Among those most severely impacted by Covid-19 in the United States are Hispanic migrants who’ve been losing their jobs in significant numbers A few months ago just five percent of them were unemployed. Today nearly 20 percent are out of work.
Perhaps suffering the most are undocumented workers in the US state of California.
They benefit from neither unemployment insurance nor the $2.2 trillion stimulus signed in 2020 by US President Donald Trump. Though they collectively pay over two and a half billion dollars in local and state taxes each year.
Large numbers of legal migrants are eligible to apply for unemployment benefits but they are afraid to because of a new policy that makes it more difficult for immigrants to gain permanent resident status if they seek public assistance.
Mike Kirsch reports from Southern California.