IRS Rules Opened Back Door for Illegal Aliens to Enter U.S. Credit Market

Tiffany Gabbay
CNSNews
October 19, 2008

Internal Revenue Service rules have opened up a back-door through which illegal immigrants can obtain an Individual Taxpayer Information Number (ITIN), which in turn helps them enter the U.S. credit market.

The IRS uses ITINs to process tax payments owed by people who are not eligible for a Social Security Number. It is issued regardless of immigration status to people living both inside and outside the country.

Although the IRS states explicitly that ITINs are not to be used for any purpose other than tax administration, banks across the country are accepting ITINs to open new accounts and extend lines of credit to customers who are not eligible for a Social Security Number.

When asked by CNSNews.com whether or not ITINs are being used by people for purposes other than tax filing, Dean Patterson, a spokesman for Internal Revenue Service (IRS), told CNSNews.com: “If a third party accepts an ITIN, we can’t speak to that.”

Patterson directed CNSNews.com to the IRS Web site, which contains pertinent information about the ITIN application process. An IRS Web page on frequently asked questions about the ITIN says:

“ITINs are issued regardless of immigration status because both resident and nonresident aliens may have U.S. tax return and payment responsibilities under the Internal Revenue Code.”

News.au.com
November 26, 2008
A private intelligence company has been engaged by police to secretly monitor internet and email use by activist and protest groups, a report says.

The company was hired to monitor and report on the internet activities of anti-war campaigners, animal rights activists, environmental campaigners, and other protest groups, Fairfax Media reported.
It was hired by Victorian Police, the Australian Federal Police and the federal Attorney-General’s department.
The Melbourne-based firm has for the past five years monitored websites, online chat rooms, social networking sites, email lists and bulletin boards, the report said.

It also prepared threat assessments and intelligence reports for government agencies that included material from media reports, speeches, academic journals and publicly available company data, but no private correspondence was monitored.

The company was not named at the request of its management for fear extremists may target the firm.
The news comes a month after Victorian police were found to have targeted community and activist groups in a long-running covert operation.