RAB Proposal Paragraph – Odalys

My research question is: How did COVID-19 impact undocumented immigrants in America? This topic interests me because I have been personally affected. As a daughter of undocumented immigrants, I witnessed my father, loved ones, and neighbors, put their lives at risk working at front-line jobs during quarantine in order to provide for their families. My family members despite having COVID still had to go to work because privileged Americans still needed to eat by having their meals made and groceries delivered. However, my father’s immigration status excluded him from receiving govt aid, even healthcare. Most of my loved ones working in the hospitality field got their hours cut off or got terminated because everything got shut down, leaving them in debt and in poverty. In my father’s case, it affected my household because my father barely made ends meet and with the death of my sister, my father was devastated and could not give her a proper burial due to our financial hardship. I know that undocumented immigrants did not receive unemployment, stimulus checks or food stamps due to their legal status until the end. Furthermore, I saw on the news protest being organized in hopes to obtain economic relief for the immigrant community. To add on, I know many undocumented immigrants passed away due to COVID and did not receive care because they were afraid to go to the hospital because of legal status or because they did not want to put their families more in debt. However, I know that towards the end in NYC, economic relief aid was given out to undocumented immigrants but few qualified. Some points that I plan to explore and find out more about are how were undocumented immigrants affected beyond economics. Also, are undocumented immigrants still dealing with the consequences that COVID left. Lastly how was the nation impacted as a whole due to undocumented immigrants not being able to perform essentials jobs either because of death, left to their home country or simply could not because of quarantine orders.  

MLA Citations for sources that I found (in alphabetical order): 

“Addressing COVID-19’S Impact on Undocumented Workers.” Www.opensocietyfoundations.org, www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/covid-19-and-undocumented-workers. 

Bonifacio, Ayendy. “Opinion | for Many Immigrants, an Even Greater Risk.” The New York Times, 25 Apr. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/04/25/opinion/immigrants-coronavirus.html.  

Runwal, Priyanka. “COVID-19 Took a Unique Toll on Undocumented Immigrants.” Science, 1 Sept. 2022, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/covid-19-took-a-unique-toll-on-undocumented-immigrants.