Considering that they and their families have been largely excluded from federal programs, the mayor of the city of New York, Bill de Blasioannounced a partnership with the Open Society Foundations (OSF) to establish an emergency assistance program for immigrants in the city.
In doing so, OSF will contribute $ 20 million to provide monetary relief to immigrant workers who “are the heart of this city,” de Blasio said. “The crisis has shown that it is more important now than ever for New Yorkers to take care of each other.”
In the city of New York There are 3.1 million immigrants who represent 37 percent of the city’s population and 44 percent of its workforce, including 360,000 workers and 48,000 business owners who are undocumented.
In 2019, foreign-born New Yorkers, including the undocumented population, contributed $ 232 billion to the city’s GDP. Among the 1 million essential workers who have not stopped working because they are on the front lines facing the pandemic, delivery men, drivers and health care personnel, at least half are immigrants.
Being among the front-line workforce, in addition to putting themselves at risk, they also put their family members at risk.
“This crisis has revealed how much we depend on low-wage workers, who stock our grocery shelves, harvest and deliver our food,” acknowledged Chirlane McRay, the mayor’s wife.
But unfairly, “these essential workers are also the people with the least access to services and benefits, and almost all of them were left out of the government’s stimulus package,” he clarified.
For his part, OSF President Patrick Gaspard added that his association is proud to support this cause that provides direct assistance to these workers who, literally, “are defending our society right now while they wait for policy makers to address the structural inequalities with which they live every day ”, he concluded.
The aid will work as follows: First, the New York Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City will work in the network of community organizations scattered throughout the city to provide payments of Direct and unique emergency assistance to immigrant families, including the undocumented.
The aid will reach up to 20 thousand workers and their families affected by the loss of employment related to covid-19 and facing financial difficulties. The city’s network of community organizations and worker centers will distribute payments as follows: $ 400 to singles; 800 to couples or a single parent with children and a thousand to families with multiple adults and children.
The undocumented and their families, approximately 738,000 New Yorkers, including 218,000 children, are very vulnerable at this time. More than a third of New York’s undocumented workforce, in addition to their low incomes, are not eligible for most of the safety net assistance.
Hence the claim that the majority of Mexicans in that situation have sent to the Consulate General of Mexico in New York where the feeling is that they have been left in total helplessness.
From this office, they allege that they do not have resources to directly support the families and what they have done is to channel this need to the support programs available to the city and to which is added the one announced yesterday by de Blasio in alliance with the OSF.
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