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Rarely are the Wall Street Journal’s editorial and reporting staffs in sync. But on one issue–illegal aliens–they write in unison, telling us how valuable and great illegal aliens are for America and why we shouldn’t crack down on them.
Last week, the Journal did a huge “investigative” piece–“Even Workers in U.S. Illegally Pay Tax Man”–informing us that illegal aliens pay a lot of taxes. They even have a special tax preparer in Los Angeles, Petra Castillo, who caters largely to Hispanic illegals, to make sure they properly file and pay their fair share to the IRS by April 17th. The emphasis on the article was about how much illegal aliens contribute to Uncle Sam and how honest they are in this pursuit.
But a letter to the editor in today’s Wall Street Journal shows that it ain’t necessarily so–that plenty of illegal aliens are gaming the system. I reprint Shaffer Page‘s well-informed, well-written letter, here:

Are Illegal Immigrants Claiming Tax Refunds?
April 13, 2007; Page A11
The booming business of filing tax returns for illegal foreign nationals employed in this country most likely stems from their learning that under favorable international tax treaties, non-citizens who are here legally can, under certain circumstances, claim a refund of nearly all U.S. employer-withheld taxes (“Even Workers in U.S. Illegally Pay Tax Man,” Marketplace, April 4). This concept appears to have been stretched to cover foreign nationals who are here illegally. They aren’t paying taxes like the rest of us, but our tax dollars pay for processing their refunds.
Are the illegal foreign nationals who file for refunds of U.S. employer-withheld taxes paying taxes in their home country? When the IRS receives a refund claim from an illegal foreign national who has used a stolen Social Security number, will the IRS send the rightful owner letters about undeclared income? Why doesn’t the U.S. government impose a surcharge on all tax refunds paid to illegal foreign nationals?
Shaffer Page
Moorpark, Calif.