'Dire situation:' Migrant families headed by single mothers struggle through COVID-19

SUNLAND PARK — Verenice De La Mora returned home from the laundry room when she saw a white envelope taped over the red door of her apartment. The word "ELECTRIC" was written in red uppercase letters on the envelope.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, De La Mora knows the service won't be shut off but her debt to the company continues to increase. On her nightstand is an unopen bill stating the amount she owes.

"I know this is a bill that I owe, but I don't have money to pay it," De La Mora said.  "Opening it will only make me feel worse."

She sets aside $20 for groceries and does the math in her head.

"A gallon of milk is $3, cereal is $2, a box of eggs is $6. That leaves me less than $10 for onions, tomatoes and more basics," De La Mora said. "I won't say we get any luxuries. Right now with the pandemic we don't have for that."

The single mother, a farm laborer, says work options have decreased because of the pandemic and she's now making barely enough to cover the needs of her four-member household.

De La Mora moved to the greater El Paso area in 2013 and spends her work days under the New Mexico sun, bending down to pick the state's famous green chile in Hatch or filling buckets with onions in fields near Deming. She earns about $55 a day.

But work has been hard to come by lately.

“Since there’s not enough work, they generally give priority to men," De La Mora said. "They no longer offer work for women and if they do (it) is for one or two days a week and we earn the minimum.”

MORE:Migrant farmworkers think twice about travel amid COVID-19, lower earnings

As the greater El Paso area continues to battle the surge of COVID-19 deaths and cases, city officials and local organizations have offered economic relief to those in the community impacted by the public health emergency.

Federal assistance is not targeted toward migrant families

However, federal assistance is not targeted toward migrant families, who either don't qualify or are too scared to apply.

"This crisis has only further exposed and exacerbated the inequalities endemic to our institutions, causing Black folks, people of color, immigrants and other marginalized groups to experience exponentially worse health and economic outcomes,” said Carlos Marentes, founder and director of the Border Farmworkers Center.

Sole providers for the family

Before the pandemic, a five-day working week allowed De La Mora to take home $175 to $275. She looks back to 2016 when she could pay utilities, rent and internet access with no problem.

Back then she was able to give her kids simple pleasures like burgers or pizza for dinner. Still in the bad days, the family was grateful to eat at least rice and beans.

“Economically, we live very limited. We as farmworkers know that work at the field doesn’t pay a lot. But I was never in such a dire situation,” De La Mora said.

When work is slow in New Mexico, some farmworkers travel to places like California or Colorado. But for women, who often have a family to take into consideration, that mobility is difficult.

De La Mora says she feels trapped in El Paso.

"They often tell me I can take my children but they cannot travel without documents," the 36-year-old mother said. "How will they make it pass the (immigration) checkpoint?"

School amid the pandemic also presents challenges for De La Mora. Now, she must stay at home to help her children navigate online classes on laptops borrowed from the El Paso School District.

EDUCATION:US schoolchildren living in Mexico find network not up to speed for distance learning

Victor and Fatima, 14 and 13 years old respectively, don't find online classes much a challenge but a slow internet connection makes it difficult. Joshua, age 5, requires more help.

As De La Mora looks for alternative jobs like housekeeping and babysitting, she has to consider schedules that will allow her to work in the evening when the kids are done with school.

Elena, a former farmworker residing in El Paso began looking for another job following the birth of her youngest son. Since 2016 the 37-year-old single mother of two has worked as a caregiver.

"I was mainly affected by my kid being home for school," Elena said. "Now I have to get a job that can accommodate (being) home when kids are in school and work in the evening."

Elena is a U.S. resident and is in the process of helping her eldest son — who was born in Durango, Mexico — become a naturalized citizen. She worries that sharing her full name will risk her son's chances to get legal status.

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Her job as a caregiver has also been affected by the pandemic as the number of clients dropped.

"With my elder clients, most of the families want to avoid any contact with other people so I've lost most of them," said Elena, whose work hours have reduced to two hours a day.

Since March, Elena has been stretching the $1,200 stimulus check and uses food stamps for which only she and her 3-year old son — a U.S. citizen — are eligible.

The Texas resident fears that asking for more benefits such as unemployment or rental and utility assistance might hurt her chances to get documents for her 17-year-old son.

"We get told that as a resident you can be a public charge for the government, but I don't want to ask much for my son who is not a resident." 

Elena and Verenice are among the 16,761 families in El Paso who received public assistance income in from 2018 to 2019. Census data show that 19 percent of the El Paso households live under the poverty line and 38 percent of the households receiving food stamps are led by single mothers.

Unqualified for benefits

Back in March, De La Mora didn't get a stimulus check. When thinking about utility and rent assistance programs, she was told that she doesn’t qualify since not all of her household members are legal residents.

She receives $240 in food stamps that cover only her and her youngest child who has citizenship, but De La Mora stretches them to be able to feed the five members in the household. 

As a farmworker who works for multiple contractors, she's unable to apply for unemployment.  

“I’m in complete despair," De La Mora said. "Sometimes I have nothing, and people tell me that since I’m a legal citizen I can get all the benefits but I don’t." 

GETTING HELP:How New Mexico's stimulus package is aiding residents, businesses

Even before the pandemic, her job as a farmworker was unstable. Sometimes she would lose an entire pay day when there was a bad weather or maybe there just wasn't enough work to go around for all laborers.

Often times De La Mora has skipped buying personal items like soap, shampoo and body cream to pay for utilities. Originally from Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, De La Mora has considered going back.

“If I go back to my hometown in Coahuila it will mean I would have to start from zero. If I go back it would be worse,” De La Mora said.

One of the few benefits her family has been able to take advantage of in the United States is free school meals.

If her family were to go back to Mexico, she fears her children could spend a day without a single meal.

“I feel desperate and vulnerable. Some days I do well; others I don’t earn enough. Some days I have the basic and other days we have nothing much to eat.” De La Mora said. “I wish I could run away, but I can’t."

COVID-19 Economic Emergency Fund

Following the high economic relief need in El Paso, the Peace and Justice Ministry from the Diocese of El Paso, the Border Agricultural Workers Project and the Border Network for Human Rights established the From People to People Economic Fund Coalition in April.

The three nonprofits raised $26,000 to distribute to 35 families. The coalition aims to support families and individuals left out of the federal financial assistance efforts established in response to COVID-19.

With no end to the pandemic in the near future, the nonprofit members urge the community to donate to the fund to continue to assist families in need.

“This holiday season, we appeal to the generosity of our fellow residents," said Fernando Garcia, director of the BNHR. 

"We urge everyone to have compassion for those who already lack the resources to provide a hot meal for their families, pay their rent, or access essential medication, and are set to face more hardships in the coming months."

To donate to the COVID-19 emergency fund visit the BNHR website at bnhr.org/campaigns/covid-19-economic-emergency-fund-from-people-to-people/.

Veronica Martinez is a trending and immigration reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. She can be reached at vmartinez@lcsun-news.com or @vamartinez10 on Twitter.