Who Was Excluded from the Excluded Workers Fund

According to a new report published by the Urban Institute, a think tank that focuses on social policy, the Excluded Workers Fund helped 130,000 undocumented New York state residents make up for lost income, meet basic needs, and put dinner on the table. Those who benefited from the program include many working in industries hard hit by stay-at-home orders—this includes food service, street vending, and farm work.

In the early months of the Covid-19 emergency, Congress took rapid steps to widen the social safety net by increasing weekly unemployment payments, expanding program eligibility to include self-employed workers, and issuing multiple stimulus checks. But those without work authorization, such as undocumented immigrants, were ineligible for many of these benefits. In New York, immigrant rights advocates called on lawmakers in Albany to set aside dedicated funding for such residents. Those efforts, including a weeks-long hunger strike that began almost exactly one year ago, led to the passage of a historic $2.1 billion Excluded Worker Fund last April.

The program provided a maximum benefit of $15,600 per worker, equivalent to six months of traditional pandemic unemployment benefits. The report’s authors found that the money helped families afford basic necessities.

The report noted that without traditional pandemic relief, many undocumented workers took on loans in order to cover such expenses, as well as others like rent and utilities. Those who received support from the Excluded Workers Fund said the money helped pay those debts off.

The report was based on surveys with 15 eligible workers, many of whom described the program as a lifeline for their families. One farm worker who received $15,600 told the authors that she was able to pay off money she’d borrowed from friends during the pandemic, and cover family grocery costs during months when she didn’t have income.

However, the Excluded Workers Fund itself ultimately left a significant number of its targeted constituents shut out. The money was depleted within three months of its launch, and according to the New York State Department of Labor, approximately 95,000 applications are still pending.