Press Releases

“The Child Tax Credit has already helped millions of vulnerable families across the United States, but we can't overlook those who haven't been able to receive help through no fault of their own,” said Amy Everitt, President of Golden State Opportunity. “As families struggle with rising costs, we must make sure families with ITIN holders, which includes many essential workers, have enough time to access their money.” 

“It is essential that the federal government extend the deadline to claim the enhanced Child Tax Credit for new ITIN or SSN holders to prevent a major economic inequity that will exacerbate long-standing racial and ethnic disparities in child poverty,” said Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO of GRACE/End Child Poverty California. “The evidence is simply overwhelming how the enhanced CTC moved the needle toward ending child poverty. If the deadline is not extended, we will deny equitable access to claiming the CTC for immigrants and other historically excluded communities – with outsized impact in California. This simply must not be allowed to happen, and we are proud to join Rep. Gomez and all members of Congress calling for immediate action to extend this deadline and fulfill the promise of this policy proven to fight child poverty.” 

“Thousands of children in immigrant families need some heroes in our government who will ensure that they are not left behind when it comes to the 2021 COVID based relief credits,” said Angela Divaris, Esq. Greater Boston Legal Services. “Does it really matter if some of their moms and dads received their Social Security numbers after April 18th due to agency delays beyond their control?  Should we base this extraordinary relief on whether the neediest households managed to apply for their tax id numbers in time when the necessary assistance was foreseeably scarce?  The noble purpose of the American Rescue Plan Act can only be fulfilled if ALL the children contemplated have meaningful access to the help we promised them.  My office tried so hard despite the pandemic to help as many families as we could in what was an unbelievably stressful tax season.  I hope those with the authority to do what's right by these kids, exercise that authority now so we can get back to helping these struggling families who are still being referred to us from schools, churches, hospitals, even shelters.  It is heartening to see who in the wider community is joining us in this plea for fairness: mayors, our teachers' union, pediatricians, faith leaders; now, the decisionmakers just need to do their part and grant the extension!” 

In California’s 34th Congressional District, 113,000 children from 71,000 families received a total of $168.6 million in advanced Child Tax Credit payments in 2021. Congressman Gomez is fighting to make the enhanced, refundable Child Tax Credit permanent. 

The letter was signed by Reps. Madeleine Dean,  Barbara Lee,  Nikema Williams,  Dwight Evans,  Sara Jacobs,  Nanette Barragán,  Salud Carbajal,  Julia Brownley,  Gwen Moore,  Ann Kirkpatrick,  Dina Titus,  Danny Davis,  Jesús García,  Judy Chu,  Nydia Velázquez,  Pramila Jayapal,  Yvette Clarke,  Eleanor Norton,  Ritchie Torres,  Henry Johnson,  Linda Sánchez,  Zoe Lofgren,  Mark DeSaulnier,  Grace Napolitano,  Suzanne Bonamici,  Raúl Grijalva,  Jamie Raskin,  Steve Cohen,  James McGovern,  Adriano Espaillat,  Frederica Wilson,  John Garamendi,  Bonnie Watson Coleman,  Brendan Boyle,  Jim Costa,  Jimmy Panetta,  Tony Cárdenas,  Mondaire Jones,  Norma Torres,  Sylvia Garcia,  Alan Lowenthal,  Jerrold Nadler,  J. Correa,  Ted Lieu,  Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick,  Doris Matsui,  and Lucille Roybal-Allard. 

You can read the full letter here. 

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