President Donald Trump’s Treasury Department will issue a new rule that prevents illegal aliens and foreign nationals from securing income tax credits such as the lucrative Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit, Breitbart News has exclusively learned.
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the agency would issue new regulations regarding who is eligible for such income tax credits under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are enforcing the law and preventing illegal aliens from claiming tax benefits intended for American citizens,” Bessent told Breitbart News.
In particular, the rule will clarify that refunded portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the Saver’s Match Credit are federal public benefits and, therefore, illegal aliens and other foreign nationals will not be eligible to receive such benefits.
“Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy and the Internal Revenue Service have worked tirelessly to advance this initiative and ensure its successful implementation,” Bessent said. “Their diligence and professionalism reflect this administration’s determination to uphold the integrity of our tax system. We will continue to ensure that taxpayer resources are directed only to those who are entitled under the law.”
The rule comes after the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel released an opinion on the matter that interprets income tax credits as federal public benefits, thus making illegal aliens ineligible.
In 2021, the Center for Immigration Studies detailed the extent to which millions of illegal aliens living in the United States take advantage of income tax credits.
Researchers estimate that illegal aliens given Social Security Numbers likely enjoy $2.9 billion in cash payments — $2 billion deriving from the Earned Income Tax Credit and about $890 million from the Additional Child Tax Credit.
Likewise, illegal aliens with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers are estimated to receive anywhere from $870 million to $1.6 billion in Additional Child Tax Credit payments.
The Treasury Department rule is set to take effect for the 2026 tax year.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.
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