The week of February 14, the Senate refused to consider an amendment that would have denied millions of low-income immigrant children access to the refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC). Proposed by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) the amendment would have raised taxes exponentially on families that earn an average of $21,000 a year.
Workers who are ineligible for a Social Security number file their taxes using an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number). Under current law, ITIN filers are eligible to claim a a tax credit for their children. More than 2 million families file their taxes using an ITIN.
Senator Ayotte’s amendment to current law would eliminate this credit, and would disproportionately harm Latino, low-wage workers, and children–more than 5 million children. Of these 4 million are U.S. citizens, but all, including children of undocumented parents who pay taxes using the ITIN, deserve our support.
The amendment was opposed by a growing coalition of advocates in the faith community, labor, children’s rights groups, immigrant rights advocates, and anti-poverty allies. Kudos to all who prevented this mean-spirited amendment from taking effect.