The Immigrant’s Journal - Vol. 118

The Immigrant’s Journal Vol. 118

Our leaders who stood for Unity & Justice

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Protecting God’s Children From Distant Lands

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May 15, 2020

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Undocumented Workers Demand Better, Safer Working Conditions During Pandemic

BY MARISA PEÑALOZA, NPR

U

ndocumented workers are holding car caravans in several states Friday to demand dignity and safe working conditions. Latinx and Black immigrant workers are being forced to choose between a paycheck and their health.

Norma Morales is a 46-year-old single mother of two girls in New Jersey. She cleans homes.

"I started to feel symptoms four weeks ago," Morales says. "I came down with a deep cough and lost my sense of taste and smell."

Morales says she didn't get tested for the coronavirus because she doesn't have

BY FRANK SHARRY, AMERICA’S VOICE The following is a statement from Frank Sharry in response to a Washington Post report that President Trump is pushing to spend $500 million to paint the border wall black: health insurance. She decided to stay home.

"I was concerned about infecting my daughters and my community," she says.

Morales doesn't have paid sick time and says she lost income.

"This is the first time that I'm not work-

ing," says Morales, who came to the U.S. from Mexico 22 years ago. "I want to work, but I still feel weak."

Dana Marquez is an organizer with Cosecha, an immigrant rights organization and the organizer of Friday's car carcontinued on page 6

Changes to Affidavit of Support Are Unlawful... page 5

As Coronavirus Fatalities Rise, Trump Sends Immigrant Meatpackers Back to Work with coronavirus. 20 have died.

BY MELISSA CRUZ

T

he coronavirus presents a clear and immediate danger to America’s food supply.

Meatpacking plants in particular have taken a huge hit. To mitigate the loss of production, President Trump signed an executive order on April 28 to ensure that meatpacking plants “continue operations uninterrupted to the maximum extent possible.”

The order may help put food on Americans’ tables. But it does little for the health of immigrant and U.S.-born

workers who are at risk every single day they step into a plant.

Over 50% of meatpackers are immigrants, including many refugees. 6,500 meatpackers in total have been infected

Immigrant Meatpackers Suffer from Inadequate Health Care and Worker Protections Meatpacking plants have become hotspots for COVID-19, requiring many of them to shut down. The environment in these plants makes following social distancing guidelines impossible. Workers stand cramped in the slaughterhouse’s sweltering heat and experience frigid temperatures in the plant’s freezer. This poses a danger to continued on page 2

First COVID-19 Related Death in Immigration Detention: “This Death Was Preventable, Full Stop”

S

an Diego, CA: In response to the first COVID-19 related death of a detained person at the CoreCivic operated Otay Mesa Detention Center in California, immigrant rights advocates issued the following statements: Pedro Rios, Director of the American Friends Service Committee’s US-Mexico Border Program in San Diego, said: “We are saddened and outraged that a

Trump to Spend $500 Million on Painting the Border Wall Black?

person detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County has died with complications related to COVID-19. For months, advocates have been raising concerns that the detention facility would exacerbate deadly conditions for those it detains. People detained at the facility have held hunger strikes because they were not provided with adequate supplies of face masks or soap, and continued on page 4

W

e are in the middle of the greatest crisis of our lifetime.

It requires that all of us come together, have each other’s backs and pull through this as one America. We need a leader that inspires Americans to look past racial and ethnic differences to support each other.

Unfortunately, President Trump is no such leader.

Any other president would be all-consumed with forging unity and protecting lives. This one is all-consumed with deflecting from his abject failure to protect the American people and with exploiting divisions in a desperate and cynical attempt to cling to power. He wants to ‘other’ Latino immigrants in his quest to boost turnout of white grievance voters so he and his Republican donors can stay on top and line their pockets.

To this end, Trump wants to spend half a billion dollars on a darker shade of paint for a stupid border wall that is a monument to his vanity and a showpiece for his reelection campaign; not for more testing or more masks and ventilators.

Instead, it’s $500 million in black paint for his wasteful, offensive and ineffective border wall.

For Trump, the wall is not just a physical structure, but a politically-driven obsession. For the majority of us, the wall is not just a waste of money, but the perfect encapsulation of his presidency: divisive, distracting, narcissistic, mendacious, corrupt, racist, authoritarian, and ineffective.

No matter how much he tries, he can’t paint over failure.l Frank Sharry is a longtime advocate for immigrants, refugees, and generous and just immigration policies in America. He currently serves as the Executive Director of America’s Voice. He founded the organization in 2008.

IMMIGRATION CONCERNS

2

Back to Work/from page 1 all workers.

Immigrant meatpackers appear uniquely vulnerable in this situation.

Slaughterhouse conditions are exacerbated by a lack of worker protections and benefits. For instance, many immigrant meatpackers have limited access to health care. If they fall ill, they cannot rely on the safety net of the U.S. health care system.

Some may also feel pressured to continue working through an illness.

Immigrants—documented and undocumented alike—have been left out of the federal government’s coronavirus relief efforts. The food processing industry also doesn’t offer paid sick leave as a standard for any workers.

This combination could prove deadly.

Forcing meatpackers to return to risky work conditions without the needed health care or a safety net if they get sick could hurt them and their communities at a time when we should be prioritizing public health.

have a reliable supply of products like beef, pork, and poultry.”

With this designation, food processing plants are required to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.

But the order fails to protect the very people needed to keep this industry moving forward.

Meatpackers—as well as many other essential workers—still haven’t received hazard pay. And the executive order was reportedly drafted with guidance provided by grocery store executives, not labor unions or the workers themselves.

