We are all vulnerable in a pandemic

Don Chuz, a 55-year-old Greenport father and subcontractor, died recently after not seeking treatment for COVID-19. He worried about his immigration status and lack of health insurance. His death is a tragic outcome that underscores what can happen when hostility against immigrants deters them from seeking life-saving treatment. 

Chuz, and anyone who is eligible for emergency Medicaid, could have received treatment after the program was expanded in New York to include COVID-19-related services. But Chuz, whose death was reported by Patch and The Suffolk Times, and other countless immigrants have been victimized by fear-inducing, anti-immigrant policies.

There is no better illustration of this than the public charge rule. The rule, which went into effect in February, broadened the scope of public benefits that could count against an immigrant’s future application, such as for a green card, filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Among other things, it allows officials to consider the use of Medicaid by certain immigrants a negative factor in the evaluation of an application.

The new rule makes it harder for immigrants to adjust or extend their lawful status. But its impact goes further, because it has discouraged even eligible immigrants from pursuing services to which they are entitled. A Kaiser Family Foundation study published in September 2019 found that health centers in four states, including New York, reported declining levels of enrollment in Medicaid by eligible immigrants and their children. This was also the case with pregnant immigrant women, even though the use of Medicaid by pregnant women is excluded from the rule. 

In March, USCIS announced that the rule would not be enforced in cases including COVID-19. This means that testing and treatment will not negatively affect any immigrant who seeks such services in a future public charge test, even if they are covered by Medicaid. 

Such an amendment by the agency that has worked to limit public resources available to immigrants certainly confirms the importance of the health of every member of our community, regardless of immigration status. However, the amendment is too little, too late. As Chuz’s death shows, many immigrants, documented or otherwise, will avoid seeking treatment even if they are experiencing symptoms. 

This is especially worrisome given this population’s vulnerability. Many immigrants, such as those who work on some of nearly 600 farms on Long Island, work jobs that can't be performed remotely. Immigrants also are more likely to live in multi-family homes, and do not have the flexibility of quarantining and practicing social distancing. It’s no surprise, then, that Brentwood and Central Islip, two of Long Island’s largest Latino immigrant communities, are among communities with the most cases of COVID-19. 

Political leaders on the Island should do all they can to empower all Long Islanders, and in particular those with complex relationships to health care, to seek treatment for COVID-19 and avoid potentially preventable deaths like that of Don Chuz. You can do your part by sharing accurate COVID-19 information and rejecting the false causal relationship between immigration and the current public health crisis. 

In the context of a pandemic, policies and rhetoric that deter anyone from seeking treatment are detrimental to containment efforts — efforts that are in the communal interest. Failing to provide protection for all community members, regardless of legal status or country of origin, makes us all more vulnerable.

Geena García is a sophmore at Barnard College.