DONALD Trump is being sued after US citizens married to immigrants were blocked from getting coronavirus stimulus checks, reports say. The president is reportedly facing a lawsuit because he declined to issue $1,200 to citizens whose spouses don’t have valid Social Security Numbers, according to court filings. The IRS stipulated that both partners had to have […]
DONALD Trump is being sued after US citizens married to immigrants were blocked from getting coronavirus stimulus checks, reports say.
The president is reportedly facing a lawsuit because he declined to issue $1,200 to citizens whose spouses don’t have valid Social Security Numbers, according to court filings.
The IRS stipulated that both partners had to have valid SNN credentials to receive a $2,400 check for married couples earning less than $150,000 during the ongoing crisis.
Known as “John Doe,” a US citizen from Illinois has now filed the claim alleging that the ban violates the Constitution and is discriminatory “based solely on whom he chose to marry,” reports CBS News.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are also named in the Chicago suit as Trump’s co-defendants.
Doe’s attorneys told the station other Americans in the same predicament have reached out to them.
The plaintiff would have received $1,200 but he files joint taxes with his immigrant spouse, who uses an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, according to the filing.
Doe’s kids under 17 were also excluded, which his legal team blasted as “cruel” during the pandemic, considering the family would have received $2,200 in total ($500 per child plus his stimulus check) otherwise.
“Time and time again the court has found there is a fundamental right to marriage,” one of his lawyers, Lana B. Nassar, said.
“If you are discriminating on the basis of marriage, the government has to show there is a compelling government interest that justifies this exclusion. It’s a very high burden to meet.”
The suit states that Trump, Mnuchin, and McConnell failed “to treat [Doe] as equal to his fellow United States citizens based solely on whom he chose to marry,” the lawsuit alleges.
It says he “has lawfully filed taxes in the United States, yet he is being denied the rights and privileges under the CARES Act.”
It affects some 1.2 million Americans, according to the Migration Policy Institute, which notes 2.3 million foreign nationals were on temporary visas in 2016.
There are some exceptions, however, if either spouse is in the army and for couples who file separately.
The news comes after a top advisor says Americans could receive a second $1,200 payment as part of “phase four of the virus relief program.”
Kevin Hassett confirmed the White House is looking into another emergency payment Tuesday.
When reporters pressed Hassett if a single payment was enough to help people amid mass layoffs and business closures, he revealed they were considering the matter.
“I think that’s something that we are studying very carefully, that I know that people in the House are as well,” Hassett said during today’s press briefing.
Meanwhile, House Democrats have proposed a second stimulus plan which would see eligible Americans receiving $2,000.
As 22 million people file for unemployment, Americans aged 16+ who make less than $130,000 a year will are set to receive $2,000 a month through the Emergency Money For the People Act.
Married couples who earn less than $260,000 will get $4,000 per month and families who qualify will pocket $500 per child, for up to three children.
If it’s passed by the House and the Senate, the package would have to be signed into law by Trump.
