How does your immigration status affect your eligibility for COVID-19 stimulus check and food programs?

By now, you have probably heard about the different emergency relief benefits the government is offering, including the COVID-19 stimulus check and food assistance programs. In this blog post, we will explain how immigration status affects your eligibility for these programs.

Your eligibility for federal benefits often depends on whether you have a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). SSN is given out to individuals with American citizenship, permanent residency, or work authorization that allows them to work in the United States. ITIN, on the other hand, is given to individuals who pay income taxes to the United States government but do not qualify for SSN, including undocumented workers.

Unfortunately, only residents living in the U.S. with a valid SSN can receive the stimulus check.

To be eligible for the stimulus check, you need to have a valid SSN. If you are married and file your taxes jointly, you must both have an SSN to qualify (i.e. if you have an SSN but your spouse has an ITIN, you will not receive the stimulus check). The only exception to this rule is if one or both spouses served in the military within the last year - if this is the case, you can receive the stimulus check even if you both have ITINs.

DACA and TPS applicants are eligible as long as they have work authorization and an SSN. If you are a dreamer, make sure to be on the lookout for the rebate.

If you have not filed your taxes yet for this year, the IRS will look at last year’s taxes. If you did not file last year either, but you receive social security and/or other benefits, you should still qualify for the rebate.

The amount you are eligible for depends on your income level, and will not affect your ability to receive other government benefits.

The maximum payment is $1,200 for an individual, $2,400 for a couple, and $500 for a child. Individuals with an income under $75,000 and married couples with an income under $150,000 qualify for the full amount. If your income exceeds this, the amount you receive is reduced.

The stimulus check is not taxable income, and it will not be counted as income when calculating your eligibility for benefits like TANF, SNAP, and Medicaid.

Need more help? The IRS operates centers that can help you navigate this process.

The VITA program offers free tax help to individuals with an income of less than $56,000, individuals with disabilities, or individuals with limited English proficiency. There are three places in New York City, which you can find here.

While SNAP is only available to documented residents, several food assistance programs do not look at immigration status.

For example, food pantries, child nutrition programs, school meals, and WIC do not have immigration requirements and will not ask to see your identification. You can check out our earlier article about food pantries here to find out where you can locate them.

There are two food assistance programs that people can use during the COVID-19 crisis: Pandemic EBT (P-BET) and Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). P-EBT, which provides an EBT card, offers nutritional resources to families losing access to free/reduced-price school meals. D-SNAP provides replacement benefits for households that qualify for SNAP and lost food due to a natural disaster like COVID-19. D-SNAP does not have immigration restrictions.

P-EBT is not considered in a public charge test. If you need an explanation of what a public charge test is, please refer to our blog post, “Examining 'Public Charge' & how it relates to seeking COVID-19 treatment."

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This article was co-written by DeYan McCarthy and Lucy Nuttall.

What kind of COVID-19 related benefits are there?

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people are struggling with unemployment right now. Many recently unemployed people qualify for various governmental benefits. In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits that are available and the qualifications necessary.

1. Unfortunately, undocumented workers are not eligible for unemployment insurance.

Workers must have work authorization at the time they are receiving benefits and throughout the time they worked. According to the Department of Labor (DOL), only ‘qualified aliens’ are eligible for federally funded benefits. This group includes:

• Lawful permanent residents

• Refugees

• Asylees

• People granted withholding of removal

• Parolees for more than one year

• Cuban/Haitian immigrants

• Certain survivors of domestic violence

2. People who do not qualify for unemployment insurance may be able to receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) under the CARES Act.

PUA provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits to some individuals who do not qualify for unemployment insurance, including those who have exhausted all their rights to unemployment insurance. The amount of PUA benefits you will receive is based on your previous income reported. PUA benefits may not be more than the state's maximum weekly benefit rate for regular unemployment compensation, which is $504.00 in the state of New York.

PUA’s 39-week period can be counted retroactively to start on January 27th. Workers who do not qualify for unemployment insurance, including self-employed individuals, part-time workers, and workers with insufficient wage history, may qualify. You can also qualify if you experienced difficulties resulting from COVID-19, including but not limited to:

• You have been diagnosed with or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and are seeking a medical diagnosis;

• You are providing care for a family member or a member of your household who has been diagnosed with COVID-19;

• Your child or another person for whom you are the primary caregiver is unable to attend school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and you are unable to work due to your childcare responsibilities;

• You are unable to reach your place of employment because you have been advised by a health care provider to self-isolate or quarantine because you are positive for or may have had exposure to someone who has or is suspected of having COVID-19;

• You have become the breadwinner/major supporter for a household because the head of your household has died as a direct result of COVID-19;

• Your place of employment is closed as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A $600.00/week boost of Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) will be automatically added to PUA benefits, if applicable, until July 31st.

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) will be available all through 2020. The last 13 weeks are for workers who exhaust state UI benefits and will maintain the same benefit level as state UI.

Please check the New York Department of Labor website here for a full list of qualifications and guidance on how to apply.

