To the Editor:

Each spring at tax preparation offices all across the nation, many illegal immigrants are now eagerly filing tax returns to take advantage of a tax loophole, using their ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) to get huge refunds from the IRS.

The loophole is called the Additional Child Tax Credit. It’s a fully refundable credit of up to $1,000 per child and it’s meant to help working families who have children at home. But investigators have found that many undocumented workers are claiming the tax credit for kids who live in Mexico, lots of kids in Mexico.

“We’ve seen sometimes 10 or 12 dependents, most times nieces and nephews, on these tax forms,” the whistleblower has said. “The more you put on there, the more you get back.”

The whistleblower has thousands of examples and he brought some of them to 13 investigators. While identifying information on tax returns was redacted, such as names and addresses, it was still clear that the tax filers had received large tax refunds after claiming additional child tax credits for may dependents.

“Here’s a return right here: we’ve got a $10,300 refund for nine nieces and nephews,” he said, pointing to the words “niece” and “nephew” listed on the tax forms nine separate times. “We’re getting an $11,000 refund on this tax return. There are seven nieces and nephews,” he said, pointing to another set of documents. “I can bring out stacks and stacks. It’s just so easy, it’s ridiculous.”

Millions of illegal aliens are getting a larger tax refund than any of us.

Paul Westrum

Albert Lea