U.S. migrants excluded from stimulus aid

U.S. migrants excluded from stimulus aid

As stimulus checks continue to arrive in U.S. bank accounts, undocumented migrants are left wondering about their next steps in a pandemic that has taken away the few jobs available to them.

Gloria Tso reports.

Pandemic stimulus checks in the U.S. have been failing to reach one of the groups which needs them most.

Undocumented migrants are now left to face an uncertain future, as the pandemic also takes away the very few jobs available to them.

Holding signs reading Our Labor Saved Lives and Cleaners Live in Poverty, immigrant advocate groups rallied on the streets of New York City on Thursday.

They're calling on the state of New York to pass a $3.5 billion fund for undocumented workers who could not benefit from president Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package.

Reyna is an undocumented household cleaner and a mother of two.

“I am scared right now because I owe two months of rent.

And the landlord has been knocking on my door.

I tell him, 'wait, wait.'

But he says, 'for how long?'

I am going to take you to court.

And in all truth, I am very scared, because I am struggling.

I have a job for every eight days, working, making $80.

And I can't live off $80." Like many undocumented migrants, Reyna works on the front lines during the pandemic, but is increasingly struggling in the dwindling job market, and lacks medical insurance.

Theresa Thanjan from New York Immigrant Coalition says they are looking for ways to support workers like Reyna.

“You know, just these folks who come in for labor, contractors, those who, street vendors, these are people who are out there providing services every day, you know, providing products that people rely on every day, but yet they're not eligible for stimulus.

So that is why we have, we are also supportive of the Fund for Excluded Workers, because we really do believe that the time is now to support everyone in this economy." There are currently an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the U.S.