What Salma Hayek Just Said About Latino Immigrants Needs to Be Heard

What Salma Hayek Just Said About Latino Immigrants Needs to Be Heard
Credit: Instagram/ @salmahayek

Salma Hayek has once again captured attention, but this time not with a red carpet appearance or a striking film scene. Instead, she shared a video on her Instagram addressing a subject that, in the midst of today’s polarized political climate, is sure to provoke strong reactions: Latin immigration in the United States. “The available information,” Hayek warns, “instead of clarifying things, sometimes only creates more confusion.” Her aim is to present facts that, she believes, will leave many “speechless.”

Challenging the Myth of Job Theft

The video opens with a young woman in the streets, asking passersby: “Do you think immigrants are stealing American jobs?” Responses vary. Some are blunt: yes. Others, more reflective, recognize the vital role immigrants play in essential sectors. “They help us,” one woman responds, not with guilt but with the certainty that, without them, the country would come to a halt.

The Truth About Taxes and Contributions

In another video, the question shifts: “How much do undocumented immigrants pay in taxes?” A woman, wearing a red cap with “Make America Great Again” embroidered on it, confidently answers, “Nothing.” The interviewer corrects her, citing the 2024 report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The report estimates that undocumented immigrants contributed $96 billion to Social Security and Medicare. “How is that possible?” she asks, surprised. “ITIN,” comes the response.

The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), created by the IRS in 1996, allows individuals without a Social Security number—mostly undocumented immigrants—to fulfill their tax obligations. Contrary to popular belief, between 50% and 75% of undocumented households file tax returns annually using this number. Another man, also wearing a MAGA cap, interrupts: “You must be joking.” He isn’t. Hayek reinforces the point: “Undocumented immigrants pay taxes. Period.”

Salma Hayek Highlighted Latin Economic Power in the US

A Latina interviewer follows up with another question: “Do you think we are represented more as those who contribute or those who take?” One woman answers decisively: “Takers.” Another man echoes the sentiment. But the data paints a different picture. Hayek cites a report from McKinsey, The Economic State of Latinos in America: Building Up Small Businesses, showing that Latinos are starting businesses faster than any other demographic group in the U.S. In 2023, according to the Census Bureau, Latinos represented 36% of all new businesses in the country.

The data continues to paint a different story. The New American Economy Research Fund reports that 48% of the agricultural workforce in the U.S. is made up of immigrants. In other words, without them, crops would remain unplanted and unharvested. Farmers understand this reality. A young man, wearing a cap that reads “farmer,” says it plainly: “You can’t say let’s get rid of these people and then watch as farmers run out of workers.” Another farm worker agrees: “There was no one to pick the harvest. Many farms had to close.”

Hayek doesn’t stop there. She quotes the 2024 LDC US Latino GDP Report from the Latino Donor Collaborative, which concludes that the Latino GDP in the U.S. is now the fifth largest economy in the world, surpassing India, the United Kingdom, and France. If current trends continue, it will soon surpass Germany and Japan, growing faster than China’s economy. A final video, featuring several voices, sums up the message: “We have doctors, engineers, we have a beautiful community. Latinos are the best hope for the U.S. economy.”

There are no special effects or dramatic scenes in this post—only questions, answers, and data. And a Latina actress who has proven that the truth must be told with one’s own voice.

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