Immigrant Rights News: FW: Action Needed: Don't Hobble the Stimulus Bill with Immigration Restrictions

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From: National Immigration Law Center [mailto:reply@nilc.org]
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 10:30 AM
To: ctactaquin@nnirr.org
Subject: Action Needed: Don't Hobble the Stimulus Bill with Immigration Restrictions

ACTION NEEDED:
Today and Tomorrow

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE, EMAIL ALL RESPONSES TO HUYNH@NILC.ORG.

Don't Hobble the Stimulus Bill with Immigration Restrictions
Leave E-Verify Out of the Bill
Fix Unfair Tax Credit Rules

Early this afternoon, the Senate voted passed its version of economic stimulus legislation previously passed by the House. The President and Congressional leadership are committed to reaching a "conference" agreement finalizing the language over the next few days. Work is needed to prevent immigration restrictions from hobbling the bill's ability to achieve its purpose of spurring economic recovery and growth.

E-Verify Requirement Still in House Bill

Thanks to your advocacy, we were successful in keeping an E-Verify requirement out of the Senate stimulus bill! Unfortunately, the House bill still includes a requirement that all businesses and other public or private "entities" that contract to receive money from the stimulus package must use the flawed federal Basic Pilot/E-Verify program. We need to convince House and Senate leadership that the E-Verify requirement should be stripped from the final bill sent to President Obama because it will hurt millions of workers. For more information see TALKING POINTS.

Immigrant and Citizen Taxpayers Denied Credit due to Flawed Restriction

The signature "Making Work Pay" tax credit should be eligible to taxpaying individuals and families, so that taxpayers get the relief they need and can help stimulate economic growth. It is fundamentally unfair to penalize taxpayer based on their spouse's immigration or SSN status. We need to urge House and Senate leadership to fix the tax credit rules so that immigrant and citizen taxpayers get the credit they deserve. For more information, see TALKING POINTS.

Action Needed TODAY and TOMORROW!

1.   Call House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at 202-225-0100.
2.   Call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at 202-224-3542.
3.   Tell them:
•   Keep the E-Verify provision out of the stimulus bill. Including E-verify in the stimulus package completely undercuts the purpose of the bill and will only be counterproductive for workers, business, and the economy.
•   Fix "Making Work Pay" so that citizen and legal immigrant taxpayers get the tax credit they deserve, and are not penalized due to their spouse's status.