Ranking Member Sessions has raised concerns in recent weeks about the nature of welfare and other financial assistance provided to non-citizens, including those in the country illegally. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, for example, has entered into a partnership with Mexico to boost food stamp enrollment among Mexican nationals, migrant workers, and non-citizen immigrants, and earlier this year Sessions attempted to call up legislation to close a loophole that allows illegal immigrants to receive Additional Child Tax Credits by claiming dependents who do not even live in the United States. (Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blocked the effort to move to that legislation, despite the fact that a Treasury Department Inspector General has recommended that Congress take steps to close the loophole.)
Now, a new projection by Sessions’ staff on the Budget Committee show that more than $7 billion in tax credits are expected to be sent this year if the Additional Child Tax Credit loophole is not closed.