During the pandemic, many immigrants in the U.S. had lost their sources of income due to restaurants and small businesses closing down temporarily and permanently while other employers were unable to continue to pay their workers and had to make the difficult decision of letting a number of employees go without being able to provide unemployment benefits. Unable to continue paying their bills, Immigrants had to face losing their homes and/or vehicles for transportation. A Chicago Suntimes article by Claudia Torrens states, “Unemployment among Hispanic immigrants has doubled in the United States, going from 4.8% in January 2020 to 8.8% in February 2021,” and that is only one population of undocumented immigrants finding themselves in economic-hardships. Due to their status, many immigrants did not qualify for stimulus aid and other economic assistance as many Americans who lost their jobs were able to fall back on, from March 2020- September 2021. Many immigrants have to make the difficult decision of going back to their home countries where they had to flee beforehand due to violence, corruption, and instability, or continuing to struggle financially in the U.S. until they can get back on their feet.
Black immigrants in the U.S. have been left out of the little assistance available for immigrants. Char Adam’s article on Black immigrants in the U.S. states, “In a country like America, whose empire is built on criminalizing foreigners, Black immigrants have an additional stressor around that, because Black people in this country are inherently criminalized. So navigating this country is uniquely painful,”. This quote is by Shamira Ibrahim, an immigrant coming to the U.S. who has experienced harsh racism along with her family facing discriminatory treatment by those around them, unwilling to help her and her family adjust to their new “home”.
If you are someone or know someone coming into the U.S. is experiencing homelessness or difficulty in finding employment, reach out to our Coalition’s number or, email us at info@africancoalition.org. We can help you and your family.
For temporary Assistance, follow this link for Los Angeles Homeless shelters:
https://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/city/ca-los_angeles
Sources:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/5/10/22429505/homeless-immigrants-covid-pandemic-homelessness
