Democrats Yet Again Refuse To Rule Out Stimulus Checks For Illegal Immigrants

Just Last Month, 42 Senate Democrats Voted To Allow Stimulus Checks To Go To Illegal Immigrants

42 Democrats, including Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Michael Bennet (D-CO) voted to allow taxpayer-funded payments to go to people in the country illegally. (S.Amdt.54, S.Con.Res.5, Roll Call Vote #18: Amendment Agreed to 58-42: D 8-42; R 50-0; I 0-2, 2/04/2021, Warnock, Cortez Masto, and Bennet voted Nay)

REMINDER: House Democrats Tried For Most Of 2020 To Pass Legislation Granting Recovery Rebates To Illegal Immigrants

“Democratic Reps. Lou Correa of California, Judy Chu of California and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona on April 3 introduced the bill, the Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act, ‘to allow 2020 recovery rebates to be made on the basis of an individual’s taxpayer identification number.’ … The bill would amend the qualifications necessary to receive federal support provided by the CARES Act, the emergency coronavirus relief bill passed in March. The CARES Act requires recipients of benefits to provide a valid Social Security number, which undocumented immigrants don’t have and can't legally get…. The Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act would amend the CARES Act by adding an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number as an acceptable credential to receive government benefits. An ITIN is a number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service to make sure people who are not permitted to receive a Social Security number pay taxes ‘regardless of their immigration status,’ according to the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit immigration research and advocacy organization…. [E]xpanding eligibility for federal relief to include individuals with ITINs would help expand aid to only some undocumented immigrants because not all undocumented immigrants have ITINs…. The Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act would expand access to the CARES Act federal relief to individuals who have an ITIN, benefiting the many undocumented immigrants in that situation …” (“Fact Check: House Bill Expands Stimulus Checks To Some, Not All, Undocumented Immigrants,” USA Today, 4/23/2020)

The May 2020 version of Democrats’ HEROES Act allowed illegal immigrants to receive the new rebates proposed in that bill:

PAGES 165-167: “SEC. 20111. ADDITIONAL RECOVERY REBATES TO INDIVIDUALS. (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter B of chapter 65 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 6428 the following new section: ‘SEC. 6428A. ADDITIONAL RECOVERY REBATES TO INDIVIDUALS. ‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by subtitle A for the first taxable year beginning in 2020 an amount equal to the additional rebate amount determined for such taxable year…. (4) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENT.— ‘(A) IN  GENERAL.—The $1,200 amount in subsection (b)(1) shall be  treated as being zero unless the taxpayer includes the TIN of the taxpayer on the return of tax for the taxable year.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

• “By law, individuals must provide a unique identifying number when they file tax returns and other documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This means noncitizens must have a taxpayer identification number in order to file tax returns, pay taxes, and otherwise comply with federal tax law. The general rule is that an individual's taxpayer identification number is his or her Social Security number (SSN)…. Individuals who are not eligible to receive an SSN are required to use an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) when filing their tax returns and other documents with the IRS…. The fact someone has an ITIN does not mean he or she is unlawfully present in the United States.... ITINs are provided to those individuals who need a taxpayer identification number and are not eligible for an SSN…. Nonetheless, IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reportedly believe that a large proportion of ITIN filers are unlawfully present aliens working in the United States.” (“Federal Income Taxes and Noncitizens: Frequently Asked Questions,” Congressional Research Service, R43840, 12/31/2014)

As did Democrats’ second version of HEROES in October 2020:

PAGES 722-724: “SEC. 101. ADDITIONAL RECOVERY REBATES TO INDIVIDUALS. (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter B of chapter 65 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 6428 the following new section: ‘SEC. 6428A. ADDITIONAL RECOVERY REBATES TO INDIVIDUALS…. ‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by subtitle A for the first taxable year beginning in 2020 an amount equal to the additional rebate amount determined for such taxable year…. (4) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENT.—  ‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The $1,200 amount in subsection (b)(1) shall be treated as being zero unless the taxpayer includes the TIN of the taxpayer on the return of tax for the taxable year.” (House Rules Committee Print 116-66, House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 925, 9/29/2020)