In response to the article ""In-state tuition for state's illegal immigrants does not add up"" from the March 26 issue of The Daily Cardinal.
An article by the UW College Republicans in Thursday's Daily Cardinal erred in its argument against Gov. Jim Doyle's plan to grant in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants when it stated that ""Not only do illegal immigrants not pay Wisconsin taxes, but they do not pay taxes at all.""
In fact, illegal immigrants pay the exact same Wisconsin property and sales taxes as everybody else, and undocumented immigrants nationwide pay billions annually in social security taxes, bolstering a federal service from which they will never benefit. The IRS reports that illegal immigrants paid nearly $50 billion in federal taxes from 1996 to 2003, and the amounts are increasing yearly.
Regardless of where one stands on Gov. Doyle's tuition proposal, it is essential to reject the myth that illegal immigrants are not paying taxes.
—Jacob Kushner
UW-Madison junior
