BOSTON – Eva Millona, CEO and President of the MIRA Coalition, today issued the following statement in response to the passage of a new federal COVID-19 stimulus package.
“We’re pleased to finally have stimulus relief that includes some mixed-status families and a retroactive fix for 3.5 million U.S. citizen spouses and children of non-citizen immigrants who were left out of the CARES Act. In Massachusetts, 174,000 individuals – including 30,000 children and 17,000 spouses – were deemed ineligible for relief under the CARES Act simply because they are a member of a mixed-status family. MIRA is especially grateful to Chairman Neal and the entire Massachusetts’ congressional delegation for their tireless advocacy in support of inclusive relief since the beginning of the pandemic.
“However, we must be clear that it is unacceptable that this package took eight months to get done and it does not even come close to adequately addressing the severe needs of our communities. This is survival assistance, but not sufficient for a true recovery. The package also leaves out nearly 3 million U.S. citizen children whose parents filed taxes using ITIN numbers – essentially punishing these children for having non-citizen parents.
“MIRA’s focus will now shift to advocating for the additional aid that our communities need and educating those who are now eligible to receive the $1,200 they were deprived of in April. We will continue to provide information for how to receive the tax rebate as it becomes available.”
More information about the package and specifically the tax rebate can be found here.
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