Source: AP News
During this worldwide pandemic, millions of taxpaying immigrants in the U.S. were excluded from the $2.2 trillion relief package. Immigrants that do not have a Social Security Number do not qualify for relief although they pay taxes every year with a taxpayer identification number (ITIN). These households are also ineligible for the $500 per child payment, even if those children are U.S. citizens.
Further, more than 1 million U.S. citizens are unable to receive stimulus checks if they are married to someone with unlawful status and filed a joint tax return with that spouse. Even if an immigrant is in the process of gaining lawful status, they and their spouse are currently excluded from this relief. Jose Martinez, a house painter from Massachusetts said that “a pandemic stimulus check could have helped cover at least a month’s worth of expenses… [It] would have given me the opportunity to stay at home, avoid sickness and keep my family safe.”
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) stated, “COVID-19 does not care about your immigration status, so neither should our response.”