tags: , , Blog

Local Children Travel to Capitol Hill, Ask Senators to Reconsider Positions on Child Tax Credit

Share This:

child tax creditWe’ve got an update on Congress’ proposal to fund a payroll tax cut on the backs of immigrant families by changing eligibility for the Child Tax Credit.

As we wrote last week, Congress is currently considering eliminating access to the Child Tax Credit for taxpayers who use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN), the overwhelming majority of whom are Latino.  Yesteday, activists and children from CASA de Maryland, the Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School, and Mary’s Center traveled to Capitol Hill to visit a number of senators who will cast deciding votes on the proposal.  The event was coordinated by NCLR and First Focus Campaign for Children, and the children delivered drawings illustrating what this money means for their families.

As Leticia Miranda, Senior Policy Advisor of the Economic and Employment Policy Project at NCLR, said in a press release. 

The typical family who would be affected by this cut earns only $21,000 a year and would see their taxes go up by 8 percent, resulting in a loss of $1,800 in take-home pay.  This is money that parents need to keep food on the table and electricity and water running.

Wendy Cervantes, Vice President of Immigration and Child Rights at the First Focus Campaign for Children, echoed:

Any restriction to the Child Tax Credit would hurt kids and threaten to drive up child poverty.  Our children are counting on our nation’s leaders to make decisions on their behalf, and eliminating access to this important credit for any child is simply bad policy. We urge Congress to listen to the voices of children and make the right choice.

For more information on the Child Tax Credit, please view NCLR’s fact sheet here