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SoCal Groups Start To Distribute Cash, Food To Unemployed Immigrants

By Josie Huang
Published Apr 20, 2020 5:10 AM
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The jobless are getting some relief from stimulus checks and unemployment insurance. But those channels are closed to immigrants without legal status.

To help fill the gaps, community leaders and groups around Southern California have started to give small amounts of cash to out-of-work immigrants and their families.

Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, says the debate is not new but:

"This is not the moment to say, 'Hey, these are second-class human beings,' This is our moment to do things differently."

State and city government officials have also created funds. But immigrant rights' supporters say one-time payments won't be enough to help immigrants through a pandemic with no end date in sight.
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