Tax preparers see decrease in undocumented immigrants filing taxes
Deportation fears continue for undocumented immigrants. For undocumented workers filing taxes this tax season, these fears add an extra layer to their filing agenda.
One tax preparer in Palm Springs, Accurate Notary & Tax, says they have seen a significant decrease in their undocumented clients. Typically, they help 300 of these taxpayers; this year, the business has seen fewer than ten.
Sergio Sandoval, a tax expert with Accurate, has been in the business for more than 20 years. According to him, "A lot of people are just skeptical, hesitant to file because they're going to be back on the map, as they say about, you know, in the system showing I have an ITIN here's my address, you know, and they just freak out."
ITINs, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, are given to undocumented workers, or other taxpayers who are ineligible to receive a Social Security Number.
The numbers are issued for these workers to pay income taxes, but do not authorize people to work or change their legal status.
Undocumented taxpayers who have these ITINs are concerned that the data they share with the IRS to file taxes could also be shared with immigration authorities.
Claudio Koren, an attorney with the TODEC Legal Center in Coachella, explains that these concerns are unfounded.
"Confidential information like taxes, Medi-Cal information, those kind of things... they are protected under, not only state law, but federal law, as well. So the idea that people has that they will be shared with the immigration authorities is false," Koren says.
Koren urges anyone who earns an income – regardless of their immigration status – to file their taxes: "If they owe money, they need to pay."
Koren and TODEC both urge undocumented immigrants to remain calm ahead of tax season. They say since the Trump administration has taken office, there has been no drastic changes regarding immigration enforcement in the Coachella Valley.
At the end of the day, Koren says when it comes to your taxes, the IRS does not care about your immigration status.
"Calm down the community. Relax. And they [should] continue to do what they do. They work. They, you know, continue with their kids, studying, going to school, create business... and pay taxes," Koren says with a grin.
