At least 2 million undocumented workers who do don't qualify for a lot of state and federal benefits are part of the total population in California who got affected by the economic decline in the state caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, says an article.

Providing an Emergency Relief Fund

Congress is currently working to release emergency fun that aims to provide benefits to US citizens and permanent legal residents. However, these benefits do not include undocumented immigrant workers.

Additionally, undocumented workers are not qualified to claim unemployment insurance nor the California Earned Income Tax Credit. The California Income Tax Credit is a cashback credit that is released to workers in California.

Jobs Lost

The state-wide closing of non-essential businesses in California had allowed predictions coming from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. It forecasts that more than 280,000 jobs could be dropped in the following year.

Approximately, one in ten workers in California is undocumented. Also, their situations are worsening every day.

The Undocumented Immigrants

Until the previous week, Luis, an undocumented immigrant who does not want to disclose his identity, had worked in a car wash business in Los Angeles. The raining weather in the region had caused a cut in his work hours. From 40 hours to only 16 hours per week.

According to Luis, on Friday, they were told that the car wash business was going to close for a month. All of them took the announcement as a serious matter. For him, he could stay at home for the entire month but he had to work to provide the needs of his wife and child.

On Friday, about 26 employees of the car wash lost their jobs. Recently, he was able to get a part-time job at a liquor store. However, his savings were not enough to last him and his family for an entire month. 

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Maria Ortiz is also an undocumented immigrant. She is the owner of Ortiz Ice Cream in San Bernardino. Her business had been in operations since 2005. The business was issued with permits and a tax identification number.

Maria Ortiz is an undocumented resident who owns Ortiz Ice Cream in San Bernardino. She said her small business has been up and running since 2005 with the required permits and a tax identification number.

The business caters to events for the city and some educational institutions in the area. Approximately, 2 weeks ago, the situation worsened as the governor of the state had ordered the shutdown on non-essential businesses in the state. 

Currently, Ortiz and her husband, who is also an undocumented immigrant, are trying to find a way to provide for themselves and their four children (5 to 13 years old).

The greatest help they received so far is from the San Bernardino Unified School District. The programs were a grab-and-go meal service for children. They go to the area every day at 11:30 in the morning. After serving, they immediately go home.