Republicans target child tax-break 'free-funds' for illegal immigrants
WASHINGTON – Republicans are pushing a proposal that would halt what amounts to an IRS-administered entitlement that provides "free-funds" to low-income illegal immigrant filers who take advantage of a child tax credit to receive government payments that average about $1,800.
The proposal would require people filing tax returns to prove they're legal workers. The effort has roused anger among Hispanics and some Democratic lawmakers. But it's being offered as a way to help pay for extending the payroll tax cut and is projected to trim federal spending by about $10 billion over a decade. The IRS checks average about $1,800.
The debate addresses a quirk in U.S. law. Even people who are not authorized to work in the U.S. are supposed to file returns with the IRS. Many of those people cannot obtain a Social Security number, so to facilitate this the IRS hands out what are known as Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers -- so illegal workers can file returns.
However, in doing so many of those workers are claiming tax benefits. For some, it's a way of making even more money. The IRS pays the tax filers, which for some amounts to an IRS-administered welfare program.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada says the proposal unfairly goes after the children of poor Hispanic workers. Such kids often are U.S. citizens, even when their parents aren't, because they were born in this country.
Says Leticia Miranda, senior policy adviser of the National Council of La Raza: "People who are making close to the minimum wage and are raising children in this country -- and we're asking them to pay for the payroll tax cut?" She says, "It's outrageous and it's crazy."
On the other side, Republicans and some Democrats say what's crazy is even having a debate over whether the government should be cutting checks to people who have sneaked into the country illegally. It's hard to imagine there isn't a healthy majority, even in the Democratic-controlled Senate, to stop the practice -- if it's actually brought to a vote.
"We have rules about tax credits and benefits, and it seems to me they need to be applied fairly and across the board," said Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is facing a difficult re-election bid in Missouri. "If there are rules, they need to be enforced. I think it's just that simple. I don't think it's complicated."
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