Special Report: Changes in the cards

The Internal Revenue Service this month will begin revising how it distributes Individual Taxpayer Identification Number cards (ITIN) to keep illegal immigrants from using them for fraudulent purposes.

More than 6 million ITIN cards have been issued since 1996, but only 2 million tax forms have been filed using the ITINs. The status of the other 4 million ITINs is not known, but immigration-reform advocates say illegal immigrants are using the numbers to skirt U.S. immigration, tax and fraud laws.

“The ITIN creates two problems: one for national security and one for identity theft,” said a government source familiar with the cards. “The IRS is well aware of the problems and is going to be taking steps to correct it.”

The federal government’s overhaul of its ITIN distribution system coincides with an increase in activity among the states to monitor and verify identification documents to stem the impact of illegal immigration on their communities.

Ordinarily, states concern themselves with issues involving residency, not citizenship, which is a federal concern. But this year alone, initiatives requiring illegal immigrants to pay out-of-state tuition and requiring proof of legal residence for driver’s license applications have sprung up in Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia, Massachusettsand other states.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that between 8 million and 9 million illegal immigrants reside in the United States.

Earlier this year, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), an independent nonprofit research group specializing in immigration matters, released a report estimating that more than 800,000 illegal immigrants have entered the country each year since the late 1990s.

It is not known how many illegal immigrants are using ITIN cards.

“The IRS, unfortunately, hands these cards out like candy,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, a leading advocate for stricter immigration laws. “There are not 6 million foreign businesses here, so what’s the purpose of these numbers? They are being used for a lot of reasons, oftentimes for the purpose of obtaining benefits … and they make life easier for those people looking for ways around the system.”

Judith E. Golub, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said illegal immigrants “could use [an ITIN] or a fake Social Security number to get a job because an employer can ask only so many questions.”

The ITIN is a tax-processing number the IRS issues to “individuals who are required to have a taxpayer identification number, but do not have and are not eligible to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN) issued by the Social Security Administration,” according to the IRS’ website.

The ITIN resembles the nine-digit Social Security number, but begins with the number 9. The original purpose of the ITIN was to allow foreign nationals who have business interests in the United States, but who do not reside here, to pay taxes on their income.

“It is assumed that individuals who receive an ITIN and do not file taxes are using it as official U.S. government identification to obtain bank accounts, government services and, ominously, driver’s licenses,” CIS fellow Marti Dinerstein told the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration in June.

The government source said the IRS has become aware of this trend and has heard many “anecdotal stories” of illegal aliens using ITINs for purposes other than that for which they were originally intended. The source said the eventual changes will be “comprehensive … polarizing [and] political,” but said the changes are needed.

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