The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) has expressed support for new regulations announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that will prevent individuals without legal immigration status from receiving refundable federal tax credits. These credits, such as the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, are intended to benefit eligible American families.
According to the FGA, this move addresses a gap in enforcement that has existed since the 1996 welfare reform law, which made illegal immigrants ineligible for certain taxpayer-funded benefits. The organization notes that despite this law, the Internal Revenue Service had not previously enforced these restrictions.
Jonathan Ingram, Vice President of Policy and Research at FGA, stated: “Every dollar the government wastes through fraud or abuse ultimately reduces Americans’ standard of living, and every tax dollar diverted to illegal aliens drives costs higher for families. For years, the Biden administration’s open-borders approach allowed billions in taxpayer-funded benefits to flow to people who were never eligible to receive them. Treasury’s action is a long-overdue course correction. Thanks to President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, we are entering a new era of commonsense, America-First economic policy that finally puts citizens ahead of illegal aliens.”
Ingram also said: “Treasury’s clarification ensures that tax benefits reach the American citizens they were designed to support. This is one more action the Trump administration has taken to reduce the costs that the Biden administration saddled Americans with. Protecting these credits from abuse not only upholds the law, it helps restore fairness and affordability for the taxpayers who fund them.”
The FGA describes itself as a non-profit think tank focused on promoting public policy solutions aimed at increasing opportunities for Americans.
