Mayor Bill de Blasio (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)
April 17, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
The city has joined forces with a prominent foundation to create a new COVID-19 relief program for undocumented immigrants that will see some families receive up to $1,000, Mayor Bill De Blasio has announced.
The Open Society, a progressive philanthropic foundation, has donated $20 million to the city and together they have formed the COVID-19 Immigrant Emergency Relief program. The fund will provide one-time payments to undocumented immigrants workers who have suffered economic hardship due to the coronavirus and who have been excluded from the federal bailout.
Up to 20,000 undocumented workers and their families will receive direct, one-time payments from the fund. The fund will provide $1,000 for a family with children; $800 to couples–or a single parent with children; and $400 will be available to single adults.
“Immigrants are the heart of this city – they are our friends, neighbors and colleagues,” de Blasio de Blasio said Thursday.
“This crisis has shown it is now more important than ever for New Yorkers to look out for each other,” he said.
There are around 360,000 undocumented workers and 48,000 undocumented business owners in New York City, according to the mayor’s office.
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive relief under the recent $2 trillion federal stimulus plan, which saw payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child given to low-and-middle income Americans and green card holders.
The mayor said that the Immigrant Emergency Relief program will contribute to ensuring that all New Yorkers get the financial support they need, regardless of their immigration status.
Money from the fund will be disseminated through a network of community-based organizations and work centers – although it is unclear what the criteria will be to qualify for payment.
This network will also help immigrants sign up for other forms of relief like unemployment, SNAP, cash assistance, or emergency food delivery programs, the mayor’s press office said.
“This crisis has laid bare just how much we depend on low-wage workers who stock our grocery shelves, harvest and deliver our food, staff society’s essential services,” Open Society President Patrick Gaspard said.
Open Society is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world and was founded by billionaire businessman George Soros.
The foundation has also committed to providing $15 million to the New York City Fund for Public Schools to help families of essential frontline workers. These funds will be used for emergency childcare support and to help young and school-age children with remote learning.
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16 Comments
A business can get
Small business
loans”you dont have to pay back. They are dismissed
if it goes to your employees to keep them employed, the “loan” will be forgiven. If the loan doesn’t go to your employees, and it goes in your pockets, it would then have to be repaid to the government as the loan was for you to help you pay your payroll. So employees at this bar be aware of this’! Its your money,
make sure you get it.
Mr tight as a clam will keep his employees money. You can count on it.
It doesn’t make sense I guess it’s better to be illegal ??. I didn’t get my $1200 stimulas check yet
This isn’t right. Why should they even be here
My grandparents came here through Ellis Island on a ship that wasn’t a luxury liner. They waited for hours, if not days to take the necessary tests to stay here – physical and mental and they not only had to have a job waiting for them but had to have a place to live because there were no social programs and the U.S. wasn’t going to support them. I’m all for people coming here for a better life but I’m tired of supporting them, aggravated every time I call a city, state or federal agency and the first thing I hear is “for english press 1” – even for the IRS and NYS Unemployment! Bad enough they’re also allowed to get drivers licenses when I went to renew mine and had to show about 7 pieces of I.D. to renew it!!!
The Open Society: That’s George Soros.
who else. they should add to their name – Open for Illegals Society
De Blasio says ““Immigrants are the heart of this city – they are our friends, neighbors and colleagues,”
Yes they are. I am an immigrant as well. However, I am a legal immigrant who waited 15 years with my family to get here legally; respecting United States Federal Immigration Laws.
De Blasio conveniently left out the “illegal” part from his sentence. Just as Justin Trudeau in Canada calls them “Irregular Migrants”.. Seriously? We can’t call people “Federal Immigration Law Criminals?” Why have laws?
What do you tell all those folks who are waiting patiently from the same countries these illegals sneaked in from, that all they had to do is break Federal Immigration Laws to get rewarded in the United States. Basically, what we are telling them, CRIME PAYS.
People get pissed off
Let ICE Do their Job.
There is a direct correlation between Queens having the most deaths in the country due to Corona Virus, and having the most illegal immigration in a 2 mile radius. Before you dismiss this, read on.
This reason, most overlook, but it is one of the reasons why so many deaths are taking place in this area. We have the most illegals in the country living within a 2 mile radius. All of this takes place in North/West QUeens. Elmhurst, Corona, Flushing, Jackson Heights, Woodside, all located within a 2 miles from Elmhurst Hospital. All living in congested buildings. Many of whom are sharing a 3 bedroom apartment with 10 people.
Many illegals were afraid to go to the hospital with symptoms without proper ID, until it was too late. Hey, I’m an immigrant (legal as mentioned above) too in QUeens, and I know pretty much what goes on in my backyard. Those who live in this area, know exactly what I know.
Everyone looked the other way, because lets face it, it’s cheap labor; which allows these local vendors to charge less for items. However, it is an additional reason why we are paying a hefty price for it.
They continued working in supermarkets, diners, restaurants, nail salons, beauty salons, massage parlors, construction sites, tire shops, auto body shops, etc. and infecting people.
Why?
Because many were afraid to go the hospital for the fear of being deported, and/or for the fear of losing their jobs.
Never mind undocumented immigrants take care of the people on the front lines putting their lives on the line are the undocumented immigrants working or sitting home safe in their homes what a joke screw the Americans!!!!
And these racist rants begins. As always the insecure people have something negative to say.
Haters keep hateing
An there it is the race card.
What part of criminal you do not understand? EVERY single one of these illegals is a criminal for breaking our Federal Immigration laws. That is a FEDERAL crime.
Why is it racist to bring it up. Do explain that part “rican” and don’t pull a “sharpton” on us.
None of us responding to this has a problem with immigrants. Heck, I’m an immigrant as well. Came here legally. Waited my turn.
GTFO bring up a race card when citizens see illegals being rewarded.
Total BS
These people do not contribute to the system – when they need to bare children it’s free … when they need medical attention it’s free ….. now $20M is going to be used to support them !!!
You know, citizens are also to blame. And the whole notion of them ‘not contributing’ is very flawed. There are citizens who also work and false claim on their taxes, which is encouraged by many. While some do need the assistance, many don’t; but because they find out government hands out free money, they’ll claim they have all sorts of things just to get ‘free money’. Instead of whining and complaining, maybe we as citizens should voting for these types of people into office.
I should also add that those citizens that claim unemployment are mostly Hispanic. I guarantee you that if you go around and actually do some demographic research of those who are on some sort of government assistance program, you’ll see that a good number of people will be citizens of Hispanic descent. But no one wants to talk about it and blame the undocumented because it’s easier to do so. I know from personal experience that a good number of people within my community are u.s citizens but don’t work because it’s easier to obtain a paycheck from the government than to work a 9-5 job.
Yet again, illegal immigration is being rewarded.
Haven’t the mayor and George Soros realized the chaos in Elmhurst/Corona/Jackson Heights is driven by the large amounts of illegal aliens living in overcrowded conditions and not following the social distancing guidelines in public?
If Soros wants to help, he should buy these people one-way tickets or charter private flights back to their countries.
Maybe then Queens will have a fighting chance of not completely turning into a third world country.
Because they want their “slave” class . It benefits the elite. NYC is not much different than Ancient Rome