Mayor Bill de Blasio (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)
April 17, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
The city has joined forces with a prominent foundation to create a new COVID-19 relief program for undocumented immigrants that will see some families receive up to $1,000, Mayor Bill De Blasio has announced.
The Open Society, a progressive philanthropic foundation, has donated $20 million to the city and together they have formed the COVID-19 Immigrant Emergency Relief program. The fund will provide one-time payments to undocumented immigrants workers who have suffered economic hardship due to the coronavirus and who have been excluded from the federal bailout.
Up to 20,000 undocumented workers and their families will receive direct, one-time payments from the fund. The fund will provide $1,000 for a family with children; $800 to couples–or a single parent with children; and $400 will be available to single adults.
“Immigrants are the heart of this city – they are our friends, neighbors and colleagues,” de Blasio de Blasio said Thursday.
“This crisis has shown it is now more important than ever for New Yorkers to look out for each other,” he said.
There are around 360,000 undocumented workers and 48,000 undocumented business owners in New York City, according to the mayor’s office.
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive relief under the recent $2 trillion federal stimulus plan, which saw payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child given to low-and-middle income Americans and green card holders.
The mayor said that the Immigrant Emergency Relief program will contribute to ensuring that all New Yorkers get the financial support they need, regardless of their immigration status.
Money from the fund will be disseminated through a network of community-based organizations and work centers – although it is unclear what the criteria will be to qualify for payment.
This network will also help immigrants sign up for other forms of relief like unemployment, SNAP, cash assistance, or emergency food delivery programs, the mayor’s press office said.
“This crisis has laid bare just how much we depend on low-wage workers who stock our grocery shelves, harvest and deliver our food, staff society’s essential services,” Open Society President Patrick Gaspard said.
Open Society is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world and was founded by billionaire businessman George Soros.
The foundation has also committed to providing $15 million to the New York City Fund for Public Schools to help families of essential frontline workers. These funds will be used for emergency childcare support and to help young and school-age children with remote learning.
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10 Comments
I keep hearing how the city is broke. How the city needs the federal government stimulus money to reopen the city. Somehow there is 20 million laying around? Hopefully it was siphoned off the biggest scam known as thrive. This con artist belongs in jail-plenty of room in there now that he has unleashed criminals back onto the streets. he is the disaster
Macnamara-You really need to take a remedial reading class. Did you even bother to read the article? “ The Open Society, a progressive philanthropic foundation, has donated $20 million to the city and together they have formed the COVID-19 Immigrant Emergency Relief program. ”
The money was a donation. Reading is hard.
If you ever had any idea what you were talking about you wouldn’t have your feelings hurt so often.
Really bumming me out Pat. Here I was thinking you got the Boomer remover…..
More rubbish from the worst Mayor ever.
Wasnt he going to build a wall and make Mexico party for it? Oops, total lie. Now look at the problems that result.
And you want to blame de Blasio?
What does Trump have to do with the Mayor off NY using 20 million of tax payers money on people who are not meant to be here?
Do you know what a border wall is? It’s a wall on a border.
Do you know what this article is about? It’s about immigrants.
Immigrants have to cross a border to get here. Hard concept, I know. But that’s how they’re related.
So Trump completely lied about building The Wall and the taxpayers have to bail him out now?
He was going to make Mexico have a fiesta?
Open Society belongs to billionaire George Soros, his organization is working solely on destroying a sovereignty of a country. Soros openly admitted USA stands in the way. He wants open borders and donates millions to non-profits that advocate for illegals under the human rights cloak. He burdens developed countries with an influx of illegals demanding that said county pay and support such individuals by providing them with free healthcare, education, housing. As more illegal refugees flood the country and governments are unable to collect enough through taxation of citizens, governments are forced to borrow more money. Eventually they run out of money to pay for basic needs and infrastructure for all, citizens or not. The economy collapses, the value of the currency collapses. Grand speculators like Soros make billions by betting on currency devaluations, while regular citizens suffer and loose their life savings living in poverty. Equality in poverty with elites like Soros running them all. Soros destroying USA one sate at a time with bought demonstrators, activists and local politicians.