Thousands of undocumented Californians hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for emergency cash relief starting Monday.
Undocumented residents who are 18 and older and can prove they have lost wages and other income due to COVID-19 will be eligible to receive a one-time payment of $500, with a limit of $1,000 per household.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the Coronavirus Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants program last month, pledging $75 million in state funds that he said would be supplemented with $50 million in private donations. The program aims to provide small grants to roughly 150,000 undocumented workers who are not eligible for unemployment insurance or federal stimulus checks because of their immigration status.
Luis Perez, legal services director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, said he’s expecting a flood of calls from clients interested in applying to the program.
"It is not just people who lost a job or get their hours cut. It’s any extra expenses of lost wages that people suffer because of COVID- 19," he said.
Interested applicants have to contact one of 12 nonprofit groups, like CHIRLA, that the state has selected to distribute the grants.
For more information about the program, click here.
— Farida Jhabvala Romero (@FaridaJhabvala)