Hundreds of immigrant workers march on Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to call for inclusion

The group says they have been left out from state and federal economic relief in the crisis.

News 12 Staff

Oct 12, 2020, 10:18 PM

Updated 1,614 days ago

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Over 100 immigrant workers, both documented and undocumented, marched across the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge Monday to call for inclusion.
The group says they have been left out from state and federal economic relief in the crisis.
“Our community are cleaning hospitals, delivering groceries, doing all of these essential work that is also included as essential but have been completely excluded from economic support," says Jirandy Martinez, of the ED Community resource center.
That economic support includes the CARES ACT which provided relief checks to Americans and unemployment.  Their solution is taxing the ultra-rich.
Organizers say an easy way to get immigrant families the funding relief they deserve is by taxing billionaires.
The state bill pushes a mark-to-market system of taxing gains on assets for billionaires, estimated to bring in $5.5 billion in New York in the first year.
The money would then create a worker bailout program.This summer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo shot down taxing the state's 1%, claiming they pay 50% of the state's taxes. He worries it will drive the wealthy away for good. 
According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, undocumented workers pay an estimated $1 billion annually in state and local taxes in New York, but are left out of state and federal relief programs.