Sandy Cobarrubias, an undocumented migrant worker, refused to visit the nCoV clinic for fear of losing the chance to get a green card.

Covid-19 was not part of the propaganda program when a legal support group two months ago held an information session on immigration issues for farmers working on farms in the Coachella Valley, California.

But when Luz Gallegos and his colleagues showed up at Coachella last weekend, they were questioned about nCoV. On March 16, health officials announced the first two virus deaths in Southern California, both from Coachella Valley.

"There is a new fear that is emerging in the immigrant community because of Covid-19," said Gallegos, director of the TODEC Legal Center. "We believe that many immigrants will hesitate to seek the medical care they need."

Questions asked by farmers include: If I go to the hospital, will my chances of becoming a lawful permanent resident be affected? Without paperwork, will I be treated or will I be deported? If I can't work because of the blockade, how will I support my family and pay my rent?

In the context that the nCoV has spread to all 50 states in the US, immigrants are probably the ones with the least ability to isolate themselves and seek medical care, experts say.

The Trump administration closed the border with Canada on March 18 and is considering closing the southern border with undocumented people in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading. But there are a lot of undocumented immigrants present in the US and they also face the same risks from nCoV as everyone else. However, they have fewer tools to protect themselves than most.

Those without health insurance fear that going to a public hospital or clinic will ruin their chances of obtaining a green card because of the new public support regulations imposed by the Trump administration that are increasingly strict with entry. populate.

Some other immigrants fear they will be put on the radar of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they come out for help.

ICE agents last week continued to carry out arrests of immigrants in areas most affected by nCoV, such as California or New York.

"Immigration communities' concern for the government is making it difficult for public health protection efforts," said Tanya Broder, a lawyer specializing in healthcare for immigrants at the National Immigration Law Center. gia, comment.

Migrants often live together, especially in cities where rents are high, making them vulnerable to cross-contamination. In East Los Angeles, Latin immigrants usually live with large families in a house. In the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles, thousands of Asian workers live in cramped apartment buildings called "boarding houses".

The work they do usually doesn't get paid if they take sick leave, so quarantining migrant workers is too expensive.

"Unfortunately, immigrants are faced with a difficult choice in the midst of this crisis: Being infected or becoming homeless," said Louise McCarthy, president of the Los Angeles Community Clinic Association. "A low-income worker can't take a day off, a day's pay can mean losing your home."

Among US immigrants, 24% are legal and 45% are undocumented or have health insurance, as reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In most states, community clinics serve every patient who needs medical care, regardless of their condition and affordability. And in some states like California, Massachusetts, New York or Illinois, undocumented children also get medical care.

But because of the so-called "social burden regulation" of the Trump administration, "even when medical services are available, immigrants are still afraid to look for the health care services they need."

The People's Community Clinic in Austin, Texas, said that since the outbreak, many undocumented patients refused to come to the hospital for fear of being arrested by ICE and afraid of becoming a "social burden".

"We are here to serve every patient, no matter what their papers are. I hope patients continue to look to us," said Regina Rogoff, clinic executive director.

For more than 25 years, Maria and Francisco Garcia have been undocumented migrant workers who specialize in picking and packaging cauliflower, pepper and dates in the Coachella Valley.

They recently became eligible to apply for a green card when their daughter, born in the United States, just turned 21. But because the cases of nCoV infection in their area are growing rapidly, the couple is now live in anxiety. They are afraid if infected with the virus, they will lose the opportunity to become a legal resident.

"My mother was bewildered by the situation of Covid-19. She always thought that if she went to the hospital, she would become a social burden," said Mariana, her daughter Maria and Francisco. Her parents' salary is only enough to survive the day, so they are also worried that if they get sick, they will not be able to pay the $ 500 rent each month.

"We are petrified," said Sandy Cobarrubias, 46, another undocumented migrant worker. Although after learning that seeking medical assistance to treat nCoV did not affect her chances of getting a green card, she did not feel comfortable.

"The president said one thing today, but did one thing tomorrow," she said.