They are a fast-growing part of our community. The Mid-Hudson Valley, which includes Ulster County, had more than 20,000 undocumented residents in 2018. Between 2000 and 2019 the broader category of foreign-born residents grew from 5% to 12% in Kingston and also is growing in the Ulster County towns of Shandaken and Wawarsing and the villages of Ellenville and New Paltz , making up 10% or more of the population in 2019. In Ulster County overall, the foreign-born population grew from 6% in 2000 to 8% in 2019.

Many come from Central America seeking opportunity, refuge, and stability. They come to escape violence, corruption, and gangs. They come because the climate crisis has increased the frequency of severe weather and made farming impossible in many areas. They come because centuries of colonialism, oligarchy, and resource exploitation destroyed their economies.

Most are working and serving our community. Roughly 70 percent of immigrants in the Hudson Valley are employed and they make up about 16 percent of the workforce.

Their jobs are often precarious, vulnerable to exploitation, and even dangerous — agriculture, construction, food processing and serving, landscaping, and the like. It is often poorly paid, dangerous, and demanding. In 2019, for example, there were 8,000 domestic workers (housekeepers, cleaners, nannies, and home care aides) in the Mid-Hudson Valley; more than 60% were undocumented.

They are ineligible for unemployment and most social services. They are almost always left out of programs and services available to other workers, including much of the assistance related to the Covid-19 pandemic. That is why UIDN and our allies fought for the Excluded Workers Fund and are now working to get additional funding. It is also why UIDN tries to identify federal, state, and local programs families may be eligible for and then help them apply.