Espaillat urges support of immigrant communities in federal response to pandemic

Press Release

NEW YORK. – Dominican-born US lawmaker Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) on Tue. released the following statement on his efforts calling for federal support to immigrant communities as part of the economic recovery stimulus package due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We must put meaningful resources into the pockets of those hardest hit by the coronavirus. However, the current economic stimulus proposal is limited to one-time cash payments that exclude immigrant taxpayers who do not have a social security number, which will have an immediate impact on their citizen children and spouses,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13).

“In order to resolve this issue and ensure all individuals, particularly lower-income individuals and families, receive needed relief, we ask that individuals who file tax returns using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are included in the final stimulus package,” he concluded.

Deborah Axt, Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York, said: “There is an escalating crisis facing front-line communities, which congressional Republicans are recklessly trying to exclude from relief while they try to pad the pockets of their billionaire cronies. These exclusions would not just be immoral-they would also be counter-productive. To meet a public health and economic crisis, we must ensure that everyone is included-in cash payments, medical testing and treatment, paid sick days, and more. Congress must make the necessary fixes-putting working people first, and demanding accountability of corporations-and get this right now.”