Trump’s Food Supply Executive Order Prioritizes Corporations, Not Workers The president invoked the Defense Production Act when he signed this latest executive order. The act allows him to designate meatpacking plants as “critical infrastructure” to “ensure that Americans

The Trump Administration Didn’t Act Quick Enough to Save Meatpacking Workers Unions leaders argue that the administration didn’t act swiftly enough to save workers’ lives or safeguard the U.S. food supply chain.

Some of the largest food processing

plants around the country have shuttered in the last month. Tyson Foods, the largest supplier of meat in the United States, shut down two of its pork-processing plants this week. These closures came as hundreds of workers contracted COVID-19.

President of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union Stuart Appelbaum said the closures happened for a reason: “When poultry plants shut down, it’s for deep cleaning and to save workers’ lives.

If the administration had developed meaningful safety requirements early on as they should have and still must do, this would not even have become an issue.”

Earlier requests to the Trump administration made by union leaders for aid and personal protective equipment went unanswered. In some cases, individual companies have had to fill in the gaps left by the federal government.

Protecting Immigrant and Refugee Workers Is Vital to Revitalizing the U.S. Economy The Trump administration deemed meatpackers “essential workers.” Its failure to respond to their needs suggests they are disposable.

But they have, in fact, been essential to the growth of rural America and the food processing industry for years.

Many of these plants—from Tyson to Smithfield Foods—are in rural parts of the country that suffered economic losses during the 2008 recession. Shifts in other blue-collar industries also hurt these communities. And aggressive immigration enforcement led to the arrest of many immigrant workers who had previously held meatpacking jobs.

Other foreign-born workers—and refugees in particular—filled in those gaps. Asian, African, Mexican, and Central American refugees now make up a large percentage of the meatpacking industry.

Communities that have accepted refugees have seen the benefits tenfold.

Communities once in economic tailspins have thrived thanks to the work of refugees and immigrants.

When America rebuilds after the coronavirus, these workers will be essential to revitalizing the U.S. economy.

The Trump administration must step up to protect these essential workers now.

Americans’ food supply, our communities, and people’s lives depend on it.l

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TIME FOR ACTION

3

What Will September Look Like? Perhaps Not What You Think.

BY TOM LIAM LYNCH

No academics to start. There shouldn’t be any academic work for the first week upon return. Call it Unit Zero. Everyone needs a chance to reconnect, to share stories, and to acknowledge that something unreal and potentially traumatic has occurred. It would be a mistake to “hit the ground running” with academics to start.

Give baseline assessments – both academic and social-emotional. All schools will need to determine how much students learned in the previous year, and what they need to learn next. Rather than schools developing these assessments locally, I suggest developing them centrally so Department of Education leaders can see clearly the contours of the need, and resources can be properly allocated. In addition, schools must also ensure that they systematically assess students’ social-emotional needs and have sufficient counselors available to support the community.

Map curricula, instructional models, and assessments. Too few schools have detailed maps of what their students are learning, how, and via what assessments.

These kinds of tools will be essential if teachers and parents are to be on the same page about what learning should look like.

Legal Advisor Brian Figeroux, Esq. Managing Editor & Editor-in-Chief Pearl Phillip Assistant Editor Marilyn Silverman

I

n their recent letter to families, the mayor and New York City Schools Chancellor committed to a “stronger” September than ever when schools reopen. I, like many parents, long for that day when children can return to their schools. My son misses his friends. He’s getting tired of his parents, day in and day out. Of course, we all want a stronger return in September.

But what does a strong September take?

There are several characteristics of a strong return, assuming we do actually return to “normal” in the fall. I’ll explain later why that might not happen. But first, here are six of the key things officials must be focusing on right now and that parents should know.

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Invest in differentiation. More than ever before it will be imperative that teachers differentiate instruction next year, calibrating it to specific student needs. In addition to being aware of how to support students with special learning or language needs, next year all teachers will need to differentiate based on content knowledge and skills from the PREVIOUS grade level. That's a big ask, especially of secondary school teachers who teach subjects that build tightly upon instruction in previous years.

They will need help.

Formalize digital learning models.

Every school, from this point forward, needs to have a meaningful digital learning model for face-to-face, blended, and remote instruction. This is where City officials can really help more than they have heretofore. (And appointing a digital learning deputy chancellor would help get this moving now.)

Upgrade Comprehensive Education Plans. All schools have comprehensive educational plans, or CEPs. They are harder for parents or others outside the school to find than they ought to be, but they represent a more nuanced look at how school leaders report running their schools and attend to community needs.

As officials are looking to the next school year, they should upgrade the CEP templates schools use to include an explicit area addressing Covid-19 response, and enhanced technology sections that articulate the school’s philosophy and resources related to instructional

technology, blended learning, and remote learning.

No matter what September looks like, the points outlined above must be addressed. But it’s also possible that we don’t return to normal in the fall. In fact, the Chancellor recently acknowledged there was a "50-50" chance schools would look the same when they reopen.

It’s possible that this pandemic doesn’t fade away on our terms, that public health officials determine it’s not wise to send 1.1 million children into the close proximity of classrooms. In that case, we might see more remote learning or other creative models where only half the students attend school at a time.

With these possibilities in mind, officials must begin to explore creative ways to make space for administrators and teachers to prepare for the fall. If September really might require the kinds of adjustments I am talking about, teachers will need time to plan and upgrade some of their pedagogical skills – both online and offline.

