Essential but Excluded: The Injustice of COVID-19 Economic Relief Policies for Undocumented U.S. Immigrants

The economic, social, and health ramifications of the global pandemic have been devastating for many, but particularly so for undocumented workers. This proposed eposter presentation provides a comprehensive overview of federal economic relief legislation and policy developments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlights the ways in which such legislation maintains the existing climate of economic inequity and exclusion of the undocumented immigrant community. Effective and immediate federal-level policies must be enacted to address the growing chasm of inequity in American society, particularly as experienced by often-essential undocumented immigrant workers. While specific standards related to work and quality of live are protected by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1948), exclusionary federal policies render these minimum standards inaccessible for undocumented workers. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, such policy invisibility has potentially disastrous implications for public health, community stability, child welfare and education, and emotional well-being.