An estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants are essential workers amid pandemic, findings show
This post was originally published on this site
Findings from a new survey by the Center for American Progress (CAP) show that as many as 5 million undocumented immigrant workers—“nearly 3 in 4 undocumented immigrants in the workforce”—serve as essential workers amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, in front-line roles ranging from agricultural laborers feeding America to medical care professionals saving lives.
“Among those Americans bearing the brunt of the pandemic and its economic fallout are 10.4 million undocumented immigrants,” the findings said. “At the same time, over the past nine months, millions of these immigrants have worked alongside their neighbors to keep the country functioning and safe … after decades of taking these jobs for granted, the country has come to realize just how essential these individuals and their contributions are.”
The findings from the organization show that undocumented workers are represented in multiple areas of front-line response amid the pandemic. In some instances, like in agriculture and food processing, undocumented immigrants represent a significant portion of those workers. “[T]he U.S. Department of Labor’s National Agricultural Workers Survey finds that 49 percent of workers in the field are undocumented,” the report said, a number that may actually be a low estimate because of difficulty in measuring this particular population.
“Nearly one-quarter of a million—236,000—undocumented immigrants are working in a health care provision role, from 15,000 registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, to 19,000 lab and diagnostic technicians, to 139,000 home health aides, nursing assistants, and personal care aides,” the findings said. Close to 30,000 of these workers are young immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“We’re basically risking our lives,” Manuel Bernal, a 29-year-old emergency medicine physician in training and DACA beneficiary told The Washington Post in April. “But I also understand it’s part of the job I signed up for. I think it’s worth it when I see some patients come in who are extremely ill, and I’m able to intervene.” The Trump administration has been attempting to end the program for years now, a decision that “would be catastrophic at this time,” attorney Karen Tumlin told the Post. “We don’t have enough health professionals right now.”
“But beyond that, another 188,000 undocumented immigrants are working as custodians, food servers, and administrative workers to keep hospitals, nursing homes, and labs functioning,” CAP continues.
Undocumented immigrant workers have always been essential, but yet “[m]ore than eight months into the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government has not only largely ignored undocumented immigrants, but also locked their U.S. citizen spouses and children out of direct cash payments,” CAP said. “These payments were a lifeline to financial stability for many through the spring and summer, but they excluded 5.5 million U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who are spouses to or children of undocumented immigrants.”
As these workers stand to play a key role in the nation’s economic recovery, researches recommend the incoming Biden administration act on both administration and legislative relief to protect them, saying “providing legal status to undocumented immigrants must be considered a key tool to ensure the recovery is sufficiently robust and resilient, equitable and inclusive.”
“As our country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, we have come to realize so many people across the United States work to keep us all safe and healthy, including 5 million undocumented immigrants,” CAP immigration policy associate director for research Nicole Prchal Svajlenka said in a statement received by Daily Kos. “To ensure a fair and equitable recovery, these undocumented workers and their families must be protected.”