Op-Ed: Why people are fighting over Social Security numbers

This article was originally published in the Washington Post on July 20, 2022. Read the full piece here.

In June, when Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) released an updated plan to expand child benefits, liberal advocacy groups objected to provisions limiting the benefit to parents with Social Security numbers. Rather, they wanted the benefits made available to parents with individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs).

This may sound like a completely technical controversy. It is not. The United States’ unique history of tax benefits and unauthorized immigration underlies the fight over identification numbers.

Read the rest of McCabe’s analysis here.

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