As the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown, some immigrants are questioning whether filing taxes could put them at risk.
Last year, a federal judge blocked an agreement that would have allowed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to access taxpayer information from the Internal Revenue Service. Still, fear and confusion persist, especially among immigrant and mixed-status families.
Those concerns are playing out in real time across Charlotte, including at community tax clinics where families are weighing compliance against fear.
At Pascuales Farm in east Charlotte, roosters crow in the distance as families arrive with folders in hand. Inside an event space, volunteers sit at folding tables, typing information from W-2s and 1099s into laptops.
The scene is part of a free tax preparation clinic hosted by Buenas Finanzas, an organization that runs clinics across the Charlotte region during tax season through the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program.
For Juan Pablo Gomez, filing taxes feels less like a burden and more like belonging. Gomez is from Colombia. He has lived in the United States for nearly two years and is waiting on an asylum claim. He drives for ride-share companies and says this is his second year filing taxes.
“Filing taxes is a very normal thing in this country," Gomez said. “It's yet another argument for wanting to be here, within the regulations, as is appropriate.”
But for many immigrants, tax season this year comes with heightened anxiety, fueled by persistent rumors that the IRS could share information with immigration authorities.
“I think in general, people are sometimes nervous about tax season,” said Yuly Rodriguez, director of Buenas Finanzas. “There’s always that concern and there’s always that fear with our community because we are mixed.”
Rodriguez says many of the families they serve include a combination of legal statuses, with some household members authorized to be in the U.S. and others not. She says misinformation can leave people vulnerable.
“A lot of clients become disempowered; they rely on what a cousin did or what an aunt said,” Rodriguez said. “We’re trying to elevate the education of the entire process.”
Rodriguez adds that filing taxes can have long-term benefits beyond compliance.
“If you’re in the process of buying a home, they will need to review your income,” she said. “If you have adult children who are going to go into college, FAFSA may be something that will require your taxes.”
Immigrants also contribute significant amounts to the U.S. tax system. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, an estimated 10.9 million undocumented immigrants paid nearly $97 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022.
Immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa says fears around filing taxes have intensified this year.
“Previously, the IRS was very limited in who it shared data with,” Espinosa said. “There was a policy change allowing, in certain circumstances, certain tax information to be shared for criminal investigations. Federal judges have also blocked this sharing because there’s a risk people could be misidentified.”
Espinosa says concerns about taxes now come up almost daily in her practice.
“It’s a question I receive on a daily basis,” Espinosa said. “People want to file their taxes, but they fear that filing could somehow target them.”
She says filing taxes can also be beneficial for people seeking legal residency.
“One of the things that the judges typically want to see is that you have continuously paid your taxes and filed your taxes,” Espinosa said. “That can show the government that you are a person of what we call in immigration context: good moral character.”
