COVID-19 pandemic has been a major challenge to health systems all around the world. In the United States, the virus is having a huge impact in communities that have historically been in disadvantage such as the African American community and Latinxs. Particularly, the latinx community is becoming the group with most deaths by the COVID-19 virus.

However, there is still an even more vulnerable group within the Latino community: all those with irregular immigration status or undocumented individuals. At least 11 million undocumented people do not have access to health coverage, work in unstable jobs and often have neither benefits nor the right to apply for unemployment benefit.

On the other hand, the current administration has passed a series of medical and financial support projects for those affected by COVID-19, however, these explicitly exclude undocumented Latinos. Based on their irregular status, this population cannot access to health care or stimulus checks, even though most of them pay taxes to the government.

Many of these regulations even affect U.S. citizens if they are living in the same household with undocumented individuals such as family members or spouses.

The situation does not improve for those who do have a job; most immigrants who lack immigration legality working in the U.S. work in fields like agriculture, cleaning services, transportation, and caregivers for children or older adults, activities that cannot be done from home.

Only 16% of Latinos have a job that can be done from the safety of their homes. In most cases, they are forced out of their homes so they can continue to bring financial support to their families, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This situation places them in a highly critical and vulnerable state to the pandemic where protection and physical distancing protocols do not apply, or they are not effective due to their working situation.

As a result, many Latinos without legal immigration status are afraid to seek medical help, even if its extremely necessary, making them potentially fatalities due to lack of clinical care.

The spread of COVID-19 has enabled the expulsion of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America. According to official information, United States has expelled more than 6,300 people through their border with Mexico, following the approval of emergency protocols to stop the spread of coronavirus.

This is possible due to the public health emergency order issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that prohibits the entry of foreigner’s travelers that are considered a threat for the spreading of diseases among the US. This mandate empowers federal authorities to overturn existing immigration laws, accelerating deportation processes.

The situation puts entire latinx families at serious risk, not only from getting coronavirus but also from being separated. Social protection for all is extremely important in times of crisis such as those we live in, where measures are taken not only to control the transmission of the virus, but to ensure the integrity and respect of human rights, regardless of race, ethnicity, or legal status.

It is extremely important that migrants are included in all protocols created to fight the spread of the pandemic, especially because of their high risk and vulnerability to the virus.

That’s the reason why NHCOA is committed to help disadvantaged Latinx communities. Through housing stipend, the organization will provide financial support to people strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

As an organization we continue to work alongside the Latinx community, enabling spaces of dialogue, helping research and inform the community, in order to protect the life and livelihoods of the entire Hispanic population and help to achieve dignified aging for the entire population in the United States.