Some of the 722,000 New Jersey residents left out of pandemic relief funds due to citizenship status could be eligible for the latest round of $600 stimulus checks under the new coronavirus relief package.
Previously excluded from stimulus relief checks, U.S. citizens who filed taxes with their undocumented spouse will receive $600 per person with a Social Security number, including children with citizenship.
Roughly 56,000 undocumented residents In New Jersey are married to a U.S. citizen, and another 27,000 are married to a legal permanent resident or green card holders, according to the Migration Policy Institute. It’s unknown how many mixed-status couples have children with citizenship.
The law will also allow households with at least one family member with a Social Security number to retroactively receive checks for up to $1,200 and an additional $500 per child under the CARES Act.
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New Jersey’s 430,000 undocumented residents still remain ineligible for stimulus checks, including those who file taxes using an ITIN number, as well as other tax-paying residents without Social Security numbers.
In an effort to stabilize the economic turmoil the country is facing due to the pandemic, President Donald Trump signed the $900 billion coronavirus bill that expanded some eligibility for the stimulus checks. But the president had previously criticized allowing payments to the families of undocumented residents when he threatened to veto the aid, according to CBS News.
Immigrant advocacy groups across the country have criticized the federal government for excluding undocumented residents and their American family members from much-needed coronavirus relief in March, stressing the reliance on immigrant workers for jobs deemed essential during the first wave of the pandemic.
“There are still more than 400,000 undocumented people and hundreds of thousands of children (in New Jersey) who have been left behind from aid. The latest stimulus is a welcome step, but our state Legislature should still take action to provide aid as quickly as possible,” said Sara Cullinane, executive director of Make the Road New Jersey, an advocacy group working with Latino communities.
The group, as well as other immigrant organizations, have camped out near the Statehouse in Trenton and held rallies across the state to call for the passing of a series of bills that would aid undocumented immigrants and other excluded residents.
One bill, S2480, would provide a one-time check to undocumented residents who can’t collect unemployment benefits, and were excluded from the CARES Act. Another bill known as the “People’s Bill,” A4034, would create a repayment plan for tenants who missed rent due to the pandemic.
Cullinane noted the relief is especially important to undocumented residents who can’t collect unemployment benefits and have run out of money for rent, food and medicine.
“We’re still urging immediate hearings and action as soon as possible,” she said. “Every day we hear from families going into debt because they’re ineligible for aid, so it’s a desperate time.”
The IRS has already starting sending out stimulus checks — direct deposit payments started going out on Dec. 29, while the first paper checks were mailed Dec. 30.
You can track your stimulus payment on the IRS website here..
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Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her at @snietomunoz.
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