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Undocumented Workers Endure Pandemic With Little Aid

Oregon Center for Public Policy

 

Undocumented workers in Oregon have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic not only their health but economically as well, according to a new report.

 

There’s an estimated 74,000 undocumented workers in the state, many of them with jobs paying less than $14 dollars an hour. They often work in industries that have been pummled by the pandemic like hospitality and retail, and in areas like agriculture that have have been critical to the state's economy.

 

According the report, "more than one of every 10 low-wage jobs in Oregon — those paying less than $17 per hour — disappeared during the recession." That's more than twice the loss of middle-wage jobs.  

 

Oregon Center for Public Policy analyst and author of the report, Janet Bauer said undocumented workers were affected to a greater degree regardless of whether they were able to hold onto a job.

“Undocumented workers were more likely to be working in a job that had a lot of job losses and they were also much more likely to be working in an essential job that exposed them to the virus,” she said.

Bauer says when outbreaks occurred in workplaces, undocumented workers lost income for extended periods.

While the average Oregonian recieved unemployment insurance, or other aid by way of federal stimulus checks, undocumented workers did not.

Most have gone almost entirely without aid apart from the Oregon Worker Relief Fund which helps those ineligible for federal relief. The state legislature passed the fund in 2020. Since then the fund has disbursed over $60 million to over 37,000 individuals across the state.

"Continuing to work through programs like the Oregon Worker Relief Fund that can make financial resources directly to households is going to be important, [undocumented workers] are stilll facing challeges," Bauer said.
But Bauer says more support is needed to help undocumented workers who have been vital to state's overall wellbeing throughout the pandemic.

Copyright 2021 KLCC

Melorie Begay is a multimedia journalist for KLCC News. She was the Inaugural KLCC Public Radio Foundation Journalism Fellow. She has a bachelors in Multimedia Journalism from the University of New Mexico. She previously interned at KUNM public radio in Albuquerque, NM and served as a fellow for the online news publication New Mexico In Depth.