US Bishops Support Migrant Workers

The USCCB has released a statement urging the protection of migrant workers through the current pandemic and economic trouble.

“We urge our political leaders and policymakers to consider the realities and emerging, pressing needs of the farmworker communities across the country during this time of the coronavirus outbreak,” the statement says. “To defeat the virus, no one must be left out.”

Archbishop Nelson J. Perez of Philadelphia, chair of the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church; Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Washington, chair of the Subcommittee on Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees, and Travelers; Bishop Oscar Cantu, episcopal liaison for migrant farmworker ministry; and Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington and chair of the Committee on Migration, authored the statement which details many of the hardships faced by the country’s migrant worker population.

Many migrant farmworkers lack access to health insurance, medical treatment, and sick or paid leave options; farmworker housing conditions are often overcrowded with little opportunity for social distancing, including transportation to and from work, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is not always available. Additionally, conditions of their immigration visas can make them unwilling or unable to speak out about a need for protection due to the threat of losing their job.

http://usccb.org/news/2020/20-68.cfm

The statement offers several recommendations for supporting these essential workers:

• Recognize that all workers need access to free testing and care related to the COVID-19 virus
• Ensure that all housing and transportation for farmworkers complies with current CDC guidelines
• Provide information on proper health and hygiene that is easily accessible in multiple languages and infographics for illiterate workers
• Ensure access to proper hygiene and safety protections at work sites, including hand washing facilities/stations, and masks and/or other PPE
• Have an emergency health plan in place to ensure care and protocols when a worker contracts the COVID-19 virus; and
• Honor the dignity of the work of farmworkers and make sure that they are paid a livable wage as well as be eligible for other benefits to help protect their health and the health and safety of their families at this time.

The Bishops remind us of the pastoral words of Pope Francis: “The COVID-19 virus teaches us we are one human family, says the Holy Father. ‘We can only get out of this situation together, as a whole humanity.’”

The full statement can be read at the USCCB website.