Undocumented Immigrants Losing Homes during Pandemic

Sotero Cirilo sleeps in a small plastic shelter under a train bridge in Elmhurst, Queens, in New York City.

The 55-year-old immigrant from Mexico once made $800 per week at two New York restaurants. But they closed when the COVID-19 pandemic started. A few months later, he could not pay the rent for his room.

"I never thought I would end up like this, like I am today," he said in Spanish.

Cirilo mainly speaks a Central American language called Tlapanec. He is part of a growing number of undocumented immigrants who are losing the necessary resources to survive because of the coronavirus pandemic. They worked in hard-hit industries, such as restaurants, hotels and construction. The lack of income has made it harder for them to pay for food and housing, pushing some into homelessness.

Doubling unemployment

The Migration¹ Policy Institute compared jobless rates for Hispanic immigrants between January 2020 and February 2021. In one year, the number of immigrants without jobs doubled. Activists³ and social workers in states like New York or California say the undocumented immigrants who cannot receive government aid are finding themselves without a home.

Yessenia Benitez is a 30-year-old social worker who helps immigrants in Queens, NY. She says she has seen more and more groups of immigrants living on the street. They earn small payments from returning empty bottles, but they would rather be working.

"They want to contribute to society. And before the pandemic, they were contributing to society, some of them were paying taxes," Benitez said.

Jorge-Mario Cabrera is the spokesman for The Coalition⁴ for Humane⁵ Immigrant Rights, which operates a phone-in service to help immigrants in Los Angeles.

"We have seen an increase in calls from individuals living in the street, living in cars, living in garages or often living with friends in already overcrowded conditions," Cabrera said.

Losing a safety net

"They don't even have money to pay for their phone bills. This is why we are saying that one of the side effects of the COVID-19 (pandemic) is in fact a complete unraveling of the safety net for undocumented immigrants," he added. "While other communities are receiving (financial) assistance, immigrants are receiving nothing, most of the time."

Cabrera said many of the immigrants contacting the organization are still working, but their income has sharply decreased.

Alfredo Martinez is a 38-year-old Mexican immigrant who currently lives on the street in New York. He used to work in construction but his hours were cut when the pandemic started. Without regular income, he has been living on the street for four months.

Martinez now works some days as a laborer⁷ and is hoping to save enough to pay for a room. He wants to take a training course to have more dependable construction employment.

"The pandemic started and my world came crashing down," Martinez said. "This is the first time something like this happens to me. But I think it is temporary. I hope it is temporary."

A recent New York City report estimated there are about 476,000 undocumented immigrants in the city. The report by the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs found that 60 percent of undocumented workers have already lost their job or are at risk of losing it during the pandemic. That compares to about 36 percent of all workers.

The report said the poverty rate for undocumented immigrants in the city is 29.2 percent, while the rate for documented immigrants is 27 percent. The poverty rate for U.S. citizens in New York is 20 percent.

Help from cities and states

Some cities and states have begun to help immigrants who cannot receive federal assistance.

California gave some money to undocumented immigrants last year and New York lawmakers recently set aside $2.1 billion to aid undocumented workers who lost jobs or income during the pandemic. New York's program is the largest of its kind in the U.S.

Women cannot leave home to work

In Arizona, activist² groups say immigrant women who clean hotel rooms are suffering. Their children are attending school at home, so the mothers cannot leave home for work.

Petra Falcon⁸ is executive director of Promise Arizona, a non-profit in Phoenix⁹. She told the story of a woman who started a little shop to sell sweets and soft drinks to earn money. "This one lady ... was selling whatever she could to the people that live in the apartment complex so she could make enough money to pay rent," Falcon said.

Cirilo, the 55-year-old Mexican experiencing homelessness in Elhmurst, said he hopes to move back to his native country one day. "My children have asked me to go back," he said. "But I can't go back like this."

Words in This Story

rent – n. the amount of money a person pays to live in a building that some else owns

contribute – v. to give something (such as time or money) as a part or share

garage – n. a building or part of a building where people can keep a car, truck, or other vehicle

unravel⁶ – v. to fail or begin to fail

safety net – expression. something that helps someone who is in a difficult situation

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

6 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

7 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

8 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

9 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。