Thousands of U.S. citizens who were shut out of recent novel coronavirus pandemic relief are in the process of trying to join an ongoing lawsuit that could eventually win financial relief for over a million others who were similarly excluded from stimulus checks because they’re married to an immigrant.
“Chicago immigration attorneys Lana Nassar and Vivian Khalaf have filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of an unnamed man who didn’t receive a stimulus check because he filed taxes with a spouse without a Social Security number,” Chicago Sun-Times reports. “Nassar and Khalaf seek class action status to include an estimated 1.2 million Americans who are married to immigrants who lack Social Security numbers and their citizen children."
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Under the CARES Act, only taxpayers who have a Social Security number are eligible for financial relief, shutting out immigrants who filed returns using an IRS-issued Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). But this unfair rule also blocks their U.S. citizen spouses if they filed joint tax returns, shutting out entire families, including U.S. citizen kids.
“About 6,000 citizens have signed up to become part of the case, including more than 1,500 in Illinois, Khalaf said during a virtual news conference Tuesday,” the report continued. Rep. Chuy Garcia told Sun-Times that nearly 4,000 families in the state have been blocked from these vital funds, saying: “No one should be discriminated against for who they chose to marry [and] no child should be deprived of the financial aid they need during the pandemic. Doing so is cruel and inhumane.”
The latest phase of legislation recently introduced by House Democrats “recognizes that taxpaying families that include both U.S. citizens and non-citizens should be eligible for inclusion in direct relief and recovery efforts,” immigrant rights advocacy group America’s Voice said in a statement. “At a time when immigrants across America are pulling their weight on behalf of all of us, it’s imperative that we as a nation treat them as essential members of the American family,” said the group’s executive director, Frank Sharry. “All of us should mean all of us.”
Immigrant youth-led group United We Dream said in a statement received by Daily Kos that the legislation “starts to correct previous wrongs.” Advocacy director Sanaa Abrar said: “The HEROES Act takes into account the needs of immigrants, and while it could still go further to provide much-needed economic support for all people, it is imperative that the Senate maintain and pass the positive provisions in this bill.”