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Senate's $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Plan Leaves Out Undocumented And Their Families
By
Jake Offenhartz
and
Sydney Pereira
Published Mar 25, 2020
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Susan Walsh/AP/Shutterstock
By
Jake Offenhartz
and
Sydney Pereira
Published Mar 25, 2020
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As part of an unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus bill expected to pass the Senate on Wednesday night, many Americans experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 will soon be eligible for a $1,200 check and expanded unemployment benefits. But despite promises from Democratic congressional leaders, the sweeping legislation will leave behind some of the country's most vulnerable residents: undocumented immigrants and mixed status families.
According to a draft of the bill, the relief explicitly excludes those without Social Security numbers from obtaining the one-time cash assistance payments that will soon be sent to millions of Americans. Even more glaring, advocates said, the bill disqualifies individuals who would otherwise be eligible, but jointly filed their taxes with a family member who doesn't have a social security number.
Those stipulations will leave out a significant number of undocumented and mixed status families, many of whom file their taxes using Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs). The restrictions represent a major shift from language included in the House version of the bill earlier this week.
"They almost had to go out of their way to exclude immigrant families and mixed status families," said Anu Joshi, the interim vice president of policy at the New York Immigration Coalition. "We're incredibly disappointed and frustrated."
Deborah Axt, the co-executive director of Make the Road, called the new legislation "horrific" and "disgusting."
"This is a tiny amount of money in a $2 trillion package," she said. "It's a clear example of Trump and his allies in congress putting their mean- spirited hatred above protecting health of our communities."
There are more than half a million undocumented immigrants living in New York City, and an untold number of mixed status families.
"These are the people cooking, delivering our food while we're all inside socially isolating, the folks doing the deep cleaning of houses and offices, who are taking care of our very elderly and very young," said Joshi. "They were cut out of the cash assistance and they were cut out of any kind of unemployment insurance."
The four-month extension of unemployment insurance will also not apply to undocumented immigrants, who are not eligible for the benefit.
A technical loophole that prevents many lawfully-present immigrants, such as those with DACA or Temporary Protected Status, from accessing federal Medicaid was also not resolved in the bill, said Joshi.
Senator Chuck Schumer celebrated the legislation on Wednesday, claiming in a press release that he had "doggedly negotiated for days to deliver on a plan that best protected workers."
During a press call with reporters and his New York colleague, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Schumer seemed to suggest that the bill's protections would apply equally for all those residing in the United States.
"If an immigrant loses their job, they get the same thing as a non-immigrant. It's done by people, not by status," Schumer told a Gothamist reporter who asked about the protections. "The coronavirus doesn't look at your documentation. We don't want people who have it to be on the streets looking for work."
A spokesperson to the senator, Paige Tepke, later conceded that a large number of immigrants would be disqualified from the relief, adding, "Senator Schumer fought against this."
Gillibrand said on the call, "There's huge incentives in the bill right now to continue to pay your workforce."
"So to the extent there's undocumented workers working at small businesses, working at big businesses, all the incentives in the bill is to make sure workers are continuing to get paid," she said.
A spokesperson for Senator Gillibrand hasn't yet responded to our questions.
Tagged
COVID-19
immigrants
coronavirus
stimulus
trump
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Sydney Pereira
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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