03/04/2024
See 20 years earlier (we’ve been at this a long time!): National Data | EITC: How the Tax Code Subsidizes Immigrants (Including Illegals)
During the past three years and as of January, the Biden Regime had illegally released more than 2.3 million illegal aliens into the American interior [U.S. released more than 2.3 million migrants at border since 2021, data show, by Maria Sacchetti and Nick Miroff, Washington Post, January 6, 2024]. CIS.org earlier pointed out that (a) there were probably more, (b) there were at least 1.3 million known “gotaways,” never properly recorded. Of course, the Biden Regime’s goal in aiding and abetting the Great Replacement illegal-invasion at the southwest border is eventual citizenship and Democrat votes. But maintaining indigent “migrants” in America requires an array of services. A key document, the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number [ITIN].
The ITIN is the premiere gateway to U.S. residence, leading to a driver’s license, a bank account, and home mortgage. Any Patriotic Immigration reform “to-do” list must include scrapping it.
Issued by the Internal Revenue Service in 1996, the ITIN is a substitute Social Security card for persons who don’t qualify for the real thing. Because most lawful immigrants are eligible for Social Security, its main if unstated purpose is to keep illegal aliens in the country. A Google search for “undocumented immigrants ITINs” returns a plethora of Treason Lobby organizations that advise readers about using them.
With the invasion at the border, the Biden Regime has created lucrative opportunities for ITIN-oriented enterprises and nonprofits that are part of the Treason Lobby and committed to Open Borders. For them the thought of a discouraged “migrant” leaving America is a political and moral disaster, a failure on our part to create a welcoming, inclusive environment on the order of Blue cities such as Portland, Maine or Olympia, Washington [How Do Social Service Providers View Recent Immigrants? Perspectives from Portland, Maine, and Olympia, Washington, by Casy Clevenger, et al., Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, March 11, 2014].
Of course, illegals who leave also delay the browning of America.
The IRS launched ITINs to collect taxes from workers unlikely to report their incomes, and we’ve known for 20 years that illegals were abusing them [Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers Can Be Improperly Obtained and Used, by Michael Brostek, General Accounting Office, March 10, 2004]. An application must include IRS Form W-7, a recent tax return, and two or more IDs.
An ITIN mimics a Social Security number, but not entirely. It always begins with 9. For another, its fourth and fifth digits always range from 50 to 65, 70 to 88, 90 to 92, and 94 to 99. The IRS explains its purpose:
IRS issues ITINs to help individuals comply with the U.S. tax laws, and to provide a means to efficiently process and account for tax returns and payments for those not eligible for Social Security numbers. They are issued regardless of immigration status, because both resident and nonresident aliens may have a U.S. filing or reporting requirement under the Internal Revenue Code. ITINs do not serve any purpose other than federal tax reporting.
[Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, IRS.gov]
Formally, that’s accurate. But it omits the ITIN’s role in normalizing mass immigration. At the time the IRS created this alternate ID, Congress was debating the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. This legislation, building upon sensible recommendations made by Barbara Jordan’s Commission on Immigration Reform, passed the U.S. House and Senate that summer, and President Clinton signed a truncated version in September 1996. The curbs might have been stronger had it not been for Jordan’s death earlier that year [Remembering Barbara Jordan and Her Immigration Legacy, by Jerry Kammer, Center for Immigration Studies, January 17, 2016].
The ITIN has created a niche business for submitting applications for these faux Social Security cards on behalf of illegals. Known as Acceptance Agents, these enterprises operate in many foreign countries as well as America. Their operators aren’t bashful about their intent. Here’s how ITIN.com — aka EIN Express Inc. and based in Woodland Hills, California — rationalizes its purpose, ungrammatically, in a video, How to Get (an) ITIN Number for Illegal Immigrants:
Just because you’re an illegal immigrant does not mean that they [sic] do not apply for an ITIN. And if you do have income that you are making, you are allowed to report it and you pay tax on it or try to pay tax on it.
In fact, that’s the whole reason why the ITIN was actually brought into effect by the IRS in 1996 was [sic] so that people who are living in this country, whether they got here illegally or not, if [sic] they did not have an SSN and they were trying to report income that they made and they wanted to pay taxes on it, the ITIN was brought into effect so that they could do that. …
And it’s a great thing. So that why the IRS by [sic] brought it. So, yes, illegal immigrants can, in fact, get an ITIN and they can file and pay taxes.
Acceptance Agents are everywhere. In my own home state of Virginia, 170 such operations are listed on the IRS website and include many H&R Block outlets.
Of higher status in this business are Certifying Acceptance Agents. Whereas an AA might file but not approve an ITIN application, a CAA can do both. Following approval, the IRS grants a Certificate of Accuracy.
A leading CAA firm, the Chicago-area HQ Legal Offices LLP, which is licensed to practice in Pakistan (here’s the management team, below) and the U.S., explains its border treason this way: “In this era of globalization, we strive to deliver solutions beyond borders and have established our presence in Lahore, Pakistan and Chicago, USA.”
Now that’s global reach.
Treason Lobby nonprofits in Washington D.C. also advocate for ITINs. The American Immigration Council, for instance, states:
The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a tax-processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to ensure that people — including undocumented immigrants — pay taxes even if they do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) and regardless of their immigration status.
The Facts About the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), March 14, 2022
AIC claims that ITINs “let more people pay into the system, which builds the tax base.”
ITINs let more people pay into the system, which builds the tax base.
According to the IRS, 4.35 million people paid over $13.7 billion in net taxes using an ITIN in 2015.https://t.co/1JoMuS0Aqg
— American Immigration Council (@immcouncil) March 25, 2020
Of course, that doesn’t count what illegals take out of the “system.” (This is what Patrick Cleburne has referred to as the “Toilet Paper Fallacy” — more people buying toilet paper leads to a better “economy” but for who?)
