Protesters Outside Gov. Newsom's Home Demand COVID-19 Relief For Undocumented Immigrants
FAIR OAKS (CBS13) - Dozens of protesters staged a "die-in" outside of Governor Newsom's house in Fair Oaks Wednesday morning, demanding what they're calling equitable COVID-19 relief.
Fifty-eight protesters laid side-by-side along the sidewalk outside of Newsom's front gates. They say 58 percent of deaths due to COVID-19 were essential workers like themselves, and say they're not getting what they need to battle the virus.
"We're calling on Governor Newsom to support excluded workers who've been excluded from unemployment benefits and have really been on the front lines from both deaths and job losses from this pandemic," said a spokesperson with the group.
He says that nearly 60 percent of deaths from the highest-risk essential workers like farms, restaurants, packing houses, have fallen on undocumented immigrants but that they have been excluded from the relief.
"Too, many families have lost their life savings, gone thousands [of dollars] into debt, and had to work deadly jobs in order to make ends meet," he said.
The group claims the average Californian received $13,000 in unemployment last year, which undocumented workers were excluded from. So many families are in the hole financially.
Protesters demand wage replacement for undocumented workers....a group which makes up 58% of pandemic-related deaths. Propose $13K flat payout to match what CA residents received @CBSSacramento @GoodDaySac pic.twitter.com/RBXgcKRdxL
— Rachel Wulff (@rachelwulff) June 2, 2021