The more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States are being hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic as that population deals with the fears of being deported and economic hardship as a result of the outbreak.
According to a recent survey by the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights in California, undocumented immigrants and their relatives are more worried about the economic toll of the coronavirus than actually becoming infected. Among those surveyed, 95 percent were worried about paying bills while 89 percent of the population was more concerned about losing work.
Andrea Flores, the deputy director of policy for the Equality Division of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the virus is weighing on the immigrant population.
"This is preventing immigrant families from being able to support themselves and to take care of their families in terms of accessing care and buying groceries," said Flores. "They won't have access to the same safety net benefits that Congress may be putting forth for citizens."
While President Trump has said undocumented immigrants should be able to get tested without the threat of being arrested or deported, many immigrants are still living in fear of ICE. Currently, the ACLU's position is that ICE enforcement that could deter people from seeking care should be suspended . The ACLU agrees that the last thing ICE should be doing during a 'stay at home' order is making immigrants feel scared to access healthcare or be afraid to go to the grocery store.
"Immigration status doesn't matter at a time like this," said Flores. "This public health crisis impacts everybody and it's important for your neighbors to be tested."
Jason Nichols, senior lecturer at the University of Maryland's African American Studies Department, joins Cheddar News to discuss the racial implications of Will Smith's slap at the Academy Awards.
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Kimberly Paige at TV network BET joined Cheddar News to talk about leadership, the projects she was pivotal in building, and her approach to leadership and "inviting" diverse audiences rather than "targeting" them. "if you think about when someone says, 'I'm targeting you,' you're generally in someone's kind of crosshairs, if you will," she said. "And so I use the notion of who are we inviting to participate in the brand in a meaningful way. I think it's a nuance, but it has huge implications."
Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter joined Cheddar News to talk about fatherhood and his solo work on a new crossover song called "Easy," featuring country singer Jimmie Allen. "What I love about country music is the lyrics, the melodies, the stories that are in them as well," he said. "And you know, you hear it's just pretty simple and pretty easy."
Oscar Stembridge, the youngest musician to have signed with Universal Music Sweden, has a passion for spreading awareness of climate activism as well as music. Cheddar News got an exclusive first look at the video for the new song, "Am I the Only One" and spoke with the 14-year-old singer about his young career and advocacy work. "Basically it all kind of started when, inspired from Greta Thunberg, I wrote my first kind of song called 'We March,' which is about my generation not wanting to pay the price of the older generations' inaction," he said.
The office real estate market might be in trouble, as vacancy rates in major cities remain across the country, even as COVID restrictions continue to fall away. Ryan Severino, the chief economist for real estate and investment management firm JLL, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the latest office trends and why some may be concerning for the broader economy. "There are knock-on ramifications for a lot of the ancillary industries that support office workers," he said. "If you think about coffee shops, places that someone might go out to get lunch or a drink or dinner after work, those are obviously still feeling the brunt of people not being physically back in office spaces the way that they were before the pandemic."
More Covid booster shots for more adults, Greenpeace and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen want more eco-friendly bitcoin, and the federal mask mandate for transportation is challenged. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Wednesday, March 30, 2022.
According to tracking services, Americans get inundated with more than 130 million robocalls every day. One man decided that he had enough and started suing telemarketers. Daniel Graham joins Cheddar News to share how he won more than $100,000 in settlements.
