Will Gov. Gavin Newsom extend coronavirus relief to California’s undocumented workers?

Undocumented immigrants uphold California’s economy. Even now, with most of the state’s businesses shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, many of these laborers continue to do essential work to put food on our tables.

But for many other undocumented workers, the shutdown is a devastating financial blow. Restaurant workers, construction workers, factory workers and domestic workers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, have seen their jobs evaporate. While many farmworkers remain in the fields, risking their health to keep food on grocery store shelves, others have seen their jobs cut.

Nearly one out of every 10 California workers is an undocumented immigrant, according to the Pew Research Center. Unlike other workers, however, they can’t file for unemployment or get federal emergency relief. They pay taxes and contribute billions to our economy, but they must live in the shadows. In the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve been left on their own.

Casimiro, an undocumented farmworker, came to the Central Valley from Mexico in February to work in grape fields one hour outside of Sacramento. Last month, however, he said he was suddenly laid off. Casimiro, who asked that his last name not be used, doesn’t know why. He thinks it had something to do with “la enfermedad” – the coronavirus.

He said he immediately began searching for work but hasn’t had any luck. The month’s rent is paid on the apartment he shares with several other workers, but his money’s gone and the food supply is low. He and his fellow workers have no idea what will happen next.

“We’re looking and looking for work, but there isn’t any,” he said. “I hear many jobs are ending because of the sickness.”

“We are calculating how much food we can eat every day,” he added.

Casimiro’s story sounds familiar to Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation. She, along with others who serve the immigrant community, are hearing desperate pleas for help from undocumented people who don’t know where to turn.

On Tuesday, Garcel took to Twitter on Wednesday to deliver an emotional message to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“Just like we can lead and send 500 ventilators to New York at this moment, let’s live up to our ideals at this moment,” she said, addressing Newsom. “Let’s take it even further. Let’s put our arms around our undocumented Californians. We need to have some type of security for our families right now who’ve been struggling with fear.”

Garcel’s foundation, which focuses on California’s Latino community, has established a “Love Not Fear Fund” to help support community organizations assisting immigrant families in the Central Valley and Inland Empire.

Latino leaders in the California State Legislature are also pushing Newsom to act. On March 30, the California Latino Legislative Caucus sent a letter urging the governor to take immediate steps to help undocumented actions, including:

▪ Creating an “Emergency Disaster Relief Fund” through the state Employment Development Department (EDD).

▪ Allowing immigrants to qualify for the California Earned Income Tax Credit, regardless of their legal status.

▪ Extending Medi-Cal benefits to all low-income adults, regardless of their immigration status.

“California’s two million undocumented residents are an integral component of our social fabric,” said the letter, signed by 23 Latino legislators. “Like everyone else, they pay taxes, perform essential jobs and aspire to achieve the California Dream. In this great time of need,we cannot overlook their contributions and sacrifices. In fact, we need to meet this moment by providing them with access to emergency relief funding, targeted tax credits and comprehensive health care.”

Newsom said this week that he’s talking with the Legislature about a solution. Meanwhile, time – and food – are running out for California’s undocumented.

The governor has a lot on his plate but, without urgent action, the people whose labor feeds us may soon be staring at empty plates. Facing a severe hit to the budget, Newsom will likely seek to negotiate on the Latino legislators’ list of demands. But emergency disaster relief can’t wait. Newsom must find a way to provide desperately needed help for undocumented immigrants who have been barred from federal relief.

This week, Chicago Mayor Gail Lightfoot signed an executive order allowing the city’s undocumented immigrants to access city-sponsored relief. If a Midwestern mayor can take swift action, the governor of California surely can.

“If we’re afraid, just imagine how afraid they are,” said Armando Valdez of the Fresno-based Community Center for the Arts and Technology (CCAT). “It’s getting to the desperation point.”

Asked what he would say to the governor, Casimiro said: “We came here as workers – we came here as farmworkers. We’re looking for work, but we don’t know whether there are any projects where we, as immigrants, can look for support. That would be good. That’s what we need in these days, right?”

“Part of me feels panic, yes,” he said, when asked if he fears COVID-19. “But … I have faith in God.”

The bigger fear, Casimiro said, is that he won’t be able to fulfill the plan that brought him 2,600 miles north to California in the first place: to make enough money to afford medicine and care for his severely disabled son in Chiapas.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 8:00 AM.