EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that 125,000 undocumented workers have been laid off. The NJPP report is being clarified to reflect their analysis is that 125,000 undocumented service workers are at-risk of being laid off by the pandemic.
New Jersey’s undocumented workers are being disproportionately affected by the coronavirus crisis, as the industries that lean on immigrants are among the hardest hit, according to a new analysis.
More than 125,000 undocumented workers in New Jersey working on the frontlines of the service industry are most at risk of being economically impacted through layoffs due to the pandemic, according to a report released Monday by the New Jersey Policy Perspective and Rutgers Center for Innovation in Worker Organization.
None of these workers would see any government relief, as they are left out of the federal CARES Act, which includes the $1,200 stimulus check, and are unable to collect unemployment benefits if they lose their jobs, the report states.
“In many ways, immigrant workers make up the backbone of New Jersey’s economy,” said Brandon McKoy, co-author of the report and president of NJPP, a progressive advocacy group. “Immigrant workers, who often perform the dangerous work that allows many of us to comfortably practice social distancing, will be hit the hardest by the economic fallout of COVID-19."
The service sector — ranging from restaurant workers to bus drivers to childcare workers to retail workers — represents nearly a quarter of the state’s private-sector with 800,000 jobs, and will be the most hurt by social distancing and guidelines to continue slowing the spread of COVID-19, according to the report.
Most of these jobs are low-wage, and have become a key source of employment for low-income workers and immigrants due to decades of discrimination and inequities, the report continued.
About 858,000 people have filed for unemployment in the five weeks since the state effectively went into a shutdown to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. Experts say the number, which eclipses all previous records, is likely much higher as it does not include workers who are ineligible for those benefits. NJPP did not have an estimate of how many undocumented workers have been laid off.
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Undocumented immigrants, who make up less than 10% of the state’s population, account for nearly 16% of the workforce in the service industries.
“We are relying on a labor force that is so incredibly exploited,” said Janice R. Fine, co-author of the study and Director of Research and Strategy at the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization. “Part of what this crisis makes us do is see people we didn’t see before that, and it’s up to us to do something about that.”
Typically, undocumented workers are more likely to put up with bad workplace conditions -- like not following social distancing or not being provided PPE -- because they are more fearful of the consequences, she said.
Fine warned that leaving the immigrant workforce behind could have negative implications for the industries that depend on them. Some undocumented workers could move to other areas that are cheaper, be forced to find new source of income, and those who are fearful of seeking medical treatment could die.
The lack of low-wage workers would lead to gaps in the economy, Fine added, noting there have always been unjust exploitive workplace conditions, historically for African American workers and women.
“If employers can’t rely on this workforce, they’ll take a hit. If the labor force can’t find work, there’s pressure on the local government, there’s pressure on local hospitals and local infrastructure, because people are relying more on emergency services,” she said, describing the domino effect.
Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday he is considering a $600-per-week check to those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are ineligible for unemployment benefits, but would not commit to it.
“I’m open-minded to the $600 a week under the theory, as I’ve already mentioned, quite clearly, we’re running out of money,” he said during the April 23 press briefing.
California and at least 12 other cities, including Boston, Chicago and Minneapolis, have created funds for excluded workers and immigrants.
The governor’s comments came after Make the Road New Jersey, a Latino advocacy group, also released a report detailing the “deep financial insecurity” immigrants are facing amid the coronavirus pandemic. About 75% of the 220 respondents said they have no health insurance and more than 90% fear they can’t pay their bills.
Murphy urged those without health insurance who are being turned away to contact his office through the state’s COVID-19 website.
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Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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