In whatever ways things progress, it would be prudent for officials to keep parents and the public abreast of their planning process, while soliciting input authentically and frequently. Planning for September starts now – for us all. l Tom Liam Lynch is editor-in-chief of the InsideSchools project at the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School and director of education policy at the Center.

Volunteering at THE IMMIGRANT'S JOURNAL LEGAL & EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. Internship positions available throughout the year.

The Immigrant's Journal Legal & Educational Fund, Inc. is an organization dedicated to the educational and economic empowerment of all immigrants and immigrant organizations here in the United States. We at the Journal recognize the enormous contribution of immigrants to this country economically, socially and politically. Since September 11, 2001, however, immigrants have increasingly been discriminated against and Congress has passed legislation curtailing the rights of immigrants here in the U.S., broadly claiming that immigrants are a threat to ''National Security.'' We at the Journal believe that these charges are unfounded, unsubstantiated and exaggerated.

The Immigrant's Journal Volunteer Intern Program was introduced to give our volunteers the opportunity to work in an immigrant friendly environment while developing the necessary skills for college or law school. They assist our staff in resolving immigration and other legal concerns through personal interviews, radio, email and telephone contact. They also assist the public with citizenship applications and in researching whether or not children of naturalized U.S. citizens have derived citizenship from their parents. Some of our volunteers assist our legal staff by engaging in legal research and writing letters on other legal issues. Volunteer interns are also assigned various other jobs in our Youth Programs.

Hours are flexible. Email your cover letter and resume or any questions to immjournal@aol.com Tel: 718-243-9431 Fax: 718-222-3153

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IMMIGRATION MATTERS

4 ICE Faces Lawsuit Over Blocking Phone Access to Detainees

Detention Death/from page 1 the nutritional quality of their food has significantly diminished since CoreCivic closed down the kitchen. In response, CoreCivic fired chemical agents at detainees for raising concerns.

We hold ICE and CoreCivic responsible for this preventable death. Our state and federal elected officials need to do more to hold ICE and CoreCivic accountable for this death, for their disgraceful treatment of detainees, and to protect the lives of those unable to physically distance themselves while detained. The only reasonable and humane response at this moment is for everyone detained to be released.”

Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, said: “This death was preventable, full stop.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knew the probability of a COVID19 related death grew with each passing day, and still they did nothing to stop this tragic loss of life — the evidence was all there. People at Otay Mesa have been speaking out and protesting their incarceration amid the rising spread of the virus at the facility, including going on hunger strike to demonstrate the level of fear that exists and the urgent need to be released from detention now.

Thousands of doctors and hundreds of advocates have also been urgently sounding the alarm to release people from detention since early March, knowing

BY KATIE SHEPHERD that the detention system is notorious for its fatally flawed medical care and abysmal conditions that only worsen in times of crisis. Even the former acting director of ICE, John Sandweg, has called for the release of people in detention.

It was only a matter of time until COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in detention and people lost their lives, and even with this reality, ICE intentionally chose to look the other way and do nothing.

ICE is complicit in this loss of life.

Detention Watch Network demands an immediate investigation by the Office of Inspector General and the immediate release of people from ICE detention.

Governor Newsom and members of Congress must take action now to stop ICE from continuing to jeopardize lives in detention during the pandemic.This death was preventable. Now, more than ever, we see the importance of ending this arbitrary and inhumane system of detention. ICE must act immediately to release all people from detention now to ensure no further loss of life occurs.”

Dr. Ranit Mishori, Senior Medical Advisor at Physicians for Human Rights, and Professor of Family Medicine at Georgetown University said: “This heartbreaking tragedy could have been prevented had ICE, DHS, and CBP heeded the recommendations of medical experts and acted in time. Thousands of doctors, advocates, and even the former acting head of ICE have been sounding the alarm for months about the grave risks of immigration detention amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The government cannot say it did not know this would happen.

Meanwhile, more than 30,000 people are still being held in immigration detention centers, with no meaningful ability to social distance or practice meticulous hygiene. If ICE wants this tragic COVID-19 death to be an outlier rather than the new normal, it must act now to release detainees on humanitarian and public health grounds. All people deserve to shelter in place with their families rather than be confined to the potential death traps of ICE detention facilities.” l

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free phone call can mean the difference between a fair day in court and being deported to harm—or worse—for individuals held in immigration detention centers.

Immigrants may not be able to meet with their attorneys in person, leaving phone calls as the only way to communicate about their cases.

Being able to communicate with an attorney is crucial for immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the El Paso region of Texas, where the approval rate for asylum applications is consistently under five percent. The situation has become even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On May 4, a lawsuit was filed to force ICE to eliminate the barriers to phone access in two immigration detention centers in the El Paso area. The lawsuit, Carranza v. ICE, was filed on behalf of individuals detained in the El Paso area at the Otero County Detention Facility and the El Paso Service Processing Center— each with the combined capacity to detain thousands of people.

ICE has a pattern of blocking phone access for months Attorneys trying to speak with their detained clients have reported the following problems: sThe inability of people in detention to call their attorneys at a designated time, which was particularly problematic when telephonic interpreters were lined up to talk at those times. sThe inability of people to call their attorneys or family members unless they had money on their commissary accounts. sThe failure of ICE to provide a space at the detention center that allowed for confidential, private conversations, thereby hampering their ability to share sensitive case details over the phone.

Phone calls with detained clients would drop suddenly and without notice.

Attorneys reporting that they would attempt to set up calls with ICE, but that sometimes they would wait nearly two weeks for a response. Other times, they never got a response.

