As COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, undocumented immigrants fear retribution for seeking dose

But so far, they have not seen anything from government officials in the waning days of the Trump administration.“The new administration has to do everything possible to let undocumented immigrants know it’s safe to get this vaccine and that any information they provide, even a cell phone number, won’t be used against them,” said Sulma Arias, director of immigrant rights at Community Change, a national group based in Washington, D.C., focusing on racial and economic equity.Tiffany Tate, executive director of the Maryland Partnership for Prevention, a non-profit that provides local and national support for immunizations, said the key to getting undocumented workers to get the vaccine will be in the hands of “trusted partners in the community, people they’ve turned to over the years for flu shots and the like.”“Where is the advertising, educational materials and campaigns coming from the highest levels,” said Tate. Immigrant advocates have alleged the rule is intended to have a chilling effect, since undocumented people are generally ineligible for the benefits affected by the rule.The rule’s mere existence has caused some immigrants to not seek any sort of health care for fear of recriminations, said Tara McCollum Plese, chief external affairs officer of the non-profit Arizona Alliance of Community Health Centers.Plese said many undocumented people, who often live in “mixed-status” families with legal residents and U.S. citizens, are afraid to visit clinics because they worry it will “negatively impact not only themselves but their family members.” Convincing undocumented immigrants to step forward now will “be essential” to the overall success of the COVID-19 vaccine program, she said.In California, home to around 2 million of the nation’s undocumented workers, state lawmakers are working to ensure that food supply workers are prioritized for the new vaccines.“Vaccination will only work if two things happen,” said California Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, who co-authored a bill spotlighting the health needs of the state’s food supply workers.