New Fund For NJ Immigrants ‘Left Behind’ From COVID Aid

NEW JERSEY — For more than a year and a half, hundreds of thousands of immigrants in New Jersey have been left behind while their neighbors get much-needed financial aid to help them get through the coronavirus crisis, including stimulus checks and unemployment assistance. But soon, these “excluded” Garden State residents may be able to get $1,000 each through a new state program, officials say.

The New Jersey Department of Human Services has launched a website for the Excluded New Jerseyans Fund, which can be seen here. Eligible households will receive a benefit of up to $1,000 per person, with a maximum of $2,000 per household.

As of Friday, the program isn’t open yet.

When it’s up and running, the $40 million fund will provide a one-time, direct cash benefit to households who have suffered an economic hardship due to COVID-19, but were ineligible for federal stimulus checks and unemployment assistance. New Jersey residents who are eligible to get an emergency payment include undocumented residents and people reentering society from the justice system. Learn more here.

To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate:

• “Exclusion from both federal stimulus checks and COVID-related unemployment assistance”
• “Household COVID Impact”
• “Household income that is at or below $55,000”
• “Residency, Identity, Age”

“Once applications are open, they will be processed in the order they are received and until funds are exhausted,” state officials say on the website. “Applying for the program does not guarantee assistance.”

While the $40 million available in the fund will only be able to help a small percentage of families in need, it’s a big step forward for a population that deserves it, some advocates say.

Yesenia Moreno, a member leader of Make the Road New Jersey, said that a long-running campaign to get financial aid to undocumented immigrants in the state has finally paid off. But the push for more funding continues, Moreno added.

“We know that $40 million allocated to the fund will only reach a small percentage of families in need and urge the state legislature and Gov. Murphy to provide additional funds so that no one is left behind,” Moreno said.

Make the Road New Jersey will be helping people apply for the fund once it opens, spokespeople said. For more information or help with applications, text ALIVIO (“Relief” in Spanish) to 52886 or visit https://p2a.co/hZLwfJN.

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