John,

The House Ways and Means Committee is meeting today, looking to pass their large tax package by tomorrow, so time is of the essence.

Instead of using this opportunity to expand the Child Tax Credit to help families struggling to make ends meet, House Republicans are ending eligibility for children if any of their parents or guardians do not have a Social Security number―even if the child is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident with their own SSN.¹

This proposed eligibility rule would remove 4.5 million needy children of immigrants without Social Security numbers from accessing the Child Tax Credit, with the most tremendous impact affecting Texas, California, Illinois, Florida, and New York.²

But that’s not all! Right now, 17 million children in lower-income families are left out of the full Child Tax Credit. While they’re proposing to modestly increase the Child Tax Credit to $2,500 per child for some children, up from $2,000, roughly 20 million kids would not receive the full $2,500 tax credit next year because their families make TOO LITTLE money―an average of $23,000 a year.³ This comes as families could lose Medicaid, SNAP, and other basic needs programs in the overarching budget package.

Vulnerable children must not be used as political toys in a game of cruelty. Congress needs to hear from you as soon as possible before the vote, which is expected tonight or tomorrow.

Send a direct message to demand that Congress does not deny the Child Tax Credit to citizen or legal permanent resident children, and improve the current CTC to reach all children.

Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, only taxpayers with children who are citizens or legal permanent residents may claim for the tax credit, regardless of the citizenship status of the parent or legal guardian. This new proposal goes beyond the tax package passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the House last year and is a shift from changes made during the first Trump administration.

Despite not having legal status or Social Security numbers, undocumented immigrants pay nearly $100 billion in taxes annually, including $1 billion in state and local taxes in the five states most affected by the proposed eligibility rule.⁴

The Child Tax Credit has been a key policy in driving down poverty rates among children―something we saw in 2021 when child poverty rates were cut by nearly half under the expanded Child Tax Credit (whose full benefits were shamefully allowed to expire).⁵

Instead of using the budget bill as an opportunity to support vulnerable children and families, this administration and its allies in Congress are using the bill to continue to demonize and punish immigrants and the lowest-income families. The House is looking to combine this tax bill with huge cuts to SNAP and Medicaid moving through other committees this week and pass their massive attack on basic needs programs by Memorial Day. Lawmakers are going too far, too fast, but it’s not too late―it’s important that we raise our voices today!

Join us in calling on Congress to reject this attack on 4.5 million children and their families, and ensure that instead lawmakers expand access to the full Child Tax Credit for millions of families left out under current law.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ What’s in Trump and Republicans’ giant tax and immigration bill?
² New Estimates of the Number of United States Citizen and Legal Permanent Resident Children Who May Lose Eligibility for the Child Tax Credit
³ About 20M lower-income kids in working fams wld be left out of the full $2,500 max credit in 2026.
⁴ Millions of Citizen Children Would be Harmed by Proposal Billed as Targeting Immigrant Tax Filers
⁵ Expanded Child Tax Credit is Key to Reducing Child Poverty, New Census Data Illustrate