An unprecedented number of Americans are out of a job and relying on unemployment checks and government payouts to put food on the table. But what happens when those benefits simply aren’t available? This is the challenge faced by undocumented workers across the country. Many live paycheck to paycheck, and without the protection of labor laws or government benefits, there is no safety net to catch them during this pandemic. NYCityLens spoke to two undocumented workers in New York and New Jersey to understand how COVID-19 is impacting immigrant communities. The names of the two undocumented workers in this video were changed to protect their identity.