Pro bono attorneys reported that one of ICE’s solutions was to direct their officers to allow detained immigrants to make legal calls on the officers’ cell phones— but those conversations were likely not confidential.

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continued on page 14

5

HOW TO GET A GREEN CARD

USCIS’ Proposed Changes to the Affidavit of Support are Unnecessary and Unlawful

BY DIANE RISH

T

he U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is currently proposing significant changes to the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), and related forms I-864A and I-864EZ. One of the major changes would be to require that U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents sponsoring a foreign spouse or relative for a green card must disclose detailed bank account information to the federal government on the form. This would include the name of the banking institution, account number, routing number, and the names of all account holders.

The Affidavit of Support is a form required for most immigrants seeking to reside permanently in the United States based on close family ties to show that they have adequate financial support and are not likely to become a public charge.

It is also required for some intending immigrants seeking to reside permanently in the United States based on employer sponsorship.

The form serves as a legally binding contract in which the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who is sponsoring the intending immigrant promises the U.S. government to financially support

the individual if the immigrant is unable to do so on their own. The sponsor must prove that they have the means to maintain an annual income equal to at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for his or her own household, plus the intending immigrant and any family members immigrating with the intending immigrant.

What is most troubling about USCIS’ proposed changes to the Affidavit of Support is that the law does not authorize USCIS to collect such bank account information.

By regulation, the sponsor must provide evidence of their income by submitting a copy of their most recent federal tax transcript or return. In addition, the

sponsor may include letters evidencing current employment and income, paycheck stubs, financial statements, or other evidence of the sponsor’s anticipated household income for the year in which the intending immigrant files the application.

If using assets in lieu of income, such as money in a bank account, the sponsor may submit evidence of the sponsor’s assets, such as savings accounts, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, real estate, or other assets. As such, the agency’s blanket proposal mandating the collection of detailed bank account information from all U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents sponsoring their foreign spouse or relative for a green card is

an unauthorized information collection.

Additionally, USCIS is proposing to require that sponsors must have the Form I-864, and related forms I-864A and I864EZ, notarized by a notary public. This new notary requirement is an inconvenient and needless burden which has no basis in the law.

It would add undue and unnecessary burdens on sponsors by imposing unnecessary costs, travel burdens, and logistical challenges to have these forms notarized by a notary public. This requirement is particularly burdensome and potentially dangerous in light of social distancing protocols currently being imposed by local and state authorities, as well as countries around the globe, in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

USCIS’ proposed changes to the Affidavit of Support are yet another attempt by USCIS to impose new requirements on the public, disguised as a form change, for which the agency lacks statutory and regulatory authority.

USCIS stakeholders and the public must hold the USCIS accountable. USCIS is currently accepting public comments on these proposed changes through May 11, 2020.l

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TAX MATTERS

6

Did An ID Thief Steal Your Stimulus Payment? Report It to Us.

BY SEENA GRESSIN, FTC

D

o you think your economic impact payment has landed in the hands of an identity thief?

You can report it to the FTC and the IRS at the same time. Here’s what to do.

Visit IdentityTheft.gov, the government’s one-stop resource for people to report identity theft and get a personal recovery plan. Click “Get started.” The next page asks, “Which statement best describes our situation?” Click the line that says, “Someone filed a Federal tax return — or claimed an economic stimulus payment — using my information.”

You’re on your way.

IdentityTheft.gov will ask you some questions so that it can complete an IRS Identity Theft Affidavit (IRS Form 14039) for you, and submit it electronically to the IRS. You can include a personal statement too, to tell the IRS details about how your identity was misused to claim your economic impact payment. You also can download a copy of your completed Affidavit for your files.

And, IdentityTheft.gov also will give you a recovery plan with steps you can take to help protect yourself from further identity theft.

Use IdentityTheft.gov to report suspected identity theft only. If you have other concerns about your economic impact payment, visit the IRS’s Economic Impact Payment Information Center and Get My Payment Frequently Asked Questions pages for detailed, and frequently-updated, answers to questions. You also can find information here about payments that the IRS may have deposited to an account you don’t recognize.

Whether you’re waiting for your payment, or even if it’s already arrived, keep alert for scammers trying to steal your personal information, your money, or

both. Remember, the IRS will not call, text you, email you, or contact you on social media asking for personal or bank account information — even related to the stimulus payments. Also, watch out for emails and texts with attachments or links claiming to have special information about the payments. They’re fake, and they may be phishing for your personal information or might download malware to your computer, tablet, or phone. l Seena Gressin is an Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC

Undocumented/from page 1 avans in Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas.

"There is a lot of frustration in the immigrant community," Marquez says.

"Whether it is meat packing or agricultural fields, undocumented immigrants have few protections. " "These workers are having to decide whether to earn a paycheck or be exposed to the coronavirus," Marquez says. "We are asking elected officials to create safe working environments for these essential workers."

"I feel very anxious," says Edgar, a building superintendent in Worcester, Mass. He doesn't want to give his last name for fear of losing his job.

His boss provides face masks and gloves, says Edgar in his native Spanish, "but even with all the precautions, I'm running a risk of getting infected."

Edgar and his wife came from Ecuador more than a decade ago. They are both undocumented, but their daughters are U.S. citizens. They are taxpayers, but by virtue of being a mixed immigration status family they don't qualify to benefit from the federal stimulus package.

"That's why I'm protesting in the caravan today," Edgar says. "I contribute to this economy, but if I don't work and risk my health, I don't get a check. I'm asking [that] we immigrants are treated with dignity too." l

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STOP THE SPREAD OF COVID-19!

