Gallegly bill would require IRS to report illegal aliens to Homeland Security


Two new bills introduced by U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (RThousand Oaks) would require the Internal Revenue Service to report people suspected of working illegally in the United States to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Although the IRS routinely receives information clearly identifying people who are illegally working in the United States, they don't pass that information on to immigration authorities," Gallegly said. "These bills would give the IRS not only the authority but the responsibility to do so."

The first bill, the Stop Misuse of ITINs Act would require the IRS to notify immigration authorities if an employee uses an Individual Tax Identification Number in place of a Social Security number to report employment earnings.

Tax ID numbers are similar to Social Security numbers except they start with a 9 and are issued to foreign nationals who are required to pay taxes on investments. They cannot be legally used to gain employment.

The second bill, the IRS Illegal Immigration Information Act would also help prevent undocumented immigrants from gaining employment.

It would preclude illegal workers from receiving taxpayer subsidies through the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Under the act, the DHS would be required to annually furnish the IRS a list of people whose work authorizations or employmentbased visas expired before Dec. 31 of the previous calendar year.

The IRS would be required to check the list against its records.

Should a taxpayer return match a person on the list, any refund or credit would be held.

The IRS would also be required to inform DHS and the employer. Workers who cannot document their right to work would be terminated.

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