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Trump Proposes Citizenship Disclosure for Tax Filers

2:09 AM ETConfirmed

Politics Desk

In Short: The Trump administration has proposed requiring U.S. tax filers to disclose their immigration or citizenship status to the IRS under penalty of law, according to a proposal by the administration.

The Trump administration has proposed requiring U.S. tax filers to disclose their immigration or citizenship status to the IRS under penalty of law, according to a proposal by the administration.

Under the proposal, every tax filer must certify their immigration or citizenship status to file their return. The administration argues this will help prevent immigrants without permanent legal status from collecting federal benefits they are not eligible for, potentially saving taxpayers up to $2 billion.

The proposal comes as the administration seeks to use the IRS to implement its immigration policies. The State Department is also assessing how it could grant state and local officials access to federal passport records to verify voters' citizenship status ahead of the midterm elections.

The administration's notice would permit information sharing with various entities using federal government verification platforms, for the purpose of verifying the identity or citizenship for users accessing government websites and applications, voter eligibility, and other governmental services.

The Supreme Court recently allowed the Department of Homeland Security to share citizenship information so local governments can verify whether registered voters are U.S. citizens.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• Most of the children who would lose eligibility to these credits are U.S. citizens due to at least one of their parents' citizenship or immigration status, according to the researchers at Boston University, Columbia University and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
• "It’s dragging the IRS into this administration’s immigration policies," said Nina Olson, executive director for the Center for Taxpayer Rights.
• Under the proposal, every tax filer must certify their immigration or citizenship status to the IRS under penalty of law to file their return.

What's still developing

• WATCH: DOJ deploys tactic to strip naturalized Americans of citizenship "It could be used as an immigration enforcement tool and that is probably the reason why they are doing this," said David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute.
• Ken Sweet, Associated Press Ken Sweet, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration would require U.S.
• The Treasury Department says the new question is meant to keep immigrants lacking permanent legal status from taking advantage of refundable tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit.
• Hollywood billboard queen Angelyne has spent four decades putting her image exactly where she wants it.
• The objective of the plan is to share the information in a way that "protects Americans' data, deters fraud and supports the integrity of U.S. citizenship," a department spokesperson said in a statement to NewsNation.
• The 1974 Privacy Act requires the federal government to provide public notice establishing a new "routine use" for records maintained in a federal records system.
• “Huge victory for election integrity. The Supreme Court granted [the Justice Department]’s stay in revamping the SAVE citizenship verification database, which will allow states to clear the voter rolls of illegal voters,” he said.
• The database, known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, was created in 1986 to check the immigration status of noncitizens applying for public benefit programs and has been used by states for voter verification since 2005.
• The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said he unlawfully approved and expedited applications for permanent residency and citizenship by bypassing required federal review procedures.
• Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer has been arrested and charged in an alleged scheme to sell immigration benefits, including green cards.
• The applications allegedly included Form I-485, which is used by people seeking lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a green card, as well as petitions involving family sponsorship, removal of conditions on residency, and naturalization.

Sources

• Fox Newslink
• PBSlink
• The Hollywood Reporterlink
• Fox Newslink
• Dailywirelink
• Newsweeklink
• MS NOWlink
• Kyivindependentlink
• Hsjchroniclelink
• Talkingpointsmemolink
• Lawcommentarylink
• TechCrunchlink
• Timesnownewslink
• Sundayguardianlivelink
• WarpBeat — background on Trump Admin Weighs Fate of ABA's Law School Accreditation Monopoly link