The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
As Washington struggles to negotiate a bill to provide relief from the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, two things are absolutely clear.
Any effort to help must put people first, and it can’t leave some people out.
During the first round of COVID-19 emergency aid, that’s exactly what happened. The Families First Coronavirus Response and CARES Act ignored low- and middle-income immigrant families, making them ineligible for the lifelines that were cast out for other working families.
We can’t repeat that mistake again.
The previous relief efforts did not provide assistance to hard-working families without documentation or to mixed-status families, many with U.S. citizen children or spouses. While other families were receiving cash to help them buy food or stay in their homes, many immigrant families were left without help.
And even as our country faced a deadly public health emergency, these same families were denied the chance to apply for Medicaid so that they could see a doctor or get treatment if they became ill.
Here’s what we know. Immigrant families and people of color have been hard hit by the spread of the coronavirus, all while comprising an outsized percentage of our essential workforce.
Communities of color have faced disproportionate illness and death. Black Mainers, including immigrants, are 24 times more likely to have tested positive for coronavirus than white Mainers. Latinx people make up just about 1.6 percent of Maine’s population but account for 2.8 percent of coronavirus infections.
Immigrants are on the frontlines of this crisis, harvesting the food and delivering the packages that keep our economy functioning, and caring for our loved ones in hospitals and nursing homes.
Yet our immigrant communities are the very people who have been ignored so far during the COVID-19 global pandemic and by the faltering national response.
It’s not fair, it’s not just, and it’s not acceptable.
In April, more than 40 Maine organizations, representing thousands of Maine people, sent a letter to Maine’s congressional delegation urging them to take action to protect these important members of our communities.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act over two months ago. This important legislation includes critical provisions that would improve health care access and economic support for immigrant families that would help hundreds of Maine families.
Now, as the U.S. Senate negotiates for a new round of relief, we’re asking that Maine’s delegation works to ensure that no Maine family is left behind again. We must urge Sen. Angus King and Sen. Susan Collins to support the HEROES Act and push for its immediate passage. We also must urge our senators to strengthen the legislation by adding critical health and economic stability protections.
The next COVID-19 relief package must reverse the public charge regulation and prohibit immigration enforcement actions at or near hospitals and other sensitive locations. Families should not be forced to choose between risking their health or separation from loved ones. The Senate also must make everyone eligible for nutrition assistance through programs like the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. With childhood hunger on the rise, this is also an urgent priority.
COVID-19 is a global catastrophe, which will hurt families for years to come. The best way for our communities to survive — and recover — is to ensure that we don’t leave any of our neighbors behind.
Julia Brown is the advocacy and outreach attorney for the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project.