Undocumented persons and maintenance debtors may benefit. Both undocumented immigrants and parents who owe child support could be eligible for stimulus checks if a second round is approved in the U.S. Congress.
The new legislation introduced in the federal Legislature contains provisions for these groups to get the economic impact payment from which they were excluded in the first round under the CARES Act.
This implies an expansion in the range of eligibility for more people to benefit from emergency funds to combat the economic effects of the pandemic.
Alimony debtors
In the case of child support debtor parents, the CARES Act stipulates that payment must be redirected to pay the debt. Because of this, individuals who were entitled to the incentive because of their income did not receive it. The diversion of funds is done through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) which collects federal and state debts.
If you are listed as a debtor under that program, the entity will intervene and withhold the stimulus payment money to be credited to the pension debt. If the delay in payment is more than 90 days, your check will most likely go to that obligation or be reduced by the amount you owe.
Under laws like the “HEROES Act” that Democrats are pushing, parents who owe pension payments would get the money.
Undocumented immigrants would get the stimulus check
The CARES Act also excluded people who are not U.S. citizens from receiving payments. Specifically, the statute establishes the requirement that recipients must have a Social Security number in order for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to process the payment.
But, in the event that new aid is given, some legislation such as the Heroes Act states that only an ITIN number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number would be required to be eligible to receive the money.
Several of the bills include provisions to include dependents over the age of 17. Under this line, college students and adults with disabilities would be included. Proposals such as those introduced by Donald Trump before the election also provide for increases in the dependent credit up to $1,000. The CARES Act provides for payments of $500 for dependents under 17 years of age up to a maximum of three per family.
A federal court in California ruled last September that incarcerated beneficiaries are also creditors of the stimulus checks, so authorities initiated proceedings to meet that obligation.
Judge Phyllis Hamilton determined that the IRS’ decision to exclude these individuals from the payments would be contrary to law, as it was based on an administrative interpretation by agencies such as the IRS and not on the CARES law itself.
Incarcerated persons would be eligible for stimulus payments
At least 80,000 prisoners are eligible for payment, according to preliminary estimates; while the amount of money owed would be approximately $100 million.
In case of a second round, government authorities will most likely have to follow Hamilton’s guidelines.
It should be noted, however, that the bipartisan plan currently under consideration in Congress does not provide for stimulus checks.
However, that bill has not yet been approved, so as part of the discussion on new coronavirus aid, the issue could be taken up again.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and some Democrats are not satisfied with the content of the new plan presented in that legislative body and endorsed by leaders of both parties who are part of the Problem Solvers Caucus.