules.
Lopez grew his business by serving a population desperately trying to become American, then helping their children and grandchildren with tax questions. When new immigrants arrive to work in the fields that send lettuce to fast-food franchises and broccoli to major grocery chains, they come to Lopez. They understand that paying taxes could help them put down permanent roots in the United States.
'The word is: You can get over here and work here, but one thing about working in the United States is you have to pay taxes. And if you want to stay there for the future, you have to file and pay taxes,' Lopez said.
'For years the IRS told us, 'We will never share your info with any other government agency. Data is safe with us.' So we trusted them,' Lopez said. 'Why wouldn't we?'
This tax filing season, however, Lopez said he saw a drop-off in returns, down 7 percent from 2024.
In Milwaukee, Itzel Ramirez, the owner of a Spanish-language tax preparation firm that serves the area's Mexican immigrant community, said her firm is bracing for its worst year to date.
On previous Tax Days, dozens of clients have typically rushed in for assistance. This year, the firm filed three returns on April 15. Altogether, Ramirez saw tax filings drop by more than half compared with last year.
'People are saying: I don't want to file my taxes, because they will know where I live and work. ICE has been all around Milwaukee,' Ramirez said, adding that 'people are scared to buy food, clothes and shoes. Small businesses' sales are falling.'
In suburban Washington, news of the IRS's data-sharing agreement with DHS has affected immigrant owners of construction and landscaping firms, restaurants and food trucks, clothing stores and beauty salons. Many have filed for tax extensions this year because they are afraid of being targeted, said Angela Neira, a DAPA co-owner and Avellaneda's sister-in-law.
Neira added that the situation is also making it difficult for businesses to hire workers.
'Many undocumented employees are hesitant to share their [personal tax identification] numbers with their employers due to concerns about how their personal information might be used or shared,' Neira said. '[Some] prefer to work under the table. This creates a difficult situation for employers.'
Meanwhile, individuals and business owners who do not file taxes face a host of financial barriers, including when applying for loans, mortgages, home improvement certificates — which are required for residential construction projects — and other licenses. That restricts their ability to build a life in the U.S., where homeownership is a pillar of prosperity.
Neira said the barriers and uncertainty are pushing undocumented people to send their money elsewhere.
'The most common thing right now is immigrants sending their money to El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia or Peru,' Neira said. 'They want to build something there or buy a house there if they can't do it here.'
Latino business leaders in the D.C. suburbs told The Post that the troubles around taxes have contributed to what feels like a storm of threats these days. Federal government spending cuts have thrown thousands of local residents out of work, while Trump's tariffs have raised costs — and the specter of recession.
'Hardworking families in the Latino community are experiencing distress,' said Susana Marino, president of the Northern Virginia Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce.
