The faces of this pandemic are easy to recognize: the doctor covered head to toe in PPE, the teacher lecturing through a computer screen, and of course the essential worker with an N-95 mask and plastic visor carrying our country through a recession on their back. While white-collar and professional sectors have been able to transition their employees to working from home – thus ensuring their health and safety – essential workers remain exposed to the highly contagious COVID-19. Immigrants are disproportionately employed in “essential critical infrastructure” jobs. Within this vulnerable group, the most endangered are undocumented immigrants who face risks beyond infection.
Health care, agriculture, sanitation, food processing & manufacturing, transportation, grocery stores, and warehousing & distribution of online orders are some of the essential industries in which immigrants – naturalized and undocumented comprise a significant amount of the workforce. These are also some of the industries that would incite drastic and destructive effects on the U.S. economy if they were forced to shut down tomorrow. Being critical to the country’s present and future ability to recover from the recession, essential workers must be given the recognition they deserve for being the backbone of the US economy. Therefore, it is necessary to understand who these essential workers are and what they are experiencing.
69% of all immigrants and 74% of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. work essential jobs. These rates are higher than any other group in the country., and translate into the fact that “immigrants fill gaps in the US economy, improve labor market efficiency, and support the aging US population.” 19.8 million essential workers are immigrants – 9.6 million being naturalized, 4.6 million being noncitizens with documents, and 5.5 million being undocumented. While foreign-born citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) are eligible for federal stimulus relief under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), 5.5 million undocumented immigrants are denied this aid despite being one of the hardest hit groups in the country. Communities of color across the country, which include the majority of undocumented immigrants, are another group whose economic and health conditions are being exacerbated by the pandemic. Essential workers identifying as BIPOC or non-white make up more than 30% of the workforce in all frontline industries except rail transportation. This shows how many of the hardships undocumented immigrants face can explain larger social, economic, and health disparities that are embedded in the U.S.’ landscape.
Working in an essential industry during the global pandemic means regularly exposing yourself to infection of COVID-19. Testimonies from essential workers, from health care workers to agriculture farmers, uncover how health and safety protocols are not always guaranteed nor enforced by employers. In a recent TIME article, Maria, an agricultural worker form Washington stated that it is not feasible for workers like her to maintain 6 feet of distance from her coworkers while performing her tasks on an apple orchard. Another undocumented essential worker Juan recounts in the Washington Post how his job at a diner in Berkley, CA has added a layer of stress to his life; he now constantly worries about contracting the virus and spreading it to his 9-year-old asthmatic daughter at home. At the risk of losing their low-paying jobs, undocumented essential workers must make difficult decisions about whether and how to demand safer working conditions and access to protection like masks and gloves.
Undocumented immigrants live with the backdrop of deportation, but those currently working also face the possibility of losing their sources of income. Many have already encountered a decrease in income because of reduced hours, pay cuts, and job losses. The probability of undocumented immigrants losing their jobs during this economic recession are much higher than US citizens and LPRs because of both their status and inaccessibility to education. Compared to US-born workers, immigrants have felt a 19% drop in employment during the COVID-19 recession.
In order to receive unemployment insurance (UI), federal law states that individuals must be authorized to work during the period of time they are claiming UI for and at the time of filing their claim. Yet, many immigrant workers have experienced a delay in their work authorization due to Immigrant Services office closures during the pandemic. This has led to the inability of many DACA recipients and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) individuals to file for unemployment nor receive UI. Along with undocumented immigrants, these groups were also excluded from receiving cash rebates from the CARES Act, because of the limitation on individuals who file tax returns using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security number. This limitation not only leaves out millions of essential workers and unemployed undocumented immigrants, but also their US-citizen family members because mixed status households are refused federal aid altogether. What can undocumented immigrants, essential worker or unemployed, do if they end up contracting COVID-19? Not much. A former construction worker, Evilin Cano, was told by three hospitals “not to bother coming in for testing” despite showing severe symptoms of COVID-19. Prior to COVD-19, undocumented immigrants generally avoided hospitals and seeking medical care for fear of being denied when applying for changes in status- as this is often used against immigrants for “taking advantage” of US welfare. Presently, undocumented immigrants have little accessibility to testing and treatment and are forced to rely on underfunded community health centers instead of state testing locations and hospitals.
While the country relies on essential workers for their health and safety, the roadblocks placed in front of an undocumented worker’s ability to live a life free of uncertainty have become glaringly obvious. Some states have taken steps to addressing these obstacles. California announced on April 15th a $125 million relief effort for families lacking legal status, Governor Newsom stated: “We feel a deep sense of gratitude for people that are in fear of deportation but are still addressing the essential needs of tens of millions of Californians.” Ron Desantis, Republican governor of Florida, expressed in June that “overwhelmingly Hispanic” farm workers and day laborers were the main source of the rise in new COVID-19 cases in the state. A statement proven untrue by the fact that farm workers had left several weeks prior as the harvesting season ended, and considering how spikes in the cases were located in non-agricultural areas. The events of the pandemic have made it quite clear that immigrants are indispensable, and arguably more valuable than anyone working from home.
The Trump administration does not seem to share this sentiment. Instead, it has put essential workers’ lives at risk with its lenient attitude towards social distancing and mask regulations and subjected them to economic instability by sheer exclusion to aid. This inconsideration for immigrants and the contributions they make to the U.S. falls in line with the xenophobic ideology that Trump and his Republican supporters have been propagating for the last three years. To them immigrants are an invasive group taking jobs and leeching off welfare programs, the first to be blamed for a native-born American’s misfortunes.
The current circumstances of undocumented essential workers and the attacks they are dodging from the White House and Congress, is bound to produce an outcome that will echo in every American’s life. If U.S. lawmakers cannot recognize the significant contributions made by undocumented immigrants, especially in this moment, we will all be at a disadvantage. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act or the HEROES Act has begun addressing this critical issue. The bill was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in May and is awaiting debate in the Senate. This $3 trillion stimulus package would include undocumented immigrants who have filed taxes, making them eligible for both stimulus checks sent under the CARES Act and the proposed second round under the HEROES Act. It would also solve many of the hurdles undocumented immigrants have faced while working or being unemployed during the pandemic by shielding essential workers from deportation and offering work authorization for UI. Finally, the HEROES Act would qualify undocumented immigrants for no-cost testing, treatment, and vaccines related to COVID-19. Under this bill, pressing concerns of undocumented essential workers will be resolved but permanent stability is not guaranteed. We must ensure this indispensable, essential group is provided with the opportunity to continue their lives in this country with no fear – they have more than earned it.
Melanie Pillaca-Gutierrez
References
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Donald Kerwin, Mike Nicholson, Daniela Alulema, and Robert WarrenDonald Kerwin, Mike Nicholson, Daniela Alulema, and Robert Warren
HopHaven Immigration Clinic 