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Posted: 2020-12-21T23:47:34Z | Updated: 2020-12-22T22:03:03Z

Congress has once again left undocumented immigrants out of its COVID-19 stimulus checks, cutting out millions of essential workers and their U.S. citizen children from the much-needed funds.

In the $900 billion coronavirus relief package Congress has finally agreed on, Americans are set to receive $600 stimulus checks per individual, including adults and children, for those who made less than $75,000 in 2019, or less than $150,000 for couples in a household.

But, just as was the case in the first COVID-19 relief deal in the spring, the legislation excludes immigrants who are nonresident aliens or undocumented immigrants from getting checks.

Unlike the last package, Congress will allow Americans who are married to undocumented people to receive stimulus checks this time around. However, the U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants will get nothing.

For Black, Latinx and [Asian American and Pacific Islander] families, especially those who may be undocumented and have been hit hard by the virus and the recession, this package is not enough, said Ai-jen Poo, executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Poo noted that undocumented domestic workers house cleaners , child care and home care workers put their lives on the line to keep us safe, yet continue to be denied government relief.

Undocumented immigrants are among those hardest hit by the pandemic and its economic fallout. Undocumented workers are overrepresented in fields that have seen massive layoffs due to COVID-19 restrictions, including the restaurant and hotel industries.

They also make up significant portions of the frontline workers deemed essential from grocery store and farm workers to building cleaners who are still going to work, risking their lives in a pandemic while millions of Americans stay home.