Here’s what you need to know about disaster relief for undocumented immigrants in California
An effort to provide disaster relief assistance for eligible undocumented Californians affected financially by the coronavirus has been deluged with calls, and the money is beginning to run out.
Twelve immigrant-focused non-profit organizations are working to distribute $75 million to the undocumented, who were not included in the federal stimulus package. The deadline to distribute the taxpayer-funded aid, announced by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in April, is June 30 or when funds run out.
They urge those who believe they qualify for the money to continue calling.
The assistance is directed to an estimated 150,000 undocumented Californians who do not qualify for unemployment benefits or assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economy Security Act. The aid, funded by the state, provides $500 per individual, with a maximum of $1,000 per household.
The assistance for undocumented immigrants comes as the state budget faces a $54 billion deficit due to the pandemic.
“The funds are still available, but it’s very limited,” said Rosa Flores, senior programs manager for Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.
More than 2 million undocumented immigrants live in California and make up one in 10 of the state’s workforce, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
Flores said she’s received multiple calls from immigrants asking which charities are dispersing the aid because people don’t know which organization to contact.
The Catholic Charities of California that serves Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties, received about $3.9 million from the state to distribute to an estimated 7,700 undocumented immigrants in those three counties, according to the legal counsel of the organization’s Center for Immigration, Legal and Support Sevices Marirose Piciucco.
By Tuesday, the organization had depleted its assistance to Marin County. San Francisco County’s relief has been depleted by 86% and San Mateo County’s relief has been depleted by 49%.
In total, the East Bay received enough funding to aid an estimated 30,000 immigrants. The Catholic Charities of California that serves Santa Clara County and a separate Catholic Charities of California that serves Alameda, Contra counties, combined, received enough funding to help 22,300 immigrants.
“We have had over three million calls,” Piciucco said. “The first couple of days our lines would crash. We actually had to get a new number.”
Phone lines were flooded the first day the 12 organization’s phone lines opened to disperse the aid on May 18.
So far, most of the calls have come from immigrants themselves, according to Piciucco, but there are cases in which children, extended family members, neighbors and employers have stepped in to help.
“It’s very difficult, because there is a big (technology) gap in the undocumented community,” Piciucco said, adding that some immigrants are having a difficult time uploading or downloading essential documents.
Even though phone lines continue to be jammed, Piciucco said they are necessary because many people do not have computers.
Undocumented immigrants need to provide documentation that confirms their identity, address, that COVID-19 has affected them financially and sign an attestation saying the documents in their application are true and correct, according to Piciucco.
When processing the aid for undocumented immigrants, Piciucco said she has read “heart-wrenching” letters from immigrants facing financial struggles and explanations from their employers about how they were laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Most immigrants seeking aid are “by far” Spanish-speaking, she said. The organization has provided translators, and most of the workers answering phones are bilingual.
“The state had initially said that this would be a six-week project, and due to the high demand those funds are being dispersed really rapidly,” said Liza Cardinal Hand, associate director of communications and marketing for Catholic Charities in San Francisco.
Because the disaster relief assistance is a one-time payment, Piciucco said, immigrants do not have to worry that receiving assistance will harm their chances at obtaining residency status or U.S. citizenship “in any way.”
Under the public charge rule, an undocumented immigrant who applies for more than one public benefit, like food stamps, can be penalized by having their visas or green card applications denied in the future.
In a Q&A section of the state’s disaster relief assistance for immigrants site, it notes that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has “not issued specific guidance related to this assistance.”
“They are very afraid of any missteps that could come back in the future should they have an opportunity to immigrate,” Piciucco said.
Flores noted that information shared with the nonprofit agencies will not be shared with government agencies.
“The chilling affect caused by the public charge rule is real. There’s a very tangible fear from undocumented Californians,” Flores said.
For those trying to access organizations to receive financial assistance, Piciucco recommends that they continue to be persistent and to continue calling.
“I think what this addresses really is the incredible need in the undocumented community, the hardship that they are facing,” Piciucco said.
Hand said some callers have called “50, 100 or even 200 times.”
Both Flores and Piciucco said they expected immigrants to use the aid to pay for housing and food.
“I wish we had more than $500 to give,” Piciucco said.
For those who aren’t able to get in touch with a nonprofit organization, the Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees launched a fund to raise another $50 million for undocumented Californians.
Here are the organizations to contact based on where you live. Para obtener ayuda, aquí están las organizaciones para contactar dependiendo de dónde vivas.
Northern California: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma Tehama, Trinity
Contact California Human Development Corporation at (707) 228-1338.
Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara
Contact Catholic Charities of California at (415) 324-1011.
Central Coast: Santa Barbara, Ventura
Contact Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project at Santa Barbara County: (805) 519-7776 or (805) 791-2003 or Ventura County: (805) 519-7774 or (805) 256 -1001.
Central Coast: Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz
Contact Community Action Board Santa Cruz at (877) 282-7174.
Central Valley: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Tulare, Mono
Contact United Farm Workers Foundation at (877) 527-6660.
Central Valley: Mariposa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba
Contact California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation at (877) 557-0521.
For Los Angeles, Orange county residents, contact:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice at (213) 241-8880
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights at (213) 201-8700 or (213) 395-9547
Central American Resource Center at (213) 315-2659
Inland Empire: Inyo, Riverside, San Bernardino
Contact San Bernardino Community Service Center at (909) 521-7535 or TODEC Legal Center Perris at (888) 863-3291.
San Diego: Imperial
Contact Jewish Family Service of San Diego at 760-206-3242.
San Diego: San Diego
Contact Jewish Family Service of San Diego at 858-206-8281.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Here’s what you need to know about disaster relief for undocumented immigrants in California."