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Marvin Reyes Ventura, a longtime New Jersey resident, is currently on his second hunger strike in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami, Florida. Reyes Ventura was previously held in Bergen County Jail, and advocates say he was transferred out as retaliation for taking part in a hunger strike. ICE spokespeople say the agency doesn’t retaliate against that behavior. Reyes Ventura has since embarked on a second hunger strike to bring awareness to his situation, and is concerning his family members. Reyes Ventura’s family left El Salvador after his father and brother were shot in 1998, leaving Reyes Ventura with post-traumatic stress. Patch
In other local immigration news…
Latina Workers Formed NYC’s First Storefront Laundromat Union. Then They Were Fired.
📍 Documented Original
On March 6, the Laundry Workers Center organized a march to shed light on eight laundromat workers of Liox Laundry Services who were recently fired. According to workers, they were fired because of their campaign to create a union and recover stolen wages. Liox owned Wash Supply Laundromat, which closed down on Feb. 19 and fired its workers after six of its eight immigrant women employees successfully voted to form the first laundromat union in the city. According to the National Labor Relations Board, workers can’t be “fired, disciplined, demoted, or penalized in any way” for engaging in union activities. Read more at Documented.
Excluded Workers Fund: How It Will Work for Undocumented Immigrants
📍 Documented Original (A collaboration with The City.) Although Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers in Albany came to an agreement providing an Excluded Workers Fund to those who didn’t receive federal or state COVID-19 relief, there are still some barriers that can prevent close to 300,000 New Yorkers from receiving up to $15,600. Those eligible for the payments must be a New York resident and have lived here before March 27, 2020, lost part of all of their income after February 2020 due to COVID-19, and not been eligible for unemployment benefits or other federal COVID-related income relief. People must also prove their New York residency and present filed taxes for 2018, 2019 or 2020 tax year or prove loss of income during the pandemic. Read more at Documented.
