Congressman
Elton Gallegly
Serving the 24th District of California

http://www.house.gov/gallegly/media/media2007/media2007.htm

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 7, 2007

 Contact: Tom Pfeifer
(202) 225-5811

Gallegly Bills Require IRS to Report Illegal Workers

WASHINGTON, DC—Two new bills introduced Tuesday by Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties) 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 (ITIN) in place of a Social Security number to report employment earnings. ITINs—similar to Social Security numbers except they start with a 9—are issued to foreign nationals who are required to pay taxes on investments. But ITINs cannot be used legally to gain employment.

The second bill, the IRS Illegal Immigration Information Act, would also help prevent illegal immigrants from gaining employment. It also would preclude illegal workers from receiving taxpayer subsidies through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Under the act, the Department of Homeland Security would be required to furnish the IRS annually with a list of people whose work authorizations or employment-based visas expired before December 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 EITC would be held. The IRS would also be required to inform Homeland Security and the employer. Workers who are unable to document they are currently authorized to work would be terminated.

The Stop the Misuse of ITINs Act and the IRS Illegal Immigrant Information Act mark the 10th and 11th anti-illegal immigration bills Gallegly has introduced since the beginning of the year.

Bills previously introduced by Gallegly this year include:

• The Total Overhaul of Totalization Agreements Law (TOTAL), which would protect the Social Security fund from being raided by foreign nationals while protecting those who legally work in the United States;
• The Fairness in Higher Education Act, which would withhold federal funding to state schools and private colleges that provide in-state tuition or other financial aid to illegal immigrants; and,
• The Identification Integrity Act, which would prohibit the federal government from accepting any foreign-issued documents, except for passports, as valid identification for official purposes—including entering federal buildings or boarding a commercial aircraft.

Gallegly’s other bills would:

• impose a mandatory minimum sentence on a deportable illegal immigrant who fails to depart or fails to attend a removal proceeding;
• impose a criminal penalty on an illegal immigrant who fails voluntarily to depart the United States after securing permission to do so, or who unlawfully returns to the United States after voluntarily departing;
• limit automatic citizenship at birth;
• deny visas and admission to illegal immigrants who have been unlawfully present in the United States for more than 6 months;
• require the Commissioner of Social Security to notify individuals and appropriate authorities when evidence arises that individual Social Security account numbers are being misused; and,
• direct the Commissioner of Social Security to notify the Department of Homeland Security, employers and employees when names and Social Security numbers don’t match and take appropriate actions.