U.S. Senator Patty Murray issued the following announcement on July 31
Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate health and pensions committee, and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) led 25 of their colleagues in writing a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to support tax-paying immigrant families who have Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITIN) by ensuring they have access to economic relief payments provided in the CARES Act and any future coronavirus relief package.
An estimated 20 million immigrants work in essential industries, and these immigrants, particularly undocumented workers, comprise a disproportionate share of frontline workers. Many of these immigrant workers and their families face additional vulnerabilities during this public health and economic crisis, such as a lack of health insurance coverage and lower incomes.
“Therefore, it is critical that Congress ensures that immigrants who pay taxes, including frontline workers, are able to access the vital coronavirus economic relief measure in the CARES Act that was intended to help ensure that families are able to put food on their tables and keep a roof over their heads. As immigrant workers in hospitals, meat processing plants, farms, grocery stores, and elsewhere endure the hardships of this pandemic to provide for our most basic needs, we ask that you extend the coronavirus cash assistance Congress provided to include immigrant families who file taxes with an ITIN,” the senators wrote.
The senators continued, “No one should be denied critical economic relief benefits they would otherwise be entitled to simply because they are part of a mixed-status family.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Murray has consistently worked to ensure immigrant communities in Washington state and across the country have access to the relief they need. Senator Murray has also introduced new legislation to ensure elderly refugees and other refugees with disabilities who are in the process of applying for American citizenship remain eligible for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits they are entitled to, called on President Trump to automatically extend work authorizations for DACA and TPS recipients and finally end his cruel attempts to deport DACA recipients, and pushed for clarity on how the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma is working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amongst detainees.
Original source can be found here.
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