Thread by @JimmyJenkins

Story Updated: Inmates in Arizona, California & New Mexico can't access stimulus payments because the IRS sent debit cards to the prisons. @ysalahi tells me it's "consistent with a pattern of the IRS failing to work with state correctional authorities"

https://twitter.com/JimmyJenkins/status/1352701667070754816?s=20

More: The Arizona Department of Corrections just released this inmate notification: "The Internal Revenue Service has sent a large number of stimulus debit cards to ADCRR . . . there is no system in place to process debit cards."

More details from an incarcerated person in Arizona about the confusion this debit card debacle is causing:

"Here is the general problem. Whenever something is sent to a prisoner which would be prohibited, the prisoner should get a contraband form/notification . . .

"That form would tell an inmate what was received. That form would then tell me (or others) if their debit card was received for either stimulus round. That form gives the prisoner the opportunity to send the item declared contraband to anyone on the outside. . .

Because no contraband forms are being issued, no one will know where their funds are, or if they were received and sent back to the IRS."

I asked this person to describe why the stimulus payments are important to incarcerated people and I'm going to post most of their response: "During the normal operation of the prison system, many prisoners can get a job if they desire. However, during this pandemic . . .

most prisoners are required to stay locked inside a building and are prohibited from working. The exception is for prisoners who are employed in an "essential" role. This would include jobs such as kitchen wokers, laundry workers, maintenance workers, or building porters . . .

There isn't a need for teaching aides, librarians, barbers wheelchair pushers, or recreation workers. Everyone is locked down, just like in society . . .

At best, prison wages are meager. During normal operations, the average prisoner makes about $21.00 every 2 weeks. After prison deductions, the prisoner has about $18.00 to spend for food every 2 weeks. During a pandemic, most prisoners loose that income. But expenses don't cease

If dental care is needed, the prisoner must pay. If the prisoner has no money, he or she still receives treatment, but goes in debt. Legal copies are made and legal mail is sent. And the prisoner goes futher into debt. When the prisoner goes back to work, he starts out in debt.

Without any money, many prisoners experience hunger on weekends. The prison supplies two meals on Saturday and Sunday. No income equals no lunch. Ramen soup is usually a prison staple. During a pandemic with no work, a simple soup is beyond the grasp of many. . .

Prisoners who had external support have lost that due to the struggle faced by their own families. A pandemic has the same consequences inside and outside a prison's walls. A hungry prisoner feels the same pangs as the hungry free man. . .

So why should society care if a prisoner gets their federal stimulus? Many prisoners owe restitution or child support. Guess who gets paid first? The children and any victims owed restitution. Now does society want prisoners to get that stimulus money? I'm willing to bet they do"