Immigrant and Labor Organizations Call for Full Funding for Excluded New Jerseyans and Permanent Relief

In Advance of this Week’s Budget Forecast Hearings in Which the State is Expected to Report Record Revenue and Surplus, Excluded New Jerseyans and Advocacy Groups Call for Full Funding of Aid Program for Essential Immigrant Workers and Other Low Income Individuals Left Behind From Aid for Two Years

NEW JERSEY (April 4, 2022) — In advance of this week’s budget hearings in which the New Jersey State Assembly and State Senate will hear testimony from the Office of Legislative Services and the New Jersey State Treasurer on the budget forecast for FY2023, a coalition of immigrant, worker and advocacy organizations called on the state to use its unexpected revenue and federal funding to provide relief to ensure New Jerseyans left behind from federal COVID aid for more than two years may access aid. The state is expected to report record revenues and a more than $4 billion surplus due to increased tax revenue and billions in federal aid from the American Rescue Plan and other COVID related relief packages. At the same time, only about 35,000 of the more than half a million New Jerseyans left behind from federal COVID aid were able to apply for the Excluded New Jerseyan Fund before it closed in February, and only a small percentage of applicants have actually received the $2,000-$4,000 payments. Advocates called for robust payments and for the state to provide permanent aid to individuals that are low income but statutorily excluded from safety net aid and health care.

“Many families are in their third year without COVID-19 relief. To meet the need of the nearly half million individuals in New Jersey, the state should significantly increase the amount of funding allocated to the ENJF. All individuals should have access to ENJF cash payments and the state should also provide $600 weekly unemployment checks to individuals. Fully funding the Excluded New Jerseyans Fund at $989 million is a meaningful way to help bridge the wealth gap in NJ,” said Dr. Jesselly de la Cruz, Executive Director of the Latino Action Network Foundation. 

“New Jersey has made great strides in expanding the social safety net for its undocumented residents by creating the Excluded New Jerseyans Fund . However, our state must do more for its most vulnerable communities. In a state with nearly half a million people without COVID-19 aid, the ENJF only received 35,000 applications. Like most working New Jerseyans, excluded individuals should receive their ENJF payments and be eligible for $600 weekly unemployment checks.” Kevin Brown, 32BJ Vice President & NJ State Director.

“I was an essential worker during the pandemic, but I still have yet to receive a penny in relief from the federal government or our state. I risked my life and my family’s health and wellbeing to continue working through the worst months of the pandemic. I’m struggling to keep up with my bills and I’m worried about providing for my family. Excluded New Jerseyans like me are just as deserving of aid as anyone else. We urge the legislature and Governor Murphy to provide aid to every individual left behind and to create a permanent inclusion in our safety net for families like mine,” said Yuddy Escobar, essential worker from Elizabeth and member of Make the Road New Jersey.

“The COVID-19 fight is still not over and while many parts of the state may be rushing back to ‘normal,’ there are thousands of families and individuals still in need of financial aid whose suffering and exclusion is also being normalized in the rush to move on. The result of the Excluded New Jerseyans Fund expansion was clear: there are overwhelming unmet needs in our community which are exacerbated by denying them meaningful relief. New Jersey needs a permanent program that expands eligibility to ALL New Jerseyans. We stand with our coalition partners to call for a $1 billion investment to ensure a recovery for all,” said Laura Bustamante, Policy and Campaigns Manager at the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice.