"The Price That We Pay" - Undocumented Immigrants and Taxation

Sunday 06 June 2010

by: Yana Kunichoff, t r u t h o u t | Report

Editor's Note: This is the first installment of a three-part series on immigration.

Rita's house on the South Side of Chicago could be any Mexican-American family home - In the corner a big "I love you, Mom!" balloon sags against the wall, a relic of Mother's Day a couple of weeks ago. On the coffee table sits an orange Brain Quest game, and hanging on the wall is a large, framed photo of Rita's eldest daughter, resplendent in her white quinceanera dress. As many people do, she keeps her tax statements for each year in separate, pristine manila envelopes, away from the clutter of the living room and the curious nose of the family's chihuahua.

Rita, a 47-year-old Hispanic woman, may in fact be the blueprint for a growing number of Mexican-American immigrant lifestyles: Rita is an undocumented immigrant, and a taxpayer.