Mixed-Status Families Ineligible for CARES Act Federal Pandemic Stimulus Checks

As part of its COVID-19 pandemic response, Congress in March 2020 approved the CARES Act, which provides one-time payments of $1,200 to individuals earning less than $75,000 who filed taxes for 2018 or 2019 using a Social Security Number (SSN). The vast majority of unauthorized immigrants, except for those with work authorization—such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients—are excluded, including those who file taxes using an IRS-issued Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). The CARES Act also makes anyone filing jointly with an ITIN filer ineligible for relief, which means in families where even one member files using an ITIN, the entire family is ineligible. This infographic outlines MPI estimates of the 14.4 million individuals in mixed-status families who are excluded from stimulus payments under the CARES Act. Learn more with this Migration Information Source article.