The WALL Act of 2025 would (1) authorize a substantial, dedicated appropriation of $25 billion in mandatory spending to construct a physical border barrier along the U.S.–Mexico border, with the funds available until expended; and (2) enact a package of revenue and eligibility provisions intended to tighten identification and immigration-status verification across tax credits and federal benefits, largely via expanded use of Social Security numbers (SSNs) and the employment-verification program E-Verify. It also significantly raises civil penalties for illegal entry and overstay, and creates new penalties linked to unlawful reentry and overstays. In short, the bill couples border-wall funding with broad reforms to tax-credit eligibility and to erosion of benefits for noncitizens lacking valid work authorization. Key elements include mandatory funding for a border wall, stricter SSN requirements for popular tax credits and education credits, new ITIN filing fees, mandatory SSN verification in tax and benefit programs, federal and housing-program E-Verify requirements for noncitizens, and higher civil penalties for illegal entry and overstays.
Key Points
- 1Border wall funding: Provides $25,000,000,000 in mandatory spending to construct a physical barrier along the southern border; funds remain available until expended.
- 2Identification and tax-credit reforms: Alters the Child Tax Credit (and related credits) to require valid SSNs for taxpayers and qualifying children; tightens rules governing SSNs and identifies for credits and dependent claims; effective for tax years ending after enactment.
- 3ITIN and SSN verification: Creates a new ITIN-related filing fee (per return, tied to the number of individuals with ITINs on the return) and expands requirements to verify SSNs to ensure correct, valid numbers on returns; requires SSA to verify SSNs in coordination with the IRS.
- 4E-Verify for federal benefits: Requires the use of E-Verify to confirm immigration status for applicants/recipients of programs where eligibility is work-conditional, including certain federal benefits and programs administered by HUD and other agencies; grants rulemaking authority to implement these VERIfication provisions.
- 5Impact on housing and related programs: Extends E-Verify verification to multiple housing programs (Section 8, public housing, and other housing-assisted programs) to ensure noncitizens have work-eligible status; mandates denial of benefits if status is not verified.
- 6Minimum fines and civil penalties for illegal entry/overstay: Substantially raises civil penalties for illegal entry and deportation-related offenses (not less than $3,000 and not more than $10,000 per incident, with limited exceptions) and imposes a civil penalty for unlawful overstays (50 times the number of months overstayed).
- 7Effective dates: Various elements take effect on enactment or for taxable years ending after enactment; several provisions require implementing regulations.