Video: Leaving out the Undocumented
The Immigrant Integration Wire features a short film by our Data Analyst II, Arpita Sharma.
Leaving Out the Undocumented
Videos and films that talk about the impact of US laws and policies on undocumented immigrant communities are important. More films have arisen to shed light on the struggles and victories of immigrant communities in an era where anti-migrant rhetoric has been surging. As a Data Analyst at USC CSII and an emerging filmmaker, I wanted to use undocumented estimates our team has produced to shed light on how our current national policies are affecting this vulnerable community in Los Angeles County.
Our previous post discussed how the U.S. House of Representatives’ $2 trillion stimulus bill passed on March 27th, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, excluded tax-paying undocumented families. This exclusion extends to mixed-status families, as families who file taxes jointly with an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) are ineligible for the stimulus payment. In Los Angeles County, about 1 in 5 Angelenos are undocumented themselves or lives with someone who is. For these families who are unable to work and who are excluded from the stimulus checks in the COVID-19 relief package (which comes from a fund their tax money contributes to), the economic hardships they face will impact their ability to cover basic yet vital necessities like rent and groceries.
It has now been about three and a half months since the State of California issued stay at home orders for all non-essential workers. Many states, including California, have taken on policies to provide a stimulus to undocumented community members who have not qualified for the CARES relief. As the federal government continues to develop a second stimulus bill, a federal judge has allowed a lawsuit claiming that the administration improperly denied stimulus checks to undocumented, but tax-paying, parents of U.S. citizen children to proceed.
Currently, sixty organizations have been urging California to create a state response for immigrant communities. In addition, organizations such as Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) have launched the California Immigrant Resilience Fund, which seeks to raise $50 million to provide cash assistance to undocumented Californians and their families who are ineligible for COVID-19 federal relief and state safety-net programs.
To learn more information/news on these policies, readers can follow organizations like the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) and the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC).