06 | 22 | 2007 Posted By Dan Deuterman

A Few Facts and Figures About Undocumented Workers

Undocumented workers have an enormous impact on the U.S. economy, as these statistics from the Center for American Progress illustrate:

  • There are an estimated 7.2 million undocumented immigrants (out of some 12 million undocumented immigrants) who work in the United States. That's 4.9 percent of the civilian labor force.
  • Undocumented workers contribute an estimated $7 billion per year to the Social Security Trust Fund through payroll taxes paid on Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers and fraudulent Social Security numbers.
  • The United States would face a shortfall of 2.5 million low-skill workers if undocumented workers were removed from the labor force.