The Catholic bishops of the United States urged Congress and President Donald Trump on Monday to approve measures so that economic stimulus aid to alleviate the effects of covid-19 reaches the undocumented, immigration protections such as DACA and TPS are expanded and make sure that vaccines are “free and for all.”
The Justice for Immigrants program of the Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) noted that “although Congress and President Trump approved legislation in March to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on families, there are still many people who did not receive the much needed help “.
“We have to do more to ensure that no one is left behind and that everyone is given the opportunity to face and overcome the challenges of covid-19,” the message said. “As Catholics we have the special vocation of being a church for all the sons and daughters of God.”
In April the House of Representatives, with a Democratic majority, approved a second set of measures, but the Senate, where the majority are Republicans, has not even considered that legislation given the uncertainty about Trump’s final position on the matter.
As confirmed cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from Covid-19 continue to rise and several of the relief programs contained in the March package of measures draw to a close, Congress continues to discuss the details of a second installment of aid from emergency without it being known whether Trump will enact it.
“We urge the Senate to act with another relief package in the remaining days of this legislature, either as part of the budget law or as separate laws,” says the episcopal letter that points to several specific claims.
The bishops called for ensuring that families in which one of the adults is an undocumented immigrant can receive the assistance approved for the rest of the population. The March legislation has left thousands of families in which the father or mother is undocumented without help.
Likewise, the ecclesiastical leaders asked that work permits and visa renewal periods for refugees be automatically extended, as well as immigration protection programs for young people who entered the country illegally at the hands of their parents (DACA) and for citizens of countries affected by armed conflict or natural disasters (TPS).
Congress and the government, the bishops added, must “provide, at no cost, COVID-19 tests, treatment and vaccines for everyone, regardless of their immigration status, as this is a public health issue that impacts collectively to all members of our society. “
According to the independent count from Johns Hopkins University, the United States is rapidly approaching 15 million infected and 300,000 deaths from the covid-19 disease, and the Latino community is the most affected of all.
24% of confirmed coronavirus positives in the US are of Latino origin, when this community only represents 18% of the country’s population, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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