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OPINION | Millions of families could benefit from this law

2020-07-02T10:51:13.879Z


More than 8 million US citizens, 1.2 million of them naturalized, have at least one undocumented relative who lives with them. The American Citizen Coronavirus Relief Act is a ...


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(Credit: SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Editor's Note: César Grajales has 10 years of experience in different fields of politics. He is the founder of the consulting firm Bridge 305 Inc. He is a registered lobbyist and coalition director for the NGO The Free Initiative. He is a contributor to various media. Opinions in this column are from the author.

(CNN Spanish) –– After CNN published my column on the CARES Act, or the CARES Act as it is known in English, in May, I was at the home of a relative talking about this law and how many people had begun to receive your check for $ 1,200. Some families also received an extra US $ 500 for each minor. Without a doubt this has been a relief for millions of taxpayers in the United States who are facing unemployment due to the pandemic.

Miriam, a family friend, heard us talk about the issue and commented: "Unfortunately, my husband will not receive this stimulus." This comment surprised me since Raúl, her husband, who had lost his job due to the pandemic, is a US citizen. I reflected and immediately realized that Miriam is an undocumented immigrant and - for that reason - Raúl, as the head of the household, could not benefit from this stimulus that they both needed and continue to need.

Like her and Raúl, more than a million couples in which one of the two spouses is undocumented could not benefit from this monetary stimulus. Nor did the children under the age of 17 of these couples, children born on US soil, receive the extra US $ 500 assigned to each minor. This is because the CARES Law excludes families with mixed immigration status from the benefit, where one of the two spouses is undocumented.

This frustration of Raúl and Miriam is shared by millions of families who face the same immigration situation, but who, like them, are good people who work, pay taxes and deserve to be considered for this type of stimulus.

According to a 2017 study by The Center for American Progress, more than 8 million U.S. citizens, 1.2 million of them naturalized, have at least one undocumented relative who lives with them. This study says that California, Texas, and Nevada are the top three states with the highest percentage of this population.

The call of Raúl and Miriam, and of millions of families with mixed immigration status, was heard by Senator Marco Rubio, from Florida, who this June 25, together with his colleague Thom Tillis, from North Carolina, presented the project law the American Citizen Relief Act Coronavirus . The proposal, if approved, would open the door for these couples who did not receive their stimulus check to receive it.

Furthermore, in the House of Representatives, Florida legislator Mario Díaz-Balart introduced a similar bill called the Economic Impact Payment Fairness Act.

In a simplified way, the American Citizen Coronavirus Relief Act , which would amend the CARES Act, works as follows: the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would automatically select the couple member with number current social security and would send you a check, along with another payment for each child under 17 who has declared in their joint taxes and who has current social security. It means, the money will go to the member in the relationship who has legal immigration status.

How much would the IRS send? Basically this amendment would treat the tax return of mixed couples as individual returns, and would use the original formula included in the CARES Act that says that each individual with current social security, who has completed the 2018 and / or 2019 tax return and who have earned up to $ 75,000 annually, will receive a refund of $ 1,200. And for every extra $ 100 you earned over the $ 75,000 limit set forth in the CARES Act, $ 5 will be deducted from your refund until you reach the amount of $ 99,000, when you will not receive any refund. They will also receive a US $ 500 reimbursement for each child under 17 with current social security.

Whats Next? The American Citizen Coronavirus Relief Act will go to the Senate Finance Committee where it will be debated and if it is approved there it will be voted on in plenary. However, the text of this bill could also be included in someone already dealing with a second stimulus package related to covid-19.

This project already has the support of Hispanic organizations such as La Incitiva LIBRE, where its president Daniel Garza comments: “Stripping a US citizen of their benefits under the CARES Act, based solely on who they marry, does not defend our sense of equality . It is a crime against equity and justice ”.

Finally, let's hope that Senators Marco Rubio and Thom Tillis succeed in persuading other Republican and Democratic legislators so that this good initiative has enough support in both houses and generates a quick solution to an injustice that is economically hurting millions of families in the US. USA

covid-19 stimulus pandemic package

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-07-02

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