Letter: Illegal immigration burden is overstated

Monday, Oct. 8, 2007 | 7:15 a.m.

Paula Stone's letter in the Oct. 4 Las Vegas Sun is misleading. She implies that illegal aliens don't pay taxes while Americans hired for the same jobs would pay taxes. These are low wage jobs and very little tax is assessed in any case. Nearly all illegal aliens actually do pay the taxes, but without valid Social Security numbers, they can't file tax returns and get refunds.

Compare this to a tax return filed by a low wage earning American who is often qualified for "Earned Income Credit," generating a refund of several thousand dollars even though little or no tax was actually paid! The rest of us pay for that "benefit."

Low wage earning Americans also go to the emergency room and we pay taxes to educate their children who, like the children of many illegal aliens, are U.S. citizens.

Ms. Stone should state all of the facts before she makes such a silly claim that the taxpayers benefit from such raids.

Edward B. Jackson, Pahrump

The writer is an immigration attorney.