http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=716
In their bipartisan zeal to quickly cut a deal on an economic stimulus bill, GOP lawmakers overlooked something that will certainly inflame the conservative base _ illegal immigrants could receive a http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3000 from the government.
But late Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee was scrambling to fix the problem contained in the House bill _ by only allowing taxpayers using legitimate Social Security numbers to receive rebates.
The text of the House passed bill contains language making “non resident aliens” _ illegal immigrants _ ineligible for the tax rebates. But every year, hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants use individual taxpayer identification numbers, known as ITINs, to file income tax returns with the IRS. These ID numbers are used instead of Social Security numbers. There are no exact statistics for how many illegal immigrants file tax returns, but a New York Times story from last year details the significant increase in use of ITINs.Immigration advocates point out that many legal immigrants use ITINs, so it would be impossible to tell who is legal and who is not from those who use these IDs. The Senate version of the bill would prohibit use of ITINs, meaning some legal immigrants would not receive rebates.
Republicans who were involved in negotiating the bipartisan economic stimulus package would like to avoid the illegal immigration debate as the $146 billion bill comes to the Senate this week. Congressional aides say the problem is that the IRS is not a law enforcement agency, so it doesn’t check immigration status when people file tax returns.
“The reality is that those who filed a tax return will be eligible” for tax rebates of $600 to $1,200, said Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.). “This [issue has not been addressed” by the senators writing the bill.
The issue has certainly caught on in the conservative blogosphere, though, and you can bet a few conservative senators will bring this up as the stimulus bill hits the Senate floor. CNN’s Lou Dobbs will probably have a field day with the issue as well.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0108/Lou_Dobbs_alert_Illegal_immigrants_may_get_rebates.html