Similarly, the National Immigration Forum uses sob stories to win support:
Carmen is an ITIN filer and an undocumented immigrant in Phoenix. She has lived in the United States for thirty years but is ineligible for CARES Act relief. Carmen, a housekeeper, has lost most of her clients because of COVID-19 and is struggling to pay her bills
Fact Sheet: Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), July 1, 2020
Sentimentality sells in policymaking as well as in advertising.
ITINs have enabled millions of “migrants,” mostly illegal, to remain here indefinitely. Given the coordinated invasion at the southwest border, the demand for ITINs has never been higher.
This is almost certainly why the IRS imposed a moratorium on Acceptance Agent activity in August 2022. In the IRS’ words:
The moratorium will allow for significant modernization efforts resulting in a more efficient application process. The overall timeframe to process properly submitted applications will change from 120 days to no more than 60 days.
[ITIN Acceptance Agent Program changes, IRS.gov
In other words, “We’re swamped.” (The moratorium was lifted in January 2024.)
How ITIN cards are obtained is only the first part of the equation. The second is how these cards are used. It’s absolutely crucial for illegal aliens to establish a permanent anchor because they can then do the following [The Hidden Benefits of Your ITIN: Exploring its Wide Range of Uses, Starfleet, October 22, 2023]:
The most egregious of these services, at least given the sums of money involved, is institutional lending, especially for mortgages.
Homeownership among illegal aliens is quite widespread. Using census data, the Migration Policy Institute reported that more than 3 million illegals — about 28 percent of 11 million at the time — own homes [Profile of the Unauthorized Population: United States, 2019]. Given that 11 million is a low estimate of the illegal-alien population, home ownership is likely much higher.
Mortgage credit for illegals is common. Writing for Self.inc., blogger John Atkins, an Open Borders zealot, explained that an ITIN makes obtaining loans far less forbidding:
If asked whether an illegal immigrant can own a home in the United States, most people would quickly answer in the negative.
It seems nonsensical that someone without the legal right of presence could own physical property, much less a house.
In reality, anyone — even a foreigner or illegal immigrant — can buy or own United States property. The universal language of cash [bold letters are the author’s] and a limited number of mortgage programs make it possible…
The Indispensable ITIN
In order to qualify for a mortgage as an illegal immigrant, a borrower needs one indispensable piece of information: a taxpayer identification number.
The IRS assigns these numbers to all taxpayers, regardless of residential status. If you have ever paid taxes in the United States through employment or property ownership, you have an ITIN.
These numbers have no bearing on residential status, and the IRS does not share taxpayer information with immigration authorities. In other words, an illegal immigrant with a job can safely pay his or her taxes — and thus receive the vital ITIN — without fear of deportation.
Is It Possible to Get a Mortgage as an Undocumented Immigrant?, August 25, 2015
How’s that for shameless? Like that California Acceptance Agent quoted earlier, he doesn’t even shy away from saying “illegal immigrant.”
Lending institutions that underwrite mortgages to ITIN borrowers view these customers as a business opportunity [ITIN Loans for 2024 — Best ITIN Lenders — No SS Number, by Eric Jeanette, Dream Home Financing, January 4, 2024].
Churchill Mortgage, Fairway Independent Mortgage, Guild Mortgage, New American Funding, and other subprime (“Non-QM”) mortgage lenders are leading the way. Large banks, notably SoFi, Wells Fargo, and First National Bank of America (FNB), also are becoming active. As FNB explains:
First National Bank of America [website’s italics] specializes in Non-QM lending and has great solutions for people that have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) who are looking for a mortgage or want to refinance an existing mortgage.,
And knowing which demographic will likely apply for such a loan, FNB offers the information in Spanish.
Opening savings or checking accounts for ITIN customers is even more routine. Participating major banks include PNC, Chase, Citibank, TD Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Credit unions include Apple Federal, Navy Federal, and Strategic Federal.
Lending to ITIN cardholders will become even more standard if the Biden Regime gets its way. In October 2023, officials warned banks that denying loans on the basis of immigration status might violate federal law.
VDARE.com persecutor Kristen Clarke, now the U.S. Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, said:
This guidance reminds lenders that denying someone access to credit based solely on their actual or perceived immigrant status may violate federal law.
U.S. Banks To Loan Money to Illegal Immigrants, by Andrew Sanders, American Insider, October 27, 2023
The claim is ludicrous. If a would-be borrower is here illegally, the reason for denying credit should be moot.
In 2015, GOP Rep. Sam Johnson of Tennessee and GOP Senator John Cornyn of Texas introduced a bill to reform ITIN abuses that went nowhere. A reform was included in 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that did nothing to alter how illegals use ITINs to stay here.
After more than a quarter century, it is fair to say that ITINs are a major enabler of the Great Replacement. That no leader of either major political party, including POTUS 45 Donald Trump, has addressed this issue is appalling.
ITINs are a racket. They enable “migrants,” especially illegals, to establish a beachhead in America and never return home.
That’s why the Treason Lobby so heavily advertises ITINs. Maximizing tax revenues is the pretext. But it is not the underlying motive.
The IRS created ITINS. But Congress can act. If Donald Trump becomes President, he must order his IRS Commissioner to stop illegals and other “migrants” from using them — or (preferably) shut ITINs down altogether.
Carl Horowitz is a veteran Washington, D.C.-area writer on immigration and other issues
This is a content archive of VDARE.com, which Letitia James forced off of the Internet using lawfare.