Thread: Advocacy group helps illegal immigrants get tax refunds

Advocacy group helps illegal immigrants get tax refunds, even those with bogus social security cards
BY Erica Pearson
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, November 19th 2010, 4:00 AM


A Manhattan group is helping illegal immigrants recoup unclaimed state tax refunds - even if they used fake Social Security numbers to work.

The Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project got back thousands for a dozen undocumented New Yorkers who overpaid.

One bodega worker from Jackson Heights had been paying taxes since 2002 but never got a refund - until the group helped him get back $670 from his 2008 return.

"It really helped - we have two young kids," said his wife, who says they pay taxes because "it's the right thing to do."

Thousands more could be due a windfall from the Department of Taxation and Finance.

"We've been getting calls from people who say they've been filing taxes for more than 10 years, and they've never gotten a refund," said Deyanira Del Rio, the advocacy group's associate director.

Since 1996, a growing number of undocumented immigrants have filed taxes using a special ID number, without alerting immigration officials.

They usually get federal refunds, but state paybacks can be held up because the tax department flags documents that have mismatched ID information.

The state demanded documents from immigrants who filed without W-2s or with fake Social Security numbers, Del Rio said.

The tax department said it is working with Del Rio's group to identify taxpayers who are owed money and process their refunds, but added that most of the refunds requested by immigrants are automatically approved.

Verenda Smith, interim executive director of the Federation of Tax Administrators, notes that stealing a Social Security number is not a victimless crime.

"The person whose number is stolen ends up not being able to file a return, not being able to file electronically - getting notices from the IRS that you have unreported income. ... It's a massive headache," Smith said.

But Del Rio says most illegal immigrants use numbers that are made up and don't swipe someone's identity. Either way, labor laws protect all workers - undocumented or not.

"Like everyone else, they're still entitled to their refunds," she said



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/201 ... z15jcAakm5

Not to mention the EITC for having such a large family.

Wonder if they are receiving the refund due the person whose SSN they stole.

("It really helped - we have two young kids," said his wife, who says they pay taxes because "it's the right thing to do." )
Really, It was the right thing to do???????-was it the right thing to do when you broke into my country??? These people are beyond moronic and I am so sick of it. They do not give a rats A@@@ what is right or wrong and I wish they would quit with the lies !!! I would imagine they are helping them get the child tax credit also which can be thousands of dollars. This cracks me up-they dont really pay in because they get a refund at the end of the year that has the child tax credit. We are getting bilked at every turn by these illegals and our good ole government is lending a helping hand. ( I want to bite that hand )

But Del Rio says most illegal immigrants use numbers that are made up and don't swipe someone's identity. Either way, labor laws protect all workers - undocumented or not.

"Like everyone else, they're still entitled to their refunds," she said

It's beyond my capacity to accept the argument our labor laws were intended to apply to those who would steal or use fraudulent social security numbers to usurp work because they are in this country illegally. As a reasonable person, I cannot come to grips with that interpretation.

How can someone who is breaking the law be allowed to benefit from that same law? I guess I will never get it.

Illegal Immigrants With Fake Social Securities Get Tax Refunds

Last Updated: Fri, 11/19/2010 - 4:47pm
An advocacy group partially funded by the U.S. government is helping illegal immigrants who work with fake Social Security numbers recover unclaimed income tax refunds.

The New York nonprofit, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, has so far helped a dozen illegal aliens get back thousands of dollars in state tax refunds, according to a local newspaper report. In some cases the undocumented aliens use bogus Social Security numbers, which is a serious federal offense.

In most instances the illegal immigrants filed taxes using a special identification number that rarely receives scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and allows workers to get federal refunds. However, New York’s tax agency flags employees who provide mismatched information like a Social Security that doesn’t correlate with a name and doesn’t mail refunds to those candidates.

Thanks to the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, which receives money from city, state and federal government sources, those lawbreakers are getting refunds. After all, the group aims to promote financial justice in New York’s low-income communities and in communities of color. It also strives to eliminate discriminatory economic practices that harm communities and perpetuate inequality and poverty.

What about the injustice in stealing someone’s identity? The group’s associate director claims it’s a harmless crime because most illegal immigrants use Social Security numbers that are made up and not stolen from a real person. Either way, the immigrant advocate reminds that labor laws protect all workers, even the undocumented.

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