LEARN HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS AT HOME. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19?

• The most common symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath. Other symptoms include feeling achy, loss of taste or smell, headache, and diarrhea.

• Most people with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will have mild or moderate symptoms and can get better on their own.

WHO IS MOST AT RISK FOR SERIOUS ILLNESS? • People age 50 or older (people age 65 or older are at the highest risk) • People who have other health conditions, such as: Lung disease Kidney disease Asthma Liver disease Heart disease Cancer Obesity A weakened immune system Diabetes

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I GET SICK WITH COVID-19 SYMPTOMS? If you are sick with COVID-19 symptoms, assume you have it. When you are sick: • If you have trouble breathing, pain or pressure in your chest, are confused or cannot stay awake, or have bluish lips or face, call 911 immediately.

• Call your doctor if you are age 50 or older or have a health condition that puts you at increased risk, or if you do not feel better after three days.

• Always contact a doctor or go to the hospital if you have severe symptoms of COVID-19 or another serious health issue.

• Do not leave your home except to get necessary medical care or essential food or supplies (if someone cannot get them for you).

• If you must leave your home: Avoid crowded places.

Stay at least 6 feet from others.

Cover your nose and mouth with a bandana, scarf or other face covering.

Wash your hands before you go out, and use alcohol-based hand sanitizer while outside.

• Household members can go out for essential work and needs but should monitor their health closely.

If you or someone in your home is sick: • Create physical distance: Do not have visitors.

Stay at least 6 feet from others.

Sleep head-to-toe if you share a bed with someone who is sick, or sleep on the couch.

Keep people who are sick separate from those at risk for serious illness.

• Cover up: Cover your nose and mouth with a bandana, scarf or other face covering when you are within 6 feet of others.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue or your inner elbow.

• Keep it clean: Throw tissues into the garbage immediately after use.

Wash your hands often with soap for 20 seconds, especially after you cough or sneeze.

Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer if you are unable to wash your hands.

Frequently clean surfaces you touch, such as doorknobs, light switches, faucets, phones, keys and remote controls.

Wash towels, sheets and clothes at the warmest possible setting with your usual detergent, and dry completely.

Do not share eating utensils with others, and wash them after every use.

WHEN CAN I LEAVE MY HOME AFTER BEING SICK? • If you have been sick, stay home until: You are fever-free for three days without Tylenol or other medication and It has been at least seven days since your symptoms started and Your symptoms have improved • Reminder: New York is on PAUSE. This means that even if you have been sick, you should only leave your home for essential work or errands, or to exercise, while staying at least 6 feet from others.

NEED HELP? • If you are having a medical emergency, call 911.

• If you do not have a doctor but need one, call 844-NYC-4NYC (844-692-4692). New York City provides care, regardless of immigration status, insurance status or ability to pay.

• For more information, call 311 or visit nyc.gov/coronavirus.

The NYC Health Department may change recommendations as the situation evolves.

4.20

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LEGISLATIVE NEWS

8

Senators Introduce Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act in an Effort to Strengthen Health Care Workforce

S

PRINGFIELD: U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, along with Senators David Perdue (R-GA), Todd Young (RIN), and Chris Coons (D-DE) today announced they will introduce bipartisan legislation, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, to provide a temporary stopgap to quickly address our nation’s shortage of doctors and nurses, which poses a significant risk to our ability to effectively respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Senators’ proposal, to be introduced when the Senate reconvenes, would recapture 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for doctors that Congress has previously authorized and allocate those visas to doctors and nurses who can help in the fight against COVID-19.

“Consider this: one-sixth of our health care workforce is foreign-born.

Immigrant nurses and doctors play a vital role in our health care system, and their contributions are now more crucial than ever. Where would we be in this pandemic without them? It is unaccept-

able that thousands of doctors currently working in the U.S. on temporary visas are stuck in the green card backlog, putting their futures in jeopardy and limiting their ability to contribute to the fight against COVID-19,” said Durbin. “This bipartisan, targeted, and timely legislation will strengthen our health care workforce and improve health care access for Americans in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support these vital health care workers.”

“The growing shortage of doctors and nurses over the past decade has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Perdue. “Fortunately, there are thousands of trained health professionals who want to practice in the United States. This proposal would simply reallocate a limited number of unused visas

from prior years for doctors and nurses who are qualified to help in our fight against COVID-19. This shortage is critical and needs immediate attention so that our healthcare facilities are not overwhelmed in this crisis.”

Specifically, the Senators’ proposal: •Recaptures unused visas from previous fiscal years for doctors, nurses, and their families •Exempts these visas from country caps •Requires employers to attest that immigrants from overseas who receive these visas will not displace an American worker •Requires the Department of Homeland Security and State Department to expedite the processing of recaptured visas •Limits the filing period for recaptured visas to 90 days following the termina-

tion of the President’s COVID-19 emergency declaration The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act is endorsed by the following organizations: Illinois Health and Hospital Association, American Hospital Association, American Organization for Nursing Leadership, Physicians for American Healthcare Access, American Immigration Lawyers Association, FWD.us, and National Immigration Forum.

“AILA welcomes this bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Perdue, Durbin, Young and Coons; the bill would help address the critical healthcare shortage in the United States, a weakness that has been evident during the COVID-19 national emergency. International physicians and nurses who are willing and able to fill health care staffing shortages often have to wait years, if not decades, before they can permanently work in the United States.

