With the virus spreading rapidly in the cramped working conditions of the poultry plants, many Mississippi immigrants have contracted COVID-19. Tragically, a number of immigrants have passed away from COVID. In a community still suffering the fallout from last year’s massive immigration raids, this combination of illness, deaths, and layoffs has been devastating. 