RALEIGH, N.C. -- COVID-19 cases have spiked among the state's Latinx community, yet most of these residents can't access basic health services.

Advocates say the pandemic has highlighted how the country's public health system has neglected undocumented residents. While Hispanics make up around 9% of North Carolina's population, as of mid-June, they accounted for 44% of the state's COVID-19 cases, according to state data. Many of the state's immigrants work in food processing, construction, deliveries or cleaning services and can't afford to stay home if they feel sick.

Juvencio Rocha-Peralta, executive director of the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina, said this population faces unique barriers.

"These communities that we're talking about, they're undocumented individuals, they don't qualify for any public services," he said. "So what we did was provide some emergency funding for rent, electric and other needs that they need at home."

Since March, Rocha-Peralta's organization has been leading a COVID-19 task force made up of health providers, community partners and community members that meet weekly to identify how they can support the Latinx community during the pandemic. He said foundations such as the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and others have provided cash to help residents pay for doctor visits, medical bills and prescription medications.

Rocha-Peralta said many Latinx residents are wary of getting tested for COVID-19 due to fear of deportation. Worsening matters is the Trump administration's public-charge rule, which went into effect early this year. He said local public-health departments could play a critical role in gaining the trust of the undocumented community.

"Health departments and other public agencies, they need to establish some advisory councils and advisory boards to advise those institutions about this population," he said. "Communities-based organizations place a significant role working with marginalized communities."

The emergency aid has been a temporary solution, but Rocha-Peralta noted that the crisis has highlighted the need for a new approach to public health in marginalized communities. One report found North Carolina ranks 40th in the nation in spending on public health, and in 2019, North Carolina was one of only eight states where public health funding decreased.

"We've been working in this community for 19 years," he said, "but when the pandemic hit us, there was a reason to change things around and also, not to react, but to come up with a plan to address the needs of these communities."

He also pointed to the need for mental health resources in the immigrant community. Many families have experienced high levels of stress related to poverty and trauma, worsened during the pandemic.

North Carolina public health funding data is online at tfah.org.


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A new report found undocumented immigrants are paying substantial taxes in Maryland and nationwide.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found undocumented migrants paid more than $96 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, with Maryland seeing more than $770 million of tax revenue.

Carl Davis, research director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said narratives around how migrants are impacting the nation do not always stand up to scrutiny.

"I think we're able to dispel a lot of myths around this one-sided idea that undocumented immigrants are claiming benefits and not paying any taxes," Davis contended. "It's really not tethered to reality."

With some undocumented workers being paid under the table, the study found if migrants had access to legal status such as a guest worker program, the states and localities would realize an additional $7 billion in tax revenue annually, while adding another $33 billion in federal revenue.

The report showed more than a third of the total paid by undocumented workers goes toward payroll taxes such as Medicare, Social Security and unemployment insurance, programs the same workers are unable to access. With presidential campaign rhetoric often focused on the topic of immigration, Davis noted big policy changes would impact the economy.

"If we're going to dramatically change course on immigration policy, say through ramping up deportations, for example, that's really going to shrink the size of the labor force at a time when a lot of industries are already struggling to fill the positions they have available," Davis emphasized.

While some undocumented immigrants own homes, most rent, and the report found migrants were paying more than $10 billion in property taxes either directly or indirectly via payments to landlords. The study reported most undocumented adults have lived in the U.S. for 16 years or more.

"By and large, these are people who are trying to put down roots and are trying to have a better life for themselves and for their families," Davis added. "These are folks who have been here for quite a while, and who are really contributing to the economy and to our funding of our public services in significant ways."


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As immigration takes center stage this election season, a new study revealed the significant tax contributions made by undocumented immigrants.

The essential workers added nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, including nearly $16 million in Maine.

James Myall, analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy, said the money helps support public infrastructure and services.

"Even folks who are here without documented status are still contributing to the fabric of our communities," Myall pointed out. "Paying in taxes to state and local government."

Myall argued granting more work authorizations to undocumented immigrants in Maine would increase their tax payments by nearly $4 million and reduce reliance on public assistance. Maine's congressional delegation has been pushing for faster work permits but bipartisan legislation remains stalled in the Senate.

With nearly two jobs available for every applicant, Maine companies are looking to immigrants to fill important roles, including in the state's iconic lobster industry, as more workers head toward retirement.

Myall emphasized with one of the oldest populations in the U.S., Maine should welcome everyone who wants to work.

"The direct care sector, in hospitality, in health care," Myall outlined. "In some of these vital sections of our economy - immigrants are helping to fill that gap."

Maine officials say the state will need 75,000 new workers by 2029 to remain economically viable. Earlier this year, Gov. Janet Mills signed a supplemental budget, which included funding to create an Office of New Americans, to help "new Mainers" with resettlement and integration.

During last week's Republican National Convention, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Americans are not safe due to immigrants committing violent crimes.

That's just one claim being challenged by leading immigration experts.

Nancy Foner, Ph.D., professor of Sociology at City University of New York's Hunter College, said labeling immigrants as criminals is an old, but persistent, myth.

She pointed to data showing that the vast majority of immigrants are not violent criminals.

"The foreign born, in fact, are much less likely than the native-born to commit violent crimes," said Foner. "And in fact, cities and neighborhoods with greater concentrations of immigrants have much lower crime and violence than comparable non-immigrant neighborhoods."

Immigrants were also blamed for smuggling fentanyl across the 2,000-mile southern border.

But according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 90% of the drugs linked to overdose deaths are smuggled by U.S. citizens through legal ports of entry.

Cruz also said immigrants were being allowed into the U.S. to vote in the upcoming elections - a conspiracy theory about something that never, or almost never, happens.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, pointed out that non-citizens are not legally allowed to vote in federal elections, and don't in part because they could be immediately deported if caught.

"To cast one ballot in an election in which 160 million ballots are going to be cast, it happens exceedingly rarely," said Becker, "largely because the states and federal government already have really good policies in place."

Others claimed immigrants were "receiving welfare."

Pia Orrenius, vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said immigrants are not eligible for the SNAP program (formerly known as food stamps), Social Security or other benefits - although they do pay payroll and other taxes that fund those programs.

She said immigrants actually strengthen America's economy, but local governments can feel squeezed if immigrants earn low wages.

"That negative impact, it mostly comes from education," said Orrenius. "K-12 education is expensive. The spending on education is an investment. Those investments are going to pay back many times what's invested."



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