$2.1 Billion for Undocumented Workers – “Excluded Works” Hunger Strikers Celebrate in NYC

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 07: Excluded workers and supporters gather at Manhattan's Washington Square park to celebrate after a hunger strike the $2.1 billion Excluded Workers Fund passed by NY State lawmakers as part of the state’s new $212 billion budget deal for those left out of federal stimulus and Unemployment Insurance (UI) on April 07, 2021. NY’s fund will be the first entirely State run and State funded program in the nation to bring relief to individuals excluded from government-issued economic relief. Excluded workers did not receive federal unemployment aid because of various factors like immigration status. The eligibility requirements are not yet publicly clear, but the fund could provide payments to hundreds of thousands of people excluded from pandemic relief like the "Stimulus Checks" distributed to eligible tax payers. Media reports state New York will now offer one-time payments of up to $15,600 to undocumented immigrants who lost work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the undocumented did not qualify for unemployment insurance and federal stimulus checks or most government aid, they heavily relied on lifelines like food pantries, negotiating with landlords, and borrowing money. (Footage by Tomas Abad/Getty Images)