NJ Will Restore ‘Raided’ COVID Fund; Immigration Activists Cheer

NEW JERSEY — Never underestimate the power of community organizing. This was the cheer that arose from immigration advocates on Friday after Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the state will be restoring the Excluded New Jerseyan Fund.

State officials, including Murphy, have been taking heat from activists after a fund set up with federal money to aid people “excluded” from other forms of pandemic relief, including undocumented immigrants, was re-appropriated for other COVID-related expenses such as payroll.

Despite only reaching a small percentage of those in need of relief – only about $6 million out of an initial $40 million has been distributed so far – the program was set to expire on Jan. 31. Learn more and apply online here.

If the state didn’t use the $34 million in federal funds it diverted by the end of 2021, it would have had to return them, officials said. Read More: Immigrant Rights Activists Blast NJ For 'Raiding' COVID Fund

Advocates have been blasting the program since it launched, alleging that it's needlessly overcomplicated and plagued with red tape and delays.

Others have said the program is vastly underfunded and doesn’t nearly address the need among the state's estimated 500,000 undocumented residents, 300,000 of whom are in the labor force. Read More: NJ 'Excluded Immigrant' Fund Was Set Up To Fail, Advocates Say

Undocumented immigrants in New Jersey paid an estimated $1.1 billion in federal taxes and $604.3 million in state and local taxes in 2018. Read More: Deporting NJ's Undocumented Immigrants Would Cost State Millions In Taxes

However, on WNYC’s “Ask Governor Murphy” live show Thursday, the saga took another turn when Murphy said he is working to replace the original funds acquired under the federal CARES Act by using money from another federal coronavirus relief package, the American Rescue Plan, which gives states more flexibility to distribute dollars.

Murphy made it official a few hours later, announcing that the fund would distribute $40 million as initially promised, Gothamist/WNYC reported.

In addition, the deadline has been extended for another month, and the Department of Human Services will be simplifying the application process, NJ.com reported.

The news got a hearty cheer from advocates on Friday, who said Murphy did the right thing.

“A half million New Jerseyans have been excluded from nearly every form of aid during a pandemic that has disproportionately taken their lives,” said Jenny Llugcha of Make the Road New Jersey.

“Following a strong community reaction to the news of changes to the fund last week, Gov. Murphy made the right move by re-opening and replenishing the Excluded New Jerseyan Fund and committing to a more streamlined application process,” Llugcha said.

“New Jersey cannot recover from the pandemic if we exclude hundreds of thousands of our state’s residents,” Llugcha added.

Amy Torres of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice said that – once again – the power of community organizing has delivered promising results.

“Thursday’s late-night announcement is welcome news to the many families who felt that one of their few opportunities for relief had been ripped away,” Torres said.

But Torres added that advocates aren’t stopping now.

“The community’s call has been clear from day one: Too many deserving New Jerseyans will be left out of the recovery at current funding levels,” Torres said. “We stand united in the call to invest $1 billion in the program and to continue working with advocates to lower application barriers and reach every eligible New Jerseyan.”

Those who will be fighting for the expansion of the fund include Leticia Garcia, a mother of three girls.

“I was and continue to be directly affected by the pandemic,” Garcia said. “The return of the funding brings back a bit of hope to all of us who have not yet applied.”

“Throughout the pandemic, the state has forgotten about us in many ways, leaving us out on our own and excluding us from basic rights as essential workers and residents of this state,” Garcia said. “In this fight, we know that our community is strong and resilient, and we take care of each other. That is why we will continue to collectively defend our rights.”

Others who praised Thursday night’s announcement included:

Gloria Guerrero, Laundry Workers Center – “Governor Murphy, the return of this fund represents a bit of relief and hope for our community that is not entitled to a stimulus, to unemployment insurance, but that with their work contributes billions of dollars in taxes to maintain the economy of the state. In these times of inflation and where the economy is even more difficult for our community, we ask that, under a more humane criterion, the amount be increased to 1 billion, to solve the need for a community hit by a pandemic that not only sickened them but also excluded them.”

Christian Estevez of the Latino Action Network – “The Latino Action Network thanks Governor Murphy for renewing his commitment to provide $40 million to the Excluded New Jerseyans Fund, and for taking action to ensure that more people can take part in this critical program. We look forward to working with the Department of Human Services and Murphy Administration to get this funding to those who need it. We will continue to work with the Administration and Legislature to find a way to address the unmet remaining need in the community.”

Chia-Chia Wang, organizing and advocacy director at the American Friends Service Committee – “It was a relief when we learned Governor Murphy announced his plan to replenish the Fund, extend deadline and simplify the application process. The last two months has been extremely challenging for immigrants needing financial assistance to receive this one and only funding opportunity to help them pay for food, rent, medical care or other basic services. We continue to call for an application process that allows immigrants to apply and receive funding without much unnecessary documentation requirements.”

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