Immigration policies have taken center stage in public debates this year, but much of the conversation has been driven by emotion, not data. A new in-depth national study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) aims to help change that by quantifying how much undocumented immigrants pay in taxes – both nationally and in each state.
County Fact Sheets Some counties have access to a greater variety of economic opportunities and support services. By highlighting data by county, we can discover varying needs for improvement in our systems and policies. (State- and county-level data on child population by race, ethnicity and age group, and 18 indicators of child well-being.)
Santa Fe New Mexican--It’s an issue Emily Wildau, a research and policy analyst with New Mexico Voices for Children, said she’s heard often. She added the issue can get even trickier once children start school and their schedules don’t always sync up with their parents’.
Santa Fe Reporter--“I think we can learn a lot from Kids Count’s individual data sets—for example, this year, the ranking says more kids are living in households with high housing costs of burden. That points to, ‘We need to fix housing in New Mexico, we need to do it expeditiously,’” Uballez says.
NM Political Report--“Although there’s still work to do, New Mexico’s official child poverty rate continues to improve but change takes time,” said Gabrielle Uballez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children said. “And this measure of poverty only considers income. When we look instead at the supplemental poverty measure, which measures the impact of some of our best poverty-fighting policies, we see that New Mexico’s investments in families through refundable tax credits and income support programs have a real impact on lowering poverty rates and supporting family well-being.”
Santa Fe New Mexican--“New Mexico’s ranking is not a reflection of who we are, but serves as a motivation to continue improving the systems in New Mexico that make it possible for kids and families to thrive,” said Gabrielle Uballez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children.
New Mexico has made improvements in lowering child poverty over the past decade, according to the national 2024 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Data Book, which analyzes how children and families are faring, was released today by the Baltimore, MD-based foundation. This year, the Data Book also includes information on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and chronic absences.
New Mexico has already been lowering tax rates for the vast majority of its residents over the past several years. Increased and improved tax credits have returned hundreds of millions of dollars to families over the past few years alone. The state has also lowered the gross receipts tax rate, which benefits us all, including small businesses. And just this past session, lawmakers lowered personal income tax rates for everyone.
Business Insider--"People use the money to feed themselves and to keep a roof over their head," Javier Rojo, senior research and policy analyst with New Mexico Voices for Children and author of the pilot report, told BI. "They use it very wisely to put themselves in a better position economically in the future."
The Philadelphia Citizen--Advocates say policies like those also help reduce family stress by alleviating parents’ need to scramble for care from family or friends while they are at work. “Families are not dealing with the chronic stress that comes from that uncertainty or financial instability; [it] really results in better health outcomes,” says Jacob Vigil, deputy policy director with New Mexico Voices for Children.