EL PASO, TEXAS — The United States Department of the Treasury has given notice of intent to deny federal tax credits to families that include lawfully present immigrants. While the agency has not yet released draft regulatory language, comparable eligibility reinterpretations issued earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture targeted immigrants who are sexual assault and domestic violence survivors with special “U” visas, child abuse survivors with “Special Immigrant Juvenile Status,” people with Temporary Protected Status who’ve fled war, natural disaster, or other emergency, and other lawfully present immigrants. News accounts indicate the administration is also considering targeting people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Treasury indicated plans to restrict several tax programs, including two that have proven especially effective in reducing child poverty: the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit. The immigration statuses excluded by Treasury are disproportionately held by people of color, so the policy change is expected to both drive up child poverty and widen the nation’s racial wealth gap. Research confirms that eligible families of color are already less likely than white families to claim the EITC and the CTC, citing anti-immigrant policies as a contributing factor.
Importantly, 89% of children in immigrant families are U.S. citizens, so the Treasury Department restriction would almost exclusively undermine the economic security of U.S. citizen children. And, with immigrant families accounting for 27% of the U.S. population, such an eligibility change threatens large scale child poverty impacts nationwide.
In response to the notice, PIF released the following statement from its executive director, Adriana Cadena.
“Driving up poverty among U.S. citizen children is not making America great. What will it take for Congress to right the wrongs of an administration run amok? The American people must rise up to demand an end to these abuses and a return to responsible leadership.”
