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Largest economic relief package in U.S. history fails the most vulnerable.

By March 27, 2020No Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

March 27, 2020  

CONTACT: Sam Yu | syu@nakasec.org 

 

Largest economic relief package in U.S. history fails the most vulnerable. 

 

 

Chicago, IL –  The third COVID-19 emergency legislation – Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act – passed the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, marking the largest economic relief package in modern U.S. historyWhile the package provides relief to some low-income families and denies funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), this mass of funds in many ways ultimately fails tens of millions of undocumented, incarcerated, and other critically impacted communities.  

 

We urge Congress to pass a fourth relief package that includes our communities. Three million Asian immigrants living in the U.S. do not have access to Medicaid even for emergency Coronavirus testing and treatmentFurthermore, unemployment claims are up more than 3 million from the previous week. The exclusions in this emergency legislation fail to take into account the realities that immigrant, people of color, and other families in this country are facing.  

 

This package bails out corporations for an entire year, while it only helps working families for several months. We demand that a fourth emergency legislation to 

 

  • Provide free COVID-19 relief, testing and care for all  
  • Suspend practices and policies that further endanger immigrant communities, like ICE enforcement and the public charge rule  
  • Expand unemployment insurance and cash payments to all people, including immigrants who pay taxes using an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number); and,   
  • Automatically extend protection for DACA recipients and TPS holders to ensure that our frontline workers in this pandemic have stability and the ability to stay safe, in light of the impending termination of both programs. 

 

Now more than ever, it is important to act together and not leave any community behind in a crisis that only exacerbates socioeconomic structures of inequality. We are witnessing great acts of heroism across the country in response to this crisis, from our health care providers putting their own lives on the line to neighbors assisting the elderly to donations to support families in need.  We need our Congress to put aside partisanship and also act with heroism in this moment.   

 

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Founded in 1994, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)’s mission is to organize Korean and Asian Americans to achieve social, economic, and racial justice.   

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