COVID-19’s Effects on U.S. Immigration and Immigrant Communities, Two Years On
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Highlights
COVID-19 slashed U.S. immigration to decade lows, hit immigrant workers hardest, and excluded many from federal relief because of immigration-status rules.
- Travel bans, government processing shutdowns, and border closures caused immigrant visas to fall 48 percent from fiscal year (FY) 2019 to 2020 and temporary visas to drop 54 percent, while refugee admissions hit historic lows.
- Immigrants made up 17 percent of the workforce but were over-represented in essential jobs; immigrant unemployment peaked at 16.4 percent in April 2020, compared to 14 percent for U.S.-born workers, with immigrant women hardest hit.
- State-level data showed immigrants dying of COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates; outbreaks in meat processing plants, where immigrants were about 37 percent of workers, contributed an estimated 236,000 to 310,000 cases by late July 2020.
- Many immigrants were excluded from the first round of federal stimulus payments; later rounds became more inclusive, and states such as California, Washington, and New York created funds to support immigrants excluded from federal relief.
More than two years into the COVID-19 era, the United States has seen more than 1 million people die of the virus, and a sharp recession and uneven recovery that have caused hardship for many families. And while the pandemic has touched the lives of all U.S. residents, immigrants have been among the hardest hit. Understanding how the pandemic has reshaped U.S. immigration policies and levels, and how the pandemic and associated economic downturn and recovery have affected immigrant families, can guide better policymaking as the United States grapples with COVID-19’s ongoing impacts and faces future public-health crises, natural disasters, and other emergencies.
This report takes a look back. It first details immigration policy changes the U.S. government made after the emergence of COVID-19 and the effect these policy changes and visa processing challenges have had on immigration levels to the United States. Next, it describes the essential roles that immigrant workers have played during the pandemic in health care and other fields, and early evidence on the disproportionate impact of the novel coronavirus on immigrants’ health. Finally, the report describes the high unemployment rates foreign-born workers experienced during the pandemic, the limited access many noncitizens have had to the safety nets that many citizens have relied upon after losing jobs, and innovative approaches states, localities, and nonprofit organizations have used to support immigrant families.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Immigration Policy Responses to the Pandemic and Their Impacts on Migration Trends
3 Immigrants’ Role in the Fight against COVID-19
4 COVID-19’s Impact on Immigrant Health
A. Infection and Death Rates in Select States
B. Outbreaks in Meat Processing and Agriculture
C. Vaccination Rates and Attitudes among Immigrants
5 The Economic Downturn’s Impacts on Immigrant Communities
A. Unemployment and Immigrant Workers
B. Immigrants’ Access to the Evolving Federal Safety Net
C. Other Economic Hardship during the Pandemic
D. State, Local, and Private Support
6 Conclusion
About the U.S. Immigration Policy Program
The U.S. Immigration Policy Program provides analysis of U.S. immigration pathways, the impacts of enforcement and other policies, and the characteristics of immigrant populations.
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