You are reading

Non Profit Launches Guide to Help Undocumented Immigrants Tap Into Excluded Workers Fund

Make The Road New York holds a rally calling for funds for excluded workers prior to state budget (Instagram)

April 14, 2021 By Allie Griffin

A local nonprofit has launched a bilingual resource guide on the state’s recently passed “Excluded Workers Fund” for undocumented immigrants who have lost work due to the pandemic.

Make the Road NY has created a website to help residents who qualify for the fund access accurate and up-to-date information about the program.

The group created the website after the state legislature established the fund as part of its $212 billion budget deal reached last Tuesday.

The $2.1 billion “Excluded Workers Fund” will provide payments of up to $15,600 to undocumented immigrants who lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Undocumented immigrants have been ineligible to receive financial support from federal relief programs—like unemployment insurance and stimulus checks—due to their immigration status.

The new fund would provide relief to undocumented New Yorkers who lost their jobs and didn’t qualify for such aid, which would cover tens of thousands of Queens residents.

There are 58,000 Queens residents who will be eligible to receive funds once applications for the program open, according to Fiscal Policy Institute.

State Sen. Jessica Ramos spearheaded the effort to establish the fund as part of the budget.

“This long overdue relief will offer hundreds of thousands of New York’s excluded workers the financial support they need to be able to provide for themselves and their families,” Ramos said in a statement last week.

“The fund created in this budget will go a long way in recognizing the vital contributions our undocumented New Yorkers have had on our state’s response and recovery, and I am hopeful other states will begin to do the same.”

The state-led fund is the most significant of its kind across the country.

Those eligible to receive a payment must provide documentation proving their eligibility, such as a tax return from 2018 to 2020 or proof of former employment. The exact requirements are still be determined by the NY Department of Labor.

Make the Road NY, which has a Jackson Heights office, will regularly update its website as more information about the application process becomes available. Applications for the fund have yet to open.

“As we celebrate these historic victories for our communities, we are also pivoting quickly to ensure swift and strong implementation and make certain that community members have access to all the most updated information about these programs,” said Theo Oshiro, Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York.

“We will continue to provide reliable, accessible, and bilingual information and help people get ready to apply once the programs are open.”

The website is also available in Spanish here.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Catch the fall vibe at these western Queens breweries

Sep. 3, 2025 By Jessica Militello

September rings in the start of Oktoberfest from mid-September through October, featuring special brews, fun events and more fall fun. Western Queens is filled with breweries to enjoy seasonal brews, fall flavors and the start of cooler weather as Autumn approaches, making it a perfect time to meet up with friends at these local spaces.

Op-Ed | Four years after Hurricane Ida, Queens deserves real climate resilience

Sep. 2, 2025 By Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas

Four years ago, Hurricane Ida tore through our neighborhoods of East Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights, leaving behind devastation we will never forget. We lost neighbors to the floodwaters. Families saw their homes destroyed, their basements wiped out, their lives upended. Immigrant families—so many of them undocumented—were hit the hardest, often excluded from relief altogether. Ida was not just a storm; it was a wake-up call.

Fall fun in western Queens: Your guide to the best seasonal events

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

With beach days and summer BBQs behind us, the start of September rings in the start of magnificent Fall foliage, Halloween and more fun activities that come with the start of Autumn, including a list of Fall events in the area. From apple picking to seasonal ciders and more, there is tons to explore in the community. From Mystic Markets to scary movie meet-ups and more, here is a list of Fall events you do not want to miss.

Fresh Meadows MS-13 gang associate sentenced to nearly a half-century in prison for murder of Corona teen in Kissena Park: Feds

An MS-13 gang associate from Fresh Meadows was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison on Tuesday, Aug. 26, for the 2018 slaying of a Corona teenager in Flushing’s Kissena Park.

Juan Amaya-Ramirez, 27, and his co-defendant Oscar Flores-Mejia, 25, from Elmhurst, who is also an associate of the transnational criminal organization, pleaded guilty to the murder of 17-year-old Andy Peralta in Brooklyn federal court last September.