3. There are paid leave options available for people who have to take a leave from work due to COVID-19.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides relief for workers who have to take a leave from work for reasons related to COVID-19. This benefit will be available for the remainder of 2020.

The Act requires qualifying employers to pay employees 100% of what they would have made for 80 hours of work if they are unable to work because (1) they are sick with the coronavirus or (2) they are quarantining themselves in accordance with government guidelines.

The Act also seeks to help workers who have to take a leave to take care of their family members. Workers are eligible for two thirds of what they would have made for 80 hours of work if they are unable to work because (1) they are caring for family members either sick with the coronavirus or quarantining in accordance with governmental guidelines; or (2) they are providing childcare to children whose childcare facility or school closed down due to COVID-19.

Large companies with over 500 employees are excluded. According to the DOL, “Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for exemption from the requirement to provide leave due to school closings or child care unavailability if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.”

Employees who have worked for more than 30 days qualify for an additional 10 weeks of paid leave at two thirds of their regular rate for childcare reasons. Please note that this option is unavailable only if the child’s childcare provider or school remains closed.

All employees are covered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act regardless of immigration status.

This article was written by DeYan McCarthy and Lucy Nuttall.

Learn about workers’ rights that protect you from retaliation

Immigrant workers have the right to work in a safe environment under OSHA guidelines

The mission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is to “assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.“ Under the OSH Act of 1970, OSHA enforces several health- and safety-related guidelines to ensure that employees can work in a safe and healthy environment.

While OSHA has not released specific guidelines for COVID-19, it has existing health guidelines that require access to running water and hand soap. Workers who are facing a high risk of imminent danger, including healthcare workers, are considered priorities for inspection.

The safety regulations apply to everyone regardless of immigration status.

A worker who is experiencing a safety violation can complain to OSHA by phone or on its website. All complaints can be filed anonymously and do not ask for immigration status. Workers are protected from being fired or mistreated because they complained to OSHA. For example, an employer threatening to call I.C.E. because a worker filed an OSHA complaint is in violation of the law.

You should make sure that you file your complaint within 30 days of the violation taking place.

Using Collective Action to Improve Workplace Safety and Health

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Section 7 protects the right of employees to engage in “concerted activity […] for mutual aid and protection.” In other words, employees can talk to their coworkers about wages or working conditions, circulate a petition, or go on a strike.

The NLRA covers private-sector workers but does not cover agricultural laborers, domestic service workers, railway and airline workers, supervisors/managers, and independent contractors.

Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) Section 502 protects workers from being terminated if an employee stops working due to an immediate danger stemming from abnormally unsafe working conditions. This is not considered a strike.

This article was co-written by DeYan McCarthy and Lucy Nuttall.

How to Fill out the 2020 Census

The Census Bureau has offered three ways to fill out the 2020 Census: on paper, online and over the phone.

Paper (Mail) Response:

The Census Bureau has been sending out mailings starting on March 12. If you do not fill out the Census online or over the phone, they will include a physical paper copy of the Census. Depending on your community bilingual (English/Spanish) versions of the survey may be sent to you. The paper version looks like this (included below) -

All you have to complete the survey is check the correct boxes and fill in the necessary information with blue or black ink for everybody in the household. The following pages of the survey include the same questions for each member of the household. The survey asks the person’s name, age, birthday, sex, relation to the owner of the household and race. The person filling out the Census should include every person in the household on April 1, 2020. After completing the survey you should return it in the questionnaire in the provided envelope. If you lost the envelope then please mail the questionnaire to:

U.S. Census Bureau
National Processing Center
1201 E 10th Street
Jeffersonville, IN 47132

Online Response:

The online version of the census looks very similar to the paper version. Though on the online version you can fill out the survey in 59 non-English languages including: Spanish, Chinese (simplified), Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese and Japanese. In the original mailings from March 12-20, there is a card that includes detailed instructions of how to fill out the Census and a Census ID. To respond online, you should go to this website: https://my2020census.gov/login . That website will lead you to a page that looks like this -

Once you get to this page you can choose your preferred language at the bottom of the page. Then you input your Census ID, the Census will know your address. You can then complete the survey by checking off the boxes online.

What if you misplaced your Census Card?

If you misplaced your card or do not have access to your Census ID, you can click on the link at the bottom of the page saying, “if you do not have a Census ID, click here”:

If you click this button, the website will bring you to a page where you put in your information. For example:

After you enter your address into the website, it will take you to the questions just as if you entered your Census ID!

Phone Response:

To start your phone response, you have to call the number 844-330-2020

The number listed above is the in English. Each different language has a different number. If you go to https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone.html, they offer 12 different languages. The phone lines are open every day from 7 AM to 2 AM Eastern Time.

When you call the number, you will speak to a person, not a robot. They follow a script and ask you the exact questions you would see on the online or paper survey.

Due to COVID-19, Census centers have fewer volunteers who fill out the survey over the phone. There is usually a longer wait time to speak to a representative.