Medical Care for Undocumented COVID Patients

A new survey from the Pew Research Center shows 68 percent of U.S. adults are in favor of the federal government providing medical care for undocumented immigrants with COVID-19. However, just 38 percent of respondents said they thought the federal government was responsible for providing economic aid to undocumented immigrants due to COVID-19 business restrictions.

Data shows that over a tenth of Latinos in the U.S. are undocumented, with an earlier Pew survey showing that nearly half of Latinos know of someone who is in the country illegally.

In the recent $2 trillion stimulus which sent $1200 checks to individuals and families across the country, undocumented immigrants were, for the most part, ineligible to receive these benefits. Some community health centers received stimulus money, which could be used to help better treat undocumented people. However, medical care for those people still has substantial hurdles due to lack of proper identification.

A second stimulus package does include relief for undocumented workers, however many have little faith that the bill will move through the House and Senate anytime soon.