In the 1990s, Congress prohibited illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded welfare benefits. The bipartisan Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, ensured that tax dollars would not be used to subsidize people in the country illegally.

The Biden administration and Democrats in Congress have now begun to use the IRS and tax code to circumvent this commonsense policy under the guise of a “child tax credit.” Passed through the American Rescue Plan Act, the credit was boasted about all year by the Democrats, declaring a victory for taxpaying families. What they failed to mention, however, is the program also gives direct cash payments to so-called “taxpayers” who don’t file or pay taxes, including illegal immigrants.