Chicago City Wire

Mayor Lori Lightfoot will provide undocumented immigrants wth their own form of federal COVID-19 relief.

NBC Chicago reported that the Democrat mayor unveiled a plan through the CARES Act fund that will provide $1,000 to each Chicago household. Undocumented immigrants, college students, and other groups who didn’t receive funding from other federal programs, such as the $1,200 per person stimulus payment that went out in April, won’t be left out this time around.

Lightfoot pointed out that more than 300,000 Chicagoans, including undocumented residents, didn’t receive a stimulus check. She said she’s determined to take care of this group with the new payment plan. 

“As expansive as the CARES Act may be, it leaves behind thousands of our residents, many residents who represent our essential workers and are themselves members of the very same community hardest hit by COVID-19," Lightfoot said.

The Chicago Resiliency Fund is a cash assistance initiative that has a maximum of $5 million in total payments for those eligible under The Resurrection Project. Open Society Foundations has donated $1 million while an anonymous donor provided an additional $4 million, marking the largest one-time donation for the initiative. The payments could be issued as early as this month.

Lightfoot continued to stand for the local immigrant community and added, according to NBC Chicago, 

“Throughout COVID-19, but really way beyond that, our immigrant and refugee community have really been stressed,” she said.

She also used her statement as a chance to slam President Donald Trump. 

“It’s a difficult life to leave your home country and come some place new and really try to start building a life, but it's been particularly challenging in this environment, with this president who literally came down the stairs, what now seems like a lifetime ago, demonizing our immigrant and refugee community for his own political gain and unfortunately he has not stopped,” she said.

She vowed that Chicago would take on a different perspective and embrace the immigrants and refugees who now call the Windy City home.