Obama-Appointed Judge Sides with FAIR’s Legal Affiliate that Illegal Alien Spouses of U.S. Citizens were Not Entitled to Stimulus Checks

When Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020, it explicitly required that those receiving so-called stimulus checks have valid Social Security numbers (SSN). This provision barred illegal aliens from collecting benefits, including those who were married to U.S. citizens.

The SSN requirement led to a lawsuit, based on the claim that it discriminated against illegal aliens spouses of U.S. citizens – which of course it did, because a majority of members in both houses of Congress decided it was a bad idea to hand out large checks to illegal aliens, especially during a COVID-induced economic crisis. FAIR’s legal affiliate, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), filed a friend of the court amicus brief arguing that there is no fundamental right to marital recognition that encompasses a right of illegal aliens to receive checks from the United States government. Accordingly, the federal statute in question should be upheld if it has a rational basis.

In March, an Obama-appointed Federal District Court Judge in Maryland, Ellen Hollander, dismissed the lawsuit. As a result of Judge Hollander’s decision, illegal aliens will not be eligible to receive stimulus checks retroactively.