Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 and food projects could have piped government pandemic assets to ineligible illegal aliens through $1,000 checks, as indicated by a new investigation.
Three and a half years ago, Inslee established the Food Production Paid Leave Program (FPPLP) and Immigrant Relief Fund (IRF) to help employees during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it is possible that both programs have misappropriated government monies.
According to a report by the WIRF, illegal migrants in Washington state are exempt from government-sponsored assistance programs that citizens have access to, which puts them at a greater economic disadvantage.
People who could not qualify for stimulus payments or unemployment benefits were able to get non-repayable help via the IRF. More than 75% of applicants did not have access to basic healthcare, according to the Impact Evaluation Survey that people of the community filled out.
The first phases of the Immigrant Relief Fund disbursed $127.6 million during 2020–2021, with 121,850 recipients receiving $1,000 awards. This money came from a $340 million allotment to the federal government under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to help with the COVID-19 pandemic response, according to a study by the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).
According to a 2020 press release from Inslee’s office, the IRF would provide $40 million to help Washingtonians who were not eligible for federal stimulus programs because of their immigrant status, even though the state got $4.4 billion in total money from the ARPA.
Inslee said the state must make certain that no one in the state is disadvantaged in this battle against the epidemic because COVID-19 doesn’t care about someone’s legal status.
The announcement went on to say that this is the best course of action for people’s health, the health of their coworkers, and the security of our communities.