Undocumented Workers 'Locked Out' From Economic Relief, Says Corby Kummer

Restaurant Workers — Populous Los Angeles County won approval Friday to reopen restaurants. But many undocumented workers have not had economic relief during a time of spiked unemployment.

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

June 05, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio on Friday about undocumented restaurant workers, who are unable to get a stimulus check or file for unemployment.

"We need to figure out how to protect undocumented workers and how to get them the kind of social safety nets that they're completely locked out from, even though in order to work, they pay taxes," he said. "They pay umemployment taxes, which they're never able to access."

A lot of restauranteurs are prioritizing hiring back undocumented workers during reopening, Kummer added. "Because they are the backbone of the restaurant industry, they're the dishwashers and prep cooks," he said. "What are we going to do moving forward to protect these workers?"

Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.