Coronavirus pandemic causes more hardships for immigrant communities

Immigrants collect donated food at Fairmont Gardens in Annandale before the social distancing rules took effect. [LAJC]

While the coronavirus pandemic is hitting everyone pretty hard, it is causing especially challenging hardships for the local immigrant community.

Immigrants living in the Culmore area of Bailey’s Crossroads “are concerned about the future. They are not working. They are concerned about how they are going to pay rent, says Edgar Aranda-Yanoc of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations and the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC).

If they lose their job or get sick, they know the federal government isn’t going to help undocumented immigrants, Aranda-Yanoc says. “They feel there is no help for them,”

They are trying to maintain social distancing; they are taking more precautions, he says, while still seeking jobs.

People who work as day laborers are still hanging out by the 7-Eleven on Hummer Road in Annandale, but no one is hiring them, says Arnoldo Borja of LAJC.

Many immigrants who worked in restaurants or as house cleaners have been laid off and don’t get severance pay, Borja notes. And if they are undocumented, they don’t qualify for unemployment benefits.

Even if a landlord agrees to delay a rent payment, they’ll have to pay twice as much next month, when they’re still not likely to be working, he says.

Food is also a big concern. Due to the statewide ban on gatherings of more than 10 people, the food distribution sites at the apartments in Culmore and Fairmont Gardens in Annandale have been halted. More than 200 people showed up at the last food distribution event in Annandale earlier this month.

For the same reason, Culmore Methodist Church has closed its building and no longer operates a food bank, Borja says.

First Christian Church in Seven Corners, which had provided free meals to the homeless and others in need through its Safe Haven Ministry, has suspended that program and is trying to figure out how it can still support the community, says Rev. Steven Moore.

Related story: Fairfax County Schools expands meal distribution 

Aranda-Yanoc doesn’t think anyone in the Culmore or Annandale immigrant community has been infected with COVID-19, but there’s no way to know for sure because they aren’t being tested.

“Everybody’s afraid,” he says. “They are trying to behave like everyone is infected.” People without legal status are worried that if they go to a doctor, they could be turned in to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Legal Aid Justice Center doesn’t think that will happen, but no one knows. There were ICE raids in Charlottesville and Culpeper earlier this month, but the agency issued a statement saying it will temporarily hold off on non-critical enforcement actions until the health crisis is over and won’t carry out operations at or near healthcare facilities.

On the other hand, since the courts have suspended many non-critical activities, immigrants no longer have to report to court once a week, Borja says. “That’s good for the community.”

He has been urging people to stay calm and to realize “whatever we are going through, we are going through it together.”