Republicans Lobby Trump To Ensure No Stimulus Checks Are Sent to Undocumented Immigrants

Republican Congressmen are urging Trump to ensure that stimulus relief checks from the ”Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and. Economic Security Act” (CARES Act) aren’t being sent to undocumented immigrants, The American Independent reports.

On Monday, 39 Republican members of Congress, led by Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, wrote to Trump expressing their concern that “language and definitions contained in the CARES Act may allow illegal immigrants to also take advantage.”

The argument is that the IRS, the department issuing the checks, uses residency requirements that do not consider immigration status. The 39 Republican congressmen believe that undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for a long time may “unintentionally” receive stimulus checks.

The letter asked Trump to look into “to investigate this matter to ensure that illegal immigrants are not reaping the benefits of our country’s generosity.”

However, there have been few reports indicating that undocumented immigrants have or will in the future receive stimulus checks. Marketplace reports that millions of undocumented immigrants and documented immigrants won’t receive stimulus checks, either because they don’t qualify or because they’re too afraid to file for unemployment.

Undocumented immigrants make up about 4 percent of the U.S. workforce, The Washington Post reports. According to The American Independent, a CNN report found that undocumented immigrants pay billions of dollars and contribute $12 billion to Social Security every year.

Many Democrats are arguing that undocumented immigrants’ contribution to the economy should make them eligible for stimulus relief checks. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Corte, Rep. Ilhan Omar and several of their colleagues are calling for stimulus relief to include undocumented workers.

Rep. Ilhan Omar corrected a headline about undocumented immigrants to point out that they are, in fact, American taxpayers.

Around 1.7 million undocumented immigrants are Asian. Many live in California. California Governor Gavin Newsom says he’s considering offering undocumented immigrants financial assistance, according to Marketplace.

“Californians care deeply about undocumented residents in this state,” he said.

https://asamnews.com/2020/04/15/republican-congressmen-write-to-trump-asking-that-no-stimulu-checks-be-sent-to-undocumented-immigrants/