Washington, D.C./March 4, 2009. The Seniors Coalition today called upon Congress and the Obama Administration to repeal the provision in the $800 billion-plus economic stimulus bill that would allow illegal immigrants to collect tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple.
Flora “Grandma” Green, TSC’s National Spokesperson, strongly criticized the economic stimulus provision in the economic recovery bill that would allow illegal immigrants to receive government stimulus checks as another “sleight of hand” by politicians who don’t want Americans to know the truth.
“The economic stimulus plan, on one hand, bans payments to nonresident aliens, but then, on the other hand, allows workers who do not have Social Security numbers to be eligible for stimulus checks,” Grandma Green stressed. “But they do not disclose to voters that undocumented workers who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternate number, and the proposed legislation will allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credit payments.”
The Seniors Coalition has been a vocal critic of various Congressional proposals that loosen requirements for eligibility of undocumented workers to qualify for Social Security benefits, and this proposal is one of many that undermines the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds. “This terrible policy puts a further strain on the economy and paves the way for illegal workers to qualify for Social Security benefits,” Green concluded. “We have got to raise our voices against this terrible proposal and demand that Congress fix this broad loophole that threatens the Social Security Trust Fund.”
