Stupidity at its finest.
It's not a "benefit"; it's an advance on a "tax credit".
And if you have no SSN, you don't file taxes… ergo, you get no tax credit.
Fucking morons.
It's simple.
There are situations in which you don't have to file taxes. Insufficient income is the most prevalent.
This is a refundable tax credit.
Meaning if you made $0, you'd still the money,
(The child tax credit is another refundable tax credit.)
But you'd get it because you could file taxes; you just don't have to.
An illegal without a tax ID cannot file taxes. Therefore, they're not eligible for the refundable credit.