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would be an important first step toward ensuring that our nation’s health care needs are met by qualified physicians and nurses in a timely manner, benefiting all of us,” said American Immigration Lawyers Association.l

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9

FAMILY MATTERS

5 Subtle Signs of Emotional Abuse You Might Be Missing 4. Discounting and Belittling With this form of verbal abuse, the abuser makes you feel like your opinions are worthless or wrong. This scorn causes you to shut down, question your stance, or even your self-worth.

VIA 311DIVORCE.COM

D

omestic abuse is unfortunately widespread. Over 3 million cases are reported each year in the US alone, with millions more suspected of going unreported, or even unnoticed. Verbal abuse is the most common form of maltreatment, but it also one of the least recognized because it is insidious and subtle. While lying, blaming, threatening, judging, criticizing, name-calling, ordering, and raging are easy to identify, there are other, less overt, forms that are more difficult to recognize, but still just as damaging.

1. Blocking Blocking is a diversion tactic. The abuser switches topics or blames you to divert your attention from your concerns, often leaving you feeling disoriented and betrayed. Often the words used here can be summed up by the phrase “Shut up!”

2. Interrupting and Undermining Finishing one another’s sentences is often seen as a romantic sentiment, but when an abuser does it, it’s to cut you down or to presume to know your feelings or statements. When abuser repeat-

5. Denying and Gas-Lighting Abusers often deny promises they made or events that happened, including abuse, which can make you question your memory and sanity. It is manipulative and maddening. They often combine contradiction with victim-blaming, which only increases the damage.

edly uses this tactic, it can leave you feeling frustrated and questioning your selfworth. Most of the time, this tactic takes the form of interrupting aggressively or turning your own words (presumed or stated) against you.

3. Opposing Instead of treating you as a partner or an equal, the abuser treats you as an adver-

sary, turning your own words against you as if they were ammunition. Often, your beliefs, perceptions, opinions, or morals will be questioned or attacked, making positive and constructive conversation impossible. When you give up out of frustration, the abuser will insist that he or she “won” the argument, as if your concerns were part of a competition.

Abuse in any form is damaging. Many of the above behaviors start slowly and progress over time, so the victim doesn’t realize how unlivable their situation is until the abuse reaches a dangerous (and often violent) point. If you, or a loved one, recognize any of the above behaviors, even if it is just occasionally, then make sure that you and your family are safe, and then seek further advice from a counselor. l Read more at www.311divorce.com

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BUSINESS & EMPLOYMENT

10

NY Frontline Workers with TPS Discuss Their Roles in Combating Coronavirus While Under Threat from Trump Administration

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ashington, D.C.: On April 30, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders working on the frontlines of the Coronavirus pandemic in New York joined immigration experts and advocates to discuss their critical role in protecting New York communities during this crisis even as the Trump administration is trying to deport them.

In the midst of an unprecedented global health crisis, New York TPS holders are part of the frontline response to combat the spread of the Coronavirus in the state.

In New York alone, 12,500 TPS holders are working in occupations at the forefront of the Covid-19 response, with 2,100 working in health care occupations. But the Trump administration is still trying to remove them from their communities despite their hard work and dedication to the country they call home, especially during this health crisis.

“During these terrifying times, as an essential worker I continue to work every day, putting myself at a higher risk of contracting the virus, despite taking precautions. This is the reality of hundreds of thousands of other immigrants across the country who are on the front lines

...Covid-19 has already exposed the vast inequalities of our country and immigrant workers are pulling their weight and combating the virus head on with 12,500 TPS workers in New York State alone... during this health crisis," said Crisanto Andrade, TPS holder and member of Make the Road New York. “And, as if it was not alarming enough, TPS holders like me are also waiting for the courts to decide our future. That is why I call for our work permits to be extended and urge Congress to act to protect and provide a permanent solution — including, a pathway to citizenship — for DACA, TPS

recipients, and the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the country."

Bishnu H, Nepali TPS holder, New York delivery worker and Adhikaar member said, “I am 44 years old. I am a TPS holder and work in Manhattan in food delivery. My children and my wife are still in Nepal. Despite all the danger and stress during these times, I still need to go to work. During this time, I am exposed to contracting Coronavirus, fortunately that has not happened- but I am worried and scared. I am the only one in my family that is able to work. My single income pays for everything from school tuition for my kids, rent here and in Nepal, to everyday expenses. I am a simple person. I don’t live on a lot nor do I ask for a lot. Through TPS I, like hundreds of thousands of other TPS holders, have a work permit and pay taxes which helps me support my family and this country. If TPS holders are given permanent residency, it would let hundreds of thousands of immigrants like me continue to work, help save lives and rebuild the economy. As an essential worker, I know my value — and that this economy depends on us. We have put our lives on the line to support our community. My request to everyone in Washington D.C. is to give us permanent residency now and ensure TPS status and work permits are extended until we can achieve permanent residency.”

Megha Lama, Immigration Organizer at Adhikaar said, “We have been working on the ground and in the policy sector. We have seen how immigrant communities are being impacted by this health crisis. Immigrant communities have been ignored for too long and we cannot let this continue happening.”

Anu Joshi, Vice President of Policy at the New York Immigration Coalition said, “The emergent data on the impact of Covid-19 has highlighted inequities of our society and the disproportionate

impact on low income immigrant workers. Neighborhoods in central Queens have emerged as the epicenter of the city, state, and country’s growing outbreak.

These same neighborhoods are home to the essential workers who put their lives at risk on the frontlines. These are the low-income immigrants who make sure our families are cared for, our homes and offices are cleaned, and our grocery stores stay stocked. Immigrant workers make up more than 50% of frontline workers in New York City and 33% of frontline workers statewide. 121,000 TPS holders across the country are in essential jobs and almost half of TPS recipients in New York State are essential. TPS workers are doing all this work under a cloud of fear about their immigration status which the Trump administration is actively seeking to eliminate.

There needs to be a permanent solution for TPS holders to stay together with their families and continue serving as essentials. In the middle of this crisis we need more than words: we need action.”

Douglas Rivlin, Director of Communications at America’s Voice said, “New York City and the tristate area are the epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis and New York is the quintessential gateway to immigrants past, present and future. Covid-19 has already exposed the vast inequalities of our country and immigrant workers are pulling their weight and combating the virus head on with 12,500 TPS workers in New York State alone. There has always been an underlying appreciation for immigrants and it is ever more present in this crisis as they are delivering our food and ensuring our health and safety. Despite this, the President and the administration has continued to shift blame and use them as a political prop. We are waiting for the courts to tell us what the future of TPS holders have, as we clearly see these immigrants demonstrating the hard work they are doing for their country and for their family.”l

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HEALTH

12

A Mysterious Illness is Striking Children Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic – But Don’t Be Too Quick to Tie It to Kawasaki Disease

BY MARK HICAR, THE CONVERSATION

C

ritically ill children have been ending up in intensive care units with shock-like symptoms in recent weeks, adding yet another mysterious layer to the coronavirus pandemic.

New York health officials issued an alert on May 4, describing 15 of these cases in New York City. The young patients, ages 2 to 15, had inflammation in multiple organ systems and were described as having features of Kawasaki disease, a rare childhood illness of unclear origin.

A few days earlier, officials in the United Kingdom notified doctors of similar cases there, also describing them as having features similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome. Several of the children had tested positive for COVID-19.

Drawing connections to Kawasaki disease, however, may be premature.

Although there are some similarities between the illnesses, there are also many differences.

My clinical practice is as a pediatric infectious disease physician. I also do biomedical research using the body’s immune responses, particularly the antibodies produced, to help find the cause of illness and to help design vaccines. Our group has been collecting samples from Kawasaki disease cases for years. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we responded to the call for researchers and began developing tests to assess the antibody response during COVID-19.

When we started on this path, I did not think these interests would overlap so

directly. However, with recent reports of certain COVID-19 cases looking like Kawasaki disease, we are now running tests to see if there is a similar immune response between COVID-19 and Kawasaki disease cases.

Kawasaki versus the new illnesses Kawasaki disease is an inflammatory condition in children who develop a prolonged fever, inflammation of the mouth and lips, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, inflamed eyes, and lymph node swelling that typically is only on one side of the neck. There can also be incomplete cases that do not have all these symptoms.

Kawasaki disease can have serious consequences: Roughly one-quarter of children diagnosed with it will have inflammation in the vessels that feed the heart, and rarely children will present with heart attacks or shock and need prolonged intensive care.

Unfortunately, we don’t know what causes Kawasaki disease. A litany of viruses, bacteria, fungi and environmental factors have been proposed in the past, including other members of the coronavirus family. Despite not knowing what causes Kawasaki disease, we have found that timely treatments with pooled human antibody preparations – intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG – can significantly reduce the heart vessel inflammation.

For the new COVID-19-associated cases showing a significant inflammatory response, many of the reports reflected in the media and public health announcements have not been published in medical journals. Instead, details have been shared among the medical community in conference calls, message boards and online meetings.

Only one case I know of describing Kawasaki disease associated with COVID-19 has been published. This case, like many of the cases being discussed informally, had no cardiac vessel involvement and lacked a number of clinical symptoms of classic Kawasaki disease.

Some overlap, but different symptoms There are a number of reasons why the

new COVID-19-associated inflammatory disorder and Kawasaki disease seem to be different entities.

Although there is some overlap, these COVID-19-associated cases have fairly different laboratory results. There also tends to be more severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting in new cases than would be usual for Kawasaki disease.

The impact on the patient’s heart is focused more on the vessels in Kawasaki disease. The COVID-19-associated cases, in comparison, are globally dysfunctional with only a few describing any vessel inflammation.

The ages and locations of the described new cases are also not typical for Kawasaki disease. Many of the children with severe COVID-19-associated shock are outside the typical age range for Kawasaki disease, which primarily targets children under 7.

The annual case count of Kawasaki disease is also much higher in Asian countries, particularly in Japan, where it is roughly 10 times the rate in North America. I would have expected an association to be described during the first reports of the pandemic, but informal reports from Japan and China don’t appear to describe this severe inflammation in children.

That being said, some children with Kawasaki disease will test positive for the new coronavirus. In North America, there are estimated to be 5,000-6,000 annual cases of Kawasaki disease.

Overlaying more than 1 million cases of COVID-19 throughout the United States, there will be some overlap.

What we still need to learn Reports about these new pediatric COVID-19-associated cases are very preliminary. We will learn more as research and details about ongoing and future cases are compiled by the medical community and published for more complete review.

Perhaps studying these new cases will shed much needed light on the cause of Kawasaki disease, a disorder that has perplexed pediatricians for a half-century. As both conditions appear to incite a large inflammatory response in certain children, continued research is needed to provide the “how” for the new COVID19-associated cases and the “what causes it” for Kawasaki disease.

States such as New York are making the right move by formally gathering data on severely inflamed children during this pandemic, as proper treatments for these new COVID-19-associated cases need to be found.l Micah Hicar is the Assistant Professor, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

13

Understanding Pre-Planning VIA WILLSANDESTATES.NYC

B

efore you can become familiar with estate planning, it’s imperative to understand the concept of an estate. Consider everything you own, including your car, home, bank accounts, and even personal possessions. Your estate consists of everything that is legally yours.

When you’re gone, it is in your family’s best interest that you have delegated where it all goes. Losing a loved one is never easy, but preparing for it by creating a legal will can relieve unnecessary stress experienced by a mourning family.

By meeting with a professional lawyer or estate-planning expert, you will eliminate the risk of long legal battles over your property when you’re not here to fight for it.

Who Needs a Plan?

It is easy for younger Americans to dismiss the idea that they need legally standing documentation related to their estate. However, it is important for people entering adulthood to sort their assets and begin forming their plan. For aging or retired people, it’s never too late to talk to a professional and get your estate in shape. Discussing death is never an easy topic, but the peace of mind that

comes with having a properly prepared plan in place can lessen the stress it may cause.Remember, explaining concise instructions for how your estate should be handled once you’re gone is a thoughtful way to express your love for yourself and family.

What it Contains Creating a solid estate plan requires several decisions and legal documents. It is the only way you can ensure the things you worked for remain in the hands of your loved ones. That is why working with a professional — in person — is

crucial to your legacy. Before you meet with an expert, become familiar with a few steps in the process.

attorney for healthcare, who will make the decisions according to the instructions you gave in the document.

Make a will: Typically, the first part of pre-planning is creating a will. It will express your wishes for who you want to inherit your property and appoint a guardian for young children in case both parents are demised.

Beneficiary forms: Choosing a beneficiary for your bank accounts means they become payable on death. Your loved one will avoid a lengthy probate issue in court once receiving the accounts. The process is involved yet important.

Schedule an appointment with a professional to protect your legacy and family.l

Healthcare directives: This section is to protect your wishes in case you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself. You will appoint a power of

Read more at www.willsandestates.nyc

Wills, Trusts & Nursing Home Asset Protection Learn how to Protect your Assets and Provide for your Loved ones

Get Answers to Start Your Estate Plan

At this consultation, we will discuss issues that include: Nursing home costs- the myth of the 昀ve year look back The advantages of Wills, Living Trusts & Probate How to maintain your privacy and protect your estate if you become disabled (Hint: Not all Powers of Attorney are valid) Why putting property in children’s names may be a mistake Protect one’s spouse when the other needs nursing home care Preserve your estate for your kids if your surviving spouse gets married How Probate works and more importantly, how to avoid probate How you can qualify and use Medi-Cal to pay for nursing home expenses Provide for special needs (disabled) children and grandchildren How you may be able to minimize federal and state taxes

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AMERICAN DREAM

14

How Storytelling During the COVID-19 Crisis Can Help Defeat Nativism

Phone Access/from page 4

BY WENDY FELIZ

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e are in the midst of a crisis unlike any we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. We are scared and scrambling to protect ourselves and the ones that we love. This is normal and understandable.

However, if we’re not mindful, the spread of the coronavirus and the accompanying fear could create a shift in American culture that—like after 9/11— could transform our national security and immigration policy and fuel divisive narratives about certain groups of people for years to come.

Immigrants and Asians in America are already being scapegoated and victimized. President Trump regularly demonizes groups as invasive carriers of disease by using outdated monikers like the “Chinese Virus” to assign blame, sew division, and deflect responsibility for his handling of the crisis.

Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration is also using the pandemic as an opportunity to close our doors to people from around the world. And with the economy likely heading toward recession, anti-immigrant groups—with a direct line to the White House—are already banging the drum to keep foreign

workers and students out of our country.

These calls will only increase as unemployment rises.

We must respond forcefully in this moment. If we don’t, we will find ourselves in the most isolationist and restrictive environment of our lifetimes.

The consequence could very well become the 21st century version of the Immigration Act of 1924. This measure essentially shut immigration to the United States until the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act opened the doors anew.

Our charge is to counter discriminatory and divisive narratives with positive stories. We must shift from an “us versus them” to an “all of us versus the coron-

avirus” narrative.

Telling stories that show everyone, including the foreign-born, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight against the virus are a great antidote to division.

Stories of immigrants and refugees in the medical profession can make a difference. Narratives about the frontline, foreign-born essential workers in grocery stores and restaurants can make a difference in what beliefs and perceptions are embedded in the public’s mind.

Winning the narrative battle sets up to win the policy battle. A united America working together to pull though the pandemic must be the winning story line if we are to defeat a new wave of nativism.l

The issue is not limited to the El Paso region These issues are not isolated to the two immigration detention centers in the El Paso area. A similar lawsuit was filed in 2013 on behalf of immigrants detained in several detention centers in California.

The resulting 2016 Lyon v. ICE Settlement Agreement requires ICE to meet certain phone access standards in those immigration detention centers, including access to free, unmonitored legal calls in private spaces.

ICE’s actions violate the government’s own internal guidelines The barriers to phone access in El Paso area immigration detention centers are interfering with immigrants’ fundamental right to counsel and access to the courts— protected by the U.S. Constitution and the federal court in Lyon v. ICE. The government’s failure to provide free, confidential phone calls to people held in immigration detention also violates the government’s own internal guidelines.

A phone call to the outside world may be the only hope that people in immigration detention centers have to prevent their deportation to imminent harm. Until the government takes meaningful steps to eliminate the barriers to phone access in immigration detention centers, the federal courts will have to force the government to do the right thing.l

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