S. 293 — WALL Act of 2025

This section appropriates $25 billion, to remain available until expended, for constructing a physical barrier along the southern land border of the United States.

This section amends the Internal Revenue Code to restrict eligibility for certain tax credits to individuals with Social Security numbers (SSNs) issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA), exclude SSNs of individuals prohibited from employment in the United States, impose fees on returns using individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs), and require SSN verification. Specifically, it (1) revises the child tax credit (IRC §24(e) and (h)) to require SSNs for the taxpayer, spouse, and qualifying child on or before the return due date, eliminating prior identification flexibilities; (2) revises the earned income tax credit (IRC §32(m)) to require SSNs for ineligible dependent and qualifying child identification; (3) revises the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits (IRC §25A(g)(1)) to require SSNs for the taxpayer, spouse, and eligible student; (4) requires a $300 fee per ITIN holder (taxpayer, spouse, or dependent) on U.S. resident individual income tax returns (IRC §6109(i)(5)), except in cases of reported SSN theft; and (5) directs the Secretary, in coordination with the SSA Commissioner, to verify the correctness and validity of submitted SSNs (new IRC §6109(e)). (Thus, these changes limit credit access for ITIN users—typically noncitizen residents ineligible for SSNs—and increase filing costs and verification rigor for such returns.) All changes apply to taxable years, returns, or documents after the date of enactment, except the ITIN fee applies to returns due after enactment (without regard to extensions).

This section revises civil penalties for improper entry under INA §275 (8 U.S.C. 1325) to not less than $3,000 and not more than $10,000 for any offense (from $50–$250 for a first offense and $100–$500 for subsequent offenses) and restructures criminal penalties in subsection (a) to reference those civil fine amounts alongside maximum imprisonment of 6 months for a first offense and 2 years for subsequent offenses; adds a civil penalty of not less than $3,000 and not more than $10,000 under INA §276(a) (8 U.S.C. 1326(a)) for reentry (or attempted reentry) after removal (previously criminal penalties only under that subsection), subject to exceptions for DHS advance consent or certain prior removals; and imposes a new civil penalty under INA §222(g) (8 U.S.C. 1202(g)) of $50 multiplied by the number of months overstayed for aliens who violate nonimmigrant visa status.