Indigenous woman with young child

Fear Of Deportation Is Keeping Undocumented Immigrants From Seeking Vaccination – HuffPost

By Rowaida Abdelaziz, HuffPost

Many experts warn of a public health disaster, citing lack of accessibility, fear of deportation and general wariness, unless a strategy is put in place to communicate with hard-to-reach communities and allow them the opportunity to get vaccinated without risks to them or their families.

‘The undocumented community has really been disproportionately affected by everything that’s happening with the pandemic,’ said Adonia Simpson, director of the Family Defense Program at the Miami-based immigrant-rights group Americans for Immigrant Justice.

Hostility toward immigrants by the Trump administration and some lawmakers, as well as fear of possible information sharing with immigration officials, has forced some immigrants underground, even though undocumented immigrants are among those most vulnerable to the coronavirus, Simpson added.”