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While we remain in the throes of an increasingly savage pandemic, policy makers at all levels of government are trying to soften the impact of the outbreak on our physical and financial health.<\/p>\n
But they are not the only ones: A group of little-known organizations are trying to ease the impact on an especially vulnerable community \u2014 undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n
The outlook remains bleak, but California\u2019s hospitals thus far have been narrowly able to keep pace with the spread of COVID-19 cases \u2014 at least in part, experts say, because of the early statewide shelter-in-place rule imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month. Through Tuesday, California had\u00a046,506 people infected with COVID-19, and 1,873 deaths.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cUndocumented immigrant families are some of the ones who are going to be hit the hardest.\u201d \u2014 Eder Gaona-Macedo,<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n California\u2019s stay-at-home order \u2014\u00a0which has drawn challenges in federal court<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 is focused on reducing the upward trend of infections, and many other states have adopted similar tactics.<\/p>\n Some states, such as Michigan and Louisiana, took longer to react and they are seeing much larger proportions of their populations infected by the virus. As a result, they are experiencing even larger impacts on their hospitals and healthcare systems.<\/p>\n But the economic fallout from the lockdown policies has been painful, although the federal government earlier approved a $2.2 trillion stimulus package, the state is dipping deeply into it\u2019s reserves and more funds apparently are on the way.<\/p>\n In California, a number of groups are trying to ease that pain on undocumented immigrants, who are among the most vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n \u201cUndocumented immigrant families are some of the ones who are going to be hit the hardest,\u201d says Eder Gaona-Macedo, executive director for Future Leaders of America, which is working with a group called\u00a0805 Undocufund.\u00a0<\/a>The \u201c805\u201d refers to the area code at the center of the group\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n 805 Undocufund advocates for disaster relief for undocumented immigrants in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. It was established in 2018 as a response to the Thomas Fire, when \u201cundocumented families could not apply for any state or federal aid,\u201d Gaona-Macedo said.<\/p>\n During that crisis, and the resulting Montecito mudslides, the 805 Undocufund was able to work on the ground and provide services that included getting masks to agricultural workers so that they wouldn\u2019t have to breathe in smoke from the fire.<\/p>\n 805 Undocufund\u2019s money is managed by the Ventura County Community Foundation, a philanthropic group set up in 1987.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n But due to the contagious nature of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, 805 Undocufund\u2019s current efforts are limited to fundraising for undocumented residents.<\/p>\n Now, the primary service of the 805 Undocufund is to provide cash assistance, which is especially important in California where the cost of living is among the nation\u2019s highest. Undocufund\u2019s money is managed by the Ventura County Community Foundation, a philanthropic group set up in 1987.<\/p>\n \u201cOur efforts have essentially been the same,\u201d says Gaona-Macedo, \u201cbut the breadth of need that we\u2019re seeing is much larger.\u201d<\/p>\n Since its inception two years ago, \u201cwe\u2019ve been able to release $2.4 million to about 1,700 families across both Santa Barbara and Ventura counties,\u201d adding that \u201cas of [March 30] we have received about 2,300 inquiries\u2026 and that list is just growing.\u201d<\/p>\n Whereas the Thomas Fire and Montecito mudslides were localized disasters, COVID-19 is hitting everywhere all at once.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Sonoma Undocufund<\/a>, which was formed in response to the 2017 Tubbs wildfire, served as the model for 805 Undocufund.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cA lot of folks who can give might not be able to give this time around,\u201d says Gaona-Macedo. He noted that donors who were able to contribute to relief efforts in the past are now focused on providing for themselves and their own communities.<\/p>\n There are undocumented immigrants who face the same risks outside of the 805 area code, and a handful of organizations across the country who are attempting to alleviate some of that pressure, the most prominent of which are dispersed throughout California.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Sonoma Undocufund<\/a>, which was formed in response to the 2017 Tubbs wildfire, served as the model for 805 Undocufund and has reopened its operations to provide relief in Sonoma county. Last month two Undocufunds were established in\u00a0San Francisco<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Massachusetts<\/a>\u00a0in response to the pandemic.<\/p>\n Some resources are available for undocumented immigrants, but other than the Undocufunds that have been set up, the support is limited.<\/p>\n As was the case with those disasters from two years ago, federal aid, like the stimulus money or the recently expanded unemployment benefits, will not be available to undocumented families.<\/p>\n California, however, is providing $500 to immigrant workers and $1,000 to families \u2014 a marked departure from the Trump administration \u2014 to help deal with such basics as rent and food.<\/p>\n Even for citizens who do qualify for the stimulus money, which would amount to $1,200 for individual taxpayers, in much of California where the price of housing is exorbitantly high \u201cthat\u2019s not enough to even cover half of a month\u2019s rent,\u201d Gaona-Macedo said.<\/p>\n Even though all residents of California \u2013 be they citizens or not \u2013 benefit from Newsom\u2019s moratorium on evictions Gaona-Macedo worries that it may not go far enough.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough the moratorium does help people provide, like, a sigh of relief, it doesn\u2019t answer the problem that\u2019s going to end up causing when it\u2019s lifted come June 1.\u201d He cites a New York Times opinion piece when he says \u201cmaybe it\u2019s time for us to look at bailing out renters and doing a whole nationwide moratorium on rent so people don\u2019t have to worry about losing their housing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n