Poverty and Income

Benefit Restrictions Beyond Those in Senate Immigration Bill Would Jeopardize Legalization for Many and Risk Severe Hardships for Others

Some senators have proposed changes to the bipartisan immigration bill that would make it much more difficult for large numbers of undocumented workers to convert to legal status and would discourage or prohibit legal immigrants, and in some cases their U.S. citizen family members, from receiving needed assistance. These include proposals to:

• Require workers seeking to legalize their status to prove they have paid all taxes owed since they entered the United States, which could preclude millions of workers and their families from obtaining legal status.
• Deny immigrants access to health insurance even after they have converted to “lawful permanent resident” status.
• Deny the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to people working legally in “registered provisional immigrant” status.
• Make it hard, or even impossible, for low- and moderate-income workers to show they will not become a “public charge.”
• Change long-standing rules for the treatment of Social Security and Medicare taxes that workers paid while undocumented.

Such changes would not only harm immigrants converting to legal status but also imperil millions of children, an important part of our future workforce.

Earned Income Tax Credit Promotes Work, Encourages Children’s Success at School, Research Finds

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which went to 27.5 million low- and moderate-income working families in 2010, provides work, income, educational, and health benefits to its recipients and their children, a substantial body of research shows. In addition, recent ground-breaking research suggests, the EITC’s benefits extend well beyond the limited time during which families typically claim the credit.
 

Chairman Ryan Gets 66 Percent of His Budget Cuts from Programs for People With Low or Moderate Incomes

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s new budget plan would get at least 66 percent of its $5 trillion in non-defense budget cuts over ten years (relative to a continuation of current policies) from programs that serve people of limited means, standing a core principle of the Simpson-Bowles fiscal commission on its head.

Related:

• Deficit Reduction Should Not Increase Poverty and Hardship
• Ryan Budget Would Undermine Safety Net’s Work Supports
• Ryan Roundup: Everything You Need to Know About Chairman Ryan's Budget