President Trump is facing a lawsuit over a portion of the $2 trillion CARES Act, which extends cash relief to U.S. citizens but prevents those without a valid Social Security number, including illegal immigrants — as well as individuals filing with a non-citizen spouse — from receiving the cash benefit.
Having a valid Social Security number is among the few requirements to receive the $1,200 relief outlined in the CARES Act, which Congress passed and President Trump signed at the end of March. Those with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN), which includes foreign nationals and those residing in the country illegally, are not eligible for the cash relief. Married couples are also not eligible if one of the spouses does not have a Social Security number — a point that sparked the lawsuit.
The plaintiff in the suit is a U.S. citizen and Illinois resident identified as “John Doe,” who was not eligible for a relief check because he files with his immigrant spouse, who has an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. He contends that this rule, preventing him and his family from receiving relief, is discriminating against U.S. citizens “based solely on whom he chose to marry.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are also listed as defendants in the suit and are accused of failing to “treat him as equal to his fellow United States citizens based solely on whom he chose to marry.”
He “has lawfully filed taxes in the United States, yet he is being denied the rights and privileges under the CARES Act,” the suit alleges.
CBS News reports:
The suit also states that his children are excluded because one parent is an immigrant. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, families with children under the age of 17 are entitled to stimulus funds of $500 per child.
“It’s our humble opinion that U.S. citizens are U.S. citizens,” said Lana B. Nassar, an attorney at Blaise & Nitschke, PC, who is representing John Doe. He and others in his situation “aren’t asking for preferential treatment — they want to be treated like U.S. citizens.”
“Time and time again the court has found there is a fundamental right to marriage,” Nassar continued.
“If you are discriminating on the basis of marriage, the government has to show there is a compelling government interest that justifies this exclusion. It’s a very high burden to meet,” she added.
According to Nassar, “John Doe” has two children under 17, meaning he is missing out on an additional $1,000.
“That’s money he could use to feed his kids and pay his bills,” Vivian Khalaf, another attorney representing “John Doe,” said. “The person suffering here is the U.S. citizen — not the person who doesn’t have the Social Security number.”
As CBS reported, there are two exceptions to the rule:
First, if either spouse is a member of the Armed Forces at any time during the tax year, only one of them is required to have a valid Social Security number, the IRS says.
Second, taxpayers who are citizens and file separately from their immigrant spouses who lack a Social Security number will receive half of the payment for married couples, or $1,200, according to the IRS.
That second exception could give some couples a chance to file their taxes separately, given that the 2019 filing deadline has been pushed back to July 15. However, many taxpayers have already filed their returns for 2019.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) attempted to address the issue this month, proposing legislation, the “Recovery Rebates Improvement Act,” that would extend the cash relief payments to “mixed status” families.
Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), and Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) also introduced a measure, the “Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act,” to amend the CARES Act, extending the cash benefits to those without Social Security numbers.
“The Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act amends the CARES Act to ensure that all taxpayers are eligible for their $1,200 relief check,” the release stated.
“Every individual taxpayer irrespective of citizenship status should receive government assistance,” the release added.
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