{"id":805951,"date":"2020-04-01T16:48:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T22:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=381271"},"modified":"2020-04-01T16:48:36","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T22:48:36","slug":"summit-county-immigrant-population-faces-increased-uncertainty-amid-covid-19-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-county-immigrant-population-faces-increased-uncertainty-amid-covid-19-closures\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit County immigrant population faces increased uncertainty amid COVID-19 closures"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"967\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DACA-SDN-040220-967x1024.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DACA-SDN-040220-967x1024.png 967w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DACA-SDN-040220-283x300.png 283w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DACA-SDN-040220-768x813.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DACA-SDN-040220.png 1228w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 967px) 100vw, 967px\"><figcaption><strong>Luisana Pacheco, a DACA recipient who moved to Summit County at age 13, is working at a hospital in Denver during the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>DILLON \u2014 While everyone in Summit County and around the state has felt the effects of the COVID-19 shutdown, the area\u2019s immigrant population is likely to be disproportionately affected.<\/p>\n<p>Lower paying jobs, layoffs and an inability to access government assistance, in some cases, have all contributed to a feeling of unease in the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s impacted the immigrant population so profoundly because a lot of these individuals are working lower wage jobs, and they\u2019re the people that have been laid off,\u201d said Peter Bakken, executive director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountaindreamers.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mountain Dreamers<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>, a local immigrant advocacy group. \u201cMany of these families aren\u2019t getting assistance from the federal government, and they\u2019re bearing a disproportionate burden of this crisis here in Summit County. There\u2019s a lot of fear and anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bakken noted that most people living in the country illegally aren\u2019t eligible for government assistance, including the emergency federal financial aid package. The payments are tied to 2018 and 2019 tax filings through Social Security numbers, meaning undocumented individuals and others who pay their taxes using individual taxpayer identification numbers won\u2019t be eligible.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/sdn-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/donate\/?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=news%20article&amp;utm_campaign=donation\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Bakken also said individuals who might be eligible for help, or who need assistance from local nonprofits, often don\u2019t reach out due to fear of being discovered by agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of them don\u2019t trust that their information is safe if they have to give it out to various agencies or the government,\u201d Bakken said. \u201c\u2026 Everyone should apply for any benefits they may be eligible for in order to pay their rent and feed their families. And I think that you can trust that our local nonprofits are going to keep everyone\u2019s information safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For those who can\u2019t access government help, local groups like Mountain Dreamers and the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Family &amp; Intercultural Resource Center (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitfirc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Family &amp; Intercultural Resource Center<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> are helping to meet the need.<\/p>\n<p>Others who are eligible for government aid, like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, are facing different challenges. Work permit renewals for the program are a growing concern now that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices are closed.<\/p>\n<p>And while Gov. Jared Polis called for an automatic extension of working authorizations for all DACA recipients in the state whose grants expire this year, recipients\u2019 futures in the country ultimately rely on a pending Supreme Court decision.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court heard arguments in November on whether the program is legal and whether the Trump administration can shut it down. A decision could come any day. And if the program is ended, recipients could lose their work authorization and protections from deportation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Summit County, we\u2019ve got DACA recipients working in businesses all over the county,\u201d Bakken said. \u201cI personally know of recipients working in care clinics, legal offices, doctor\u2019s offices \u2014 they\u2019re on the front lines of this COVID-19 crisis. And they\u2019re working with tremendous uncertainly as to their future. It could all come crashing down at any minute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the program is ended, it also could mean losing critical members of the workforce, such as health care workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy waste us?\u201d said Luisana Pacheco, a DACA recipient who moved to Summit County as a 13-year-old in 2005. \u201cYou have well-educated, well-prepared, bilingual people they want to keep at home. It would be a huge waste of resources, when we can be out there in the community helping out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pacheco graduated from Summit High School before earning her bachelor\u2019s degree in molecular biology and genetics from Regis University. She\u2019s just a few days away from completing her nursing degree and is currently working at a hospital in Denver.<\/p>\n<p>Pacheco said that while she\u2019s not focused directly on COVID-19 patients, she\u2019s been exposed to the virus like all health care workers. And whenever the curve peaks, hospitals will need all the help they can get.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe hospital that I\u2019m at is full right now with mostly COVID patients,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had several deaths and a lot of patients on ventilators. The ER has been insane. \u2026 In Denver, we haven\u2019t hit the peak yet. When that happens, they\u2019re going to need all hands on. That includes students about to graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But despite the potential dangers of working at a hospital, particularly under the specter of losing DACA protections, Pacheco said she and other recipients are enthusiastic about doing what they can to help out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always a sense of fear,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery day, we hear about more employees at different hospitals being tested or getting sick. It\u2019s scary. \u2026 But we want to be on the front lines helping out. That\u2019s what we came to America to do. Our parents brought us when we were young, but that doesn\u2019t mean this hasn\u2019t become our home. And it\u2019s a home we want to keep healthy and protect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-county-immigrant-population-faces-increased-uncertainty-amid-covid-19-closures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Luisana Pacheco, a DACA recipient who moved to Summit County at age 13, is working at a hospital in Denver during the COVID-19 pandemic. Courtesy photo DILLON \u2014 While everyone in Summit County and around the state has felt the effects of the COVID-19 shutdown, the area\u2019s immigrant population is likely to be disproportionately affected. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-805951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-17 12:43:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}