Undocumented workers in New York who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic will soon be able to receive money from a $2.1 billion fund established by New York state legislators this week. Since the undocumented workers are not legal citizens of the U.S., they were not able to receive federal stimulus checks, unemployment aid, or other benefits.
Many lost their jobs across the country but New York saw some of the strictest lock-down orders, forcing many to leave flee the city and destroying businesses in the process.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers across the state risked their lives to keep our state moving and our families safe,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, said in a statement. “When unemployment rates skyrocketed last summer, many of those selfless workers were excluded from any type of federal assistance during this pandemic and we must take care of all New Yorkers.”
People can receive up to $15,600 total; taxes will be deducted before they receive the money. Workers won’t be eligible unless they were making less than $26,208 in the 12 months prior to the bill taking effect and unless they can prove they can still work. People must show a valid taxpayer number and a letter from an employer, along with other papers, to get the maximum payments.
People who can’t meet the more stringent documentation requirements can still receive a $3,200 payment, provided they prove their identity and residency.
Approximately 290,000 people will get money from the fund, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute.
Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein said, “despite having $22 billion more in funds available over the next two years than when the governor proposed the budget in January, leaders agreed to raise personal income and business taxes and to use some portion of federal funds to inflate spending that likely cannot be supported in the out-years.”
In a video message from Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, he said, “Rather than helping families, veterans, teachers, and senior citizens, the Democrats in Albany have made it their priority to push their radical agenda by giving a $2.1 billion taxpayer giveaway to illegal immigrants. Instead of giving people a reason to remain here in our state, this budget drives ever more families, seniors, and young New Yorkers away.”
1,600 Illegal Immigrants, Including Known Criminals Arrested in Only 3 Days at Border
‘Come one, come all’ was the Democrats’ promise to illegal immigrants during their desperate pursuit to get Biden elected in November. Now, Americans and agencies at the border in particular, are experiencing the repercussions. In only 3 days, more than 1,600 illegal immigrants were arrested in a single Texas border sector.
According to Austin Skero, the head of Border Patrol for Texas’s Del Rio Sector wrote on Twitter, “Over 1,600 arrests in three days for Del Rio Sector agents! These arrests include more than 25 smuggling cases, two criminal aliens, and were comprised of mostly single adults.”
Skero later gave additional information on the situation in a news release Tuesday: “our agents arrested two more sex offenders over the weekend one of whom was convicted of third-degree rape in Kentucky.” Skero added, “that is why it is critically important that Border Patrol Agents are out there, on the border, identifying everyone who crosses our borders illegally.”
The criminal, 49-year-old Roman Gonzalez-Flores of Mexico, was arrested after he illegally entered the United States from Mexico. The Epoch Times reports “officials later determined that he was convicted of the crime in 2004, was sentenced to two years in prison, and was most recently deported in 2021, according to the agency.”
Frighteningly, the agency said 56 illegal immigrants with prior sexual assault convictions have been “encountered” by agents since only October 1 of 2020. Catching criminals is just one of many hurdles border agencies are facing. On Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that 13 people died when their SUV collided with a semi-truck. The Ford SUV had roughly 25 women and children of all ages crammed together illegally being smuggled across the border after driving through a hole cut in the border fence.
El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino stated in a news conference “human smugglers have proven time and again they have little regard for human life.” Bovino warned, “those who may be contemplating crossing the border illegally should pause to think of the dangers that all too often end in tragedy; tragedies our Border Patrol Agents and first responders are unfortunately very familiar with.”
California Highway Mass Casualty Crash Involved Smugglers, Illegal Immigrants
A horrendous crash on a Southern California highway left at least 13 people dead. The crash occurred in the town of Holtville, about 125 miles outside of San Diego, and involved human smugglers and 25 illegal immigrants. A Border Patrol source told people dead on the scene. A thirteenth victim died at a local hospital and eight others were transported to different local hospitals for “several different life-threatening injuries.” The commercial truck driver was also hospitalized with moderate injuries. Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News that the crash occurred after a hole was cut in the U.S.-Mexico border fence near Calexico, California.
The vehicle involved in the crash was one of “two vehicles crammed with illegal immigrants inside” that “had driven through the ten-foot-wide hole in the early morning hours of Monday’s midnight shift, sources say, somehow evading a mobile camera system set up nearby” reports Fox News. The fence appears to likely have been constructed sometime between 2007 and 2009. Sources added “border patrol was not looking for the smugglers until they were notified by the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office about the crash, which occurred about 8 miles north of where the fence was cut.”
A California Highway Patrol Official told Fox News they are working with the Mexican consulate to identify the victims and notify their families. Victims smuggled in the vehicle were both males and females ranging in age from 15 to 53.”>Fox News Tuesday’s crash “involved an overloaded Ford Expedition, which normally seats eight, and a semi-truck near the U.S.-Mexico border.”
The back seats of the SUV had been removed to create more space for the human smugglers to fit the 25 illegal immigrants into the single-vehicle. “Authorities do not yet know if the driver of the Ford, who died in the crash, had stopped at a stop sign before crossing into the path of the big rig around 6:15 am, CHP Chief Omar Watson told reporters.”
The Ford’s left side was hit by a gravel-hauling semi-truck, and California Highway Patrol officers found 12 people dead on the scene. A thirteenth victim died at a local hospital and eight others were transported to different local hospitals for “several different life-threatening injuries.” The commercial truck driver was also hospitalized with moderate injuries.
Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News that the crash occurred after a hole was cut in the U.S.-Mexico border fence near Calexico, California. The vehicle involved in the crash was one of “two vehicles crammed with illegal immigrants inside” that “had driven through the ten-foot-wide hole in the early morning hours of Monday’s midnight shift, sources say, somehow evading a mobile camera system set up nearby” reports Fox News. The fence appears to likely have been constructed sometime between 2007 and 2009.
Sources added “border patrol was not looking for the smugglers until they were notified by the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office about the crash, which occurred about 8 miles north of where the fence was cut.” A California Highway Patrol Official told Fox News they are working with the Mexican consulate to identify the victims and notify their families. Victims smuggled in the vehicle were both males and females ranging in age from 15 to 53.
