Some Undocumented Domestic Workers Slip Through Holes In Coronavirus Safety Net

Marisa Peñaloza for NPR reports that, even before the coronavirus pandemic, the millions of mostly women of color, mostly immigrant and often undocumented domestic workers in the U.S. had little job security. But now the current health crisis has this workforce reeling. The U.S. Senate unanimously voted on a third economic relief package last week. Altogether the federal relief fund is about $6 trillion. Families will get direct cash payouts, but this package will not benefit taxpaying undocumented people, such as the nannies who care for children, the home aides who care for the elderly and the mostly women who clean homes. “It’s a real shame that the federal government is offering relief and that we are excluded,” says Ingrid Vaca, an undocumented home cleaning worker, in her native Spanish. “We become invisible even though we contribute so much to this country.”

KJ