I'd say 75% is under the table and identity theft is a major problem in this country and the identity thieves are usually illegals.
I’d estimate that at any given point in time, 20% work in the underground economy. About 10% use a TIN that is theirs. It actually is not that difficult for an illegal to legally get a valid TIN. About 20% of illegals are housewives, children, invalids, etc and do not work and do not need a SSN. So about 50% use a SSN that is not theirs.
Of that 50% at least 5% (in IL it is at least 10%) passed a bribe to get a valid SSN... that is, one that the SS issued to them as valid. By far, the biggest group using an SSN, at least 30%, are using the valid SSN of a friend or family member. The number of anchor babies making 20,000 per year is amazing. Then a percentage (let’s say 5%) are using the SSN of a dead person, or a retired person, person on welfare, a child or a number not yet issued. They are accruing SS credits for that person. But they have not actually harmed that person in a way that has actually been felt.
That leaves 10% whose use of the SSN is actually causing harm to the other person. Of those, the overwhelming number are people of the same ethnic background. Russians steal the SSN of other eastern Europeans. Koreans of other Koreans, Mexicans of other Hispanics (especially Puerto Ricans.) In fact, the single group most victimized by illegal Hispanics’ use of stolen SSN is Puerto Ricans.
If there are 12 million illegals (who knows the real number) then that means 1.2 million illegals (the 10%) are actually victimizing somebody with that illegal use.
I’m not justifying it. I’m just trying to accurately describe it.
It is a mistake to think that all illegals are alike. They aren’t. Remember, 40% used to be legal. As visas come and go, people move back and forth between legal and illegal status multiple times.