On April 24, 2020 at 4 p.m., Evangeline, ILCM’s Archbishop Ireland Justice Fellow, went live on Facebook to talk about the requirements immigrants must meet to be considered eligible for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

This Facebook Live event was intended to give a brief overview of the eligibility requirements for receiving these payments. We addressed topics including: “How Does the IRS Determine My Income?,” “I Am Not a U.S. Citizen, Am I Eligible to Receive a Stimulus Payment?,” and “The Green Card Test and the “Substantial Physical Presence Test.” 

This is not intended to be comprehensive legal advice. If you have specific questions regarding your case, please contact an immigration attorney. You can reach ILCM at 651-641-1011. ILCM does not provide direct services on tax/monetary issues. Please contact Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA) or Prepare + Prosper if you have questions regarding those topics. 

The same information was shared in Spanish at 5:30 p.m. that same day.

 

El 24 de abril del 2020, a las 5:30 p.m., Ana Pottratz Acosta, profesora de la ley de inmigración de Mitchell Hamline, hizo un Facebook en vivo para hablar sobre los requisitos que deben cumplir los inmigrantes para ser considerados elegibles para la Ayuda del Coronavirus, Alivio y Acción de Seguridad Económica (CARES Act).

Este evento de Facebook en Vivo estaba destinado a brindar una breve descripción de los requisitos de elegibilidad para recibir estos pagos. Abordaremos temas que incluyen: “¿Cómo determina el IRS mis ingresos?, No soy ciudadano de EE. UU., ¿Soy elegible para recibir un pago de estímulo?” Y “La prueba de la Tarjeta Verde y la” Prueba de Presencia Física Sustancial.”

Esto no pretende ser un exhaustivo asesoramiento legal. Si tiene preguntas específicas sobre su caso, comuníquese con un abogado de inmigración. Puede comunicarse con ILCM al 651-641-1011. ILCM no proporciona servicios directos sobre impuestos/problemas monetarios. Por favor, póngase en contacto con Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA) o Prepare + Prosper si tiene preguntas sobre esos temas.

Check out ILCM’s Youtbube Channel for more videos.

• “Am I Eligible for a Stimulus Check” PPT – English 

 

• “Elegibilidad de Inmigrantes y el Paquete de Estímulo” PPT – Spanish 

April 23, 2020—The April 22 Proclamation suspending some immigration for 60 days uses a familiar tactic of scapegoating immigrants to distract attention this administration’s failures during the pandemic. Blame and division do nothing to keep anyone safe or protect jobs. Instead, this order spreads fear in immigrant communities and separates more families, many of whom have already waited years for visas.

The Executive Order stops individuals from entering the United States as immigrants if they are:

• Outside the United States on the effective date.
• Do not have an immigrant visa that is valid on the effective date.
• Do not have a travel document other than a visa (such as advance parole) that is valid on the effective date or after that permits entry to the United States.

Among those barred from obtaining immigrant visas by the order are parents and adult children of U.S. citizens and all family members of lawful permanent residents.

Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who are outside the United States are not covered by this order. Immigrants who are already in the United States are not covered by this order. Non-immigrants, such as tourists or temporary workers, are not covered by this order.

Because all U.S. consulates are now closed for routine visa processing, even people who are not covered by the order have no way to get visas.

The order sets out a number of exceptions to the bar on immigrant visas, including

• Spouses and unmarried minor children of U.S. citizens,
• Members of the U.S. military and their spouses and children,
• Health care professionals and people entering the United States to perform research to combat the spread of COVID-19,
• Special immigrants who were translators or interpreters for the U.S. government in Iraq or Afghanistan, and
• Investors applying under the EB-5 program.

This Executive Order also says it does not apply to people seeking asylum or refugee status, but previous orders already turn back asylum seekers at the border.

The Proclamation is in place for 60 days, beginning on April 23, 2020 at 11:59 p.m., but it may be modified or extended. The Proclamation orders several federal departments to assess within 30 days whether restrictions should also be placed on nonimmigrant visas.

For further information, ILCM has created and posted on our website a Fact Sheet: April 22, 2020 Proclamation Suspending Immigration and Frequently Asked Questions: April 22, 2020 Proclamation Suspending Immigration.

In the face of the pandemic threat, we need unity, not division. Racism and xenophobia have no place in this battle for the health and lives of our community.

Downloadable PDF of this press release.

April 21, 2020—With more than 40,000 dead and millions infected with COVID-19, Trump tweeted last night that he will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States. Whether or not such an order would even be legal, it would do absolutely nothing to protect the health or economy of the country.

“This latest attack on immigrants is as predictable as it is xenophopic,” said Veena Iyer, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. “This too-predictable pandering to prejudice divides the nation rather than uniting us in the struggle against COVID-19. The president’s posturing insults the immigrant health care workers who are on the front lines of this battle.”

Immigrants are 28.7 percent of physicians in the United States, 15.7 percent of registered nurses, 13.6 percent of respiratory therapists, and even higher proportions of nursing assistants, home health aides, and personal care assistants. Immigrants harvest our fruits and vegetables, feed and milk dairy cattle, and work in meat packing plants. Immigrants hold 18 percent of jobs classified as essential retail and 26 percent of the workers who manufacture food, medicine, and soap/cleaning supplies are immigrants.

The unemployment tsunami caused by the pandemic has hit immigrant workers, as well as other U.S. workers. Immigrants are hard-hit as the virus races through packing plants where people work in close proximity, threatens farmworkers in temporary living quarters, and infects detainees in unsanitary and crowded immigration detention centers

In the face of the pandemic threat, we need unity, not division. Racism and xenophobia have no place in this battle for the health and lives of our community.

Downloadable PDF version here.