COALITION SUPPORTING IMMIGRANT AND MIGRANT SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE AND FAMILIES CALLS FOR A PERMANENT EXPANSION OF THE CHILD TAX CREDIT THAT INCLUDES ALL CHILDREN REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION STATUS

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: August 2, 2021

CONTACT: Sheila Quintana Aguilar, Communications Specialist, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, sheila@campesinasunite.org, (610) 732 - 0116

Today, 113 organizations called on Congress to make the Child Tax Credit permanent and inclusive of all children. The recent one-year expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) under the American Rescue Plan will provide critical economic support for families and children. But the current Child Tax Credit is only authorized for one year and critically, is not available to undocumented children, or children with Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs). Without a permanent Child Tax Credit expansion that includes all immigrant children, many families will be left behind, including immigrant and migrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other abuses.  

Over 1 million children will not be eligible for the Child Tax Credit because Former President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act barred children without social security numbers from it. Failing to include all children from eligibility for the Child Tax Credit will impact children and families from across the country, including those hit hardest by the pandemic. These include children of immigrant and migrant essential workers – many of whom are immigrant women of color in low-wage jobs – who have shouldered a disproportionate impact of the pandemic with higher risks and rates of COVID-19, greater economic and employment instability, and who’ve  been systematically excluded from federal COVID-relief efforts and assistance.

Supporting this effort is a wide variety of organizations that support immigrant families and work to reduce family violence and help children heal from trauma.

“Access to the child tax credit can make all the difference for a survivor to be able to overcome and heal from domestic or sexual violence,” said Grace Huang, Director of Policy with the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence. “We urge Congress to extend the child tax credit available to all children and to make it permanent.”

“It’s imperative that Congress understand that the child tax credit is a lifeline for women trapped in abusive situations, said Kiersten Stewart, Director of Public Policy at Futures Without Violence, “The child tax credit could create the economic stability a mother would need to live independently and still care for her children. It can only do that if it is permanent and if it covers all children.”

“The Child Tax Credit is an absolutely critical tool for ensuring the safety of survivors of abuse and their children,” said Kirsten Rambo, Executive Director of ASISTA. “By extending the credit to cover all children and making it permanent, Congress will not only be fostering economic stability, but also keeping children and families in this country safe from violence.”

“Unless Congress acts, many immigrant and migrant families on the frontlines of this pandemic will once again be left out of critical relief”, said María De Luna, National Policy & Advocacy Coordinator with Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. “By making the Child Tax credit permanent and inclusive of all children, immigrant and migrant families would have the support they need to ensure the safety and well-being of their children.”

Families will be meeting with Members of Congress over the August recess and sharing their stories of what the child tax credit means for them.

Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc. (Alianza) is the first national farmworker women’s organization in the United States founded and led by farmworker women, and those who hail from farmworker families. A coalition of 15 grassroots, farmworker organizations across 11 states and the District of Columbia, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas advocates for the civil, constitutional, and human rights of our country’s more than 700,000 farmworker women, and other women workers who form the backbone of our farm and food systems.

The Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence (API-GBV) is a national resource center on domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence in Asian/Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. API-GBV’s mission is to disrupt gender-based violence, which causes physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual and economic harm within AAPI communities throughout the U.S. and its territories.

ASISTA is a national nonprofit dedicated to helping attorneys and advocates assist immigrant survivors of crime with their immigration matters, ultimately enhancing their safety and security. ASISTA's mission is to advance the dignity, rights and liberty of immigrant survivors of violence.

For more than 30 years, FUTURES has been providing groundbreaking programs, policies and campaigns that empower individuals and organizations working to end violence against women and children around the world. Striving to reach new audiences and transform social norms, FUTURES trains professionals such as doctors, nurses, judges and athletic coaches on improving responses to violence and abuse. FUTURES also works with advocates, policymakers and others to build sustainable community leadership and educate people everywhere about the importance of respect and healthy relationships.