Congress to Send Stimulus Checks to 3.5 million More Americans in Mixed Status Families
Deal ends ‘marriage penalty’ but still leaves millions of U.S. citizen children without relief
Washington, DC — The bi-partisan COVID-19 relief bill agreed by Congress will include stimulus checks for some 3.5 million U.S. citizen spouses and children of non-citizen immigrants — a group that was excluded from earlier relief packages. However, additional millions of American children and their tax-paying noncitizen parents remain shut out of relief during this global pandemic.
Thanks to a bill introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) — the American Citizen Coronavirus Relief Act (S 4071) — an additional 3.5 million U.S. citizens and their children will receive the $600 per adult and $600 per child in stimulus checks, injecting an additional $2.1 billion into local economies across the country. U.S. citizens who were excluded from the $1,200 stimulus checks in the original CARES Act will also receive a retroactive check in the form of a refundable tax rebate. The nearly $1 Trillion COVID-19 relief package also included direct relief for small businesses and more funds for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Although welcome news, the stimulus checks still left out almost 3 million American citizen children because their parents filed taxes using ITIN numbers. The current bill ends the “Marriage Penalty” in previous GOP-led relief efforts, but continues to punish U.S. citizen children because they had the misfortune to be born to non-citizen parents. This will cost the nation almost $1 billion in economic activity.
A UCLA study published in August found the exclusion of undocumented residents and their families from the $1,200 given to taxpayers resulted in a loss of $10 billion in potential economic output. The potential spending by undocumented immigrants would have supported 112,000 jobs nationally and produced $14 billion in economic output.
The American Business Immigration Coalition applauds the leadership of Senator Marco Rubio and 7 other Republican Senators who took a stand for U.S. Citizens and decided that it was unjust to punish people for who they love; S 4071 cosponsors Senators Thom Tillis, John Cornyn, Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy Lisa Murkowski, Rick Scott. ABIC applauds leaders Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Kevin McCarthy and Secretary Steve Mnuchin for including mixed status families in the final deal. ABIC thanks Senators Dick Durbin, Ron Wyden, Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Mike Quigley, Jan Schakowsky, Nydia Velazquez, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Chairman Richard Neal, Problem Solvers Caucus, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. ABIC thanks the leadership of key partners including the New York Immigration Coalition, The National Immigrant Law Center, The Immigration Hub, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the SEIU. ABIC thanks other coalition partners such as CHIRLA, MIRA, FLIC, FIRM/CCC, Unite Oregon, NPNA, CASA, NIF, FWD.us, UWD, UnidosUS, CAP, AFP/Libre and No Labels, among many others.
If you’re interested in interviewing U.S. citizens impacted by this, please email hsoto@americanbic.biz or call 858 349 7940
“We are thankful to our elected leaders for reaching across the aisle to get this done. We want to thank Sen. Marco Rubio for his leadership, as well as Leaders McConnell and Schumer, Pelosi and McCarthy, and so many others, for their work to ensure more Americans get relief. Like Sen. Rubio said: ‘If you can vote and you can fight for your country, then that should also entitle you to the same rights and obligations that citizens at large have,’” said John Rowe, Exelon Corporation Chairman Emeritus and & ABIC Co-Chair.
“I am overwhelmed with joy to know that my family counts too, and that I am not being punished simply because of who I married. Families like mine should have never been excluded from stimulus checks, and we are happy to know that this is being corrected. We look forward to using our stimulus check for what it is intended to do: feed our families at this time of great need,” said Lily Guido, a U.S. citizen and nurse who lives in Santa Rosa, California.
“Our economic recovery depends on making sure that all Americans receive the help they need during this time of need, regardless of who they married or where their parents were born. I applaud our elected officials for putting aside politics and ensuring that 3.5 million more individuals are now eligible for stimulus checks. These payments will not only help families weather the pandemic, but they will also boost the small businesses across the country that are the backbone of our economy,” said Woody L. Hunt, Hunt Companies Inc. Board of Directors Senior Chairman & ABIC Co-Chair.
“This is an example of what happens when we put partisanship aside and put families, small businesses and our economy first. May this be a model on how we can work together across party lines to create an immigration system for the 21st century,” said Mike Fernandez, MBF Healthcare Partners Chairman & ABIC Co-Chair.
Josh Hoyt, Democracy Partners and ABIC Co-chair said: “this proves that even in this horrible environment that bipartisan solutions to immigration challenges are possible.”
“Solutions require people supporting things for their own reasons. This is a good example of bipartisan leadership coming together to address an injustice,” said Rebecca Shi, ABIC Executive Director, “It sets a launching pad for common sense immigration solutions for next year.”
About
The American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) promotes commonsense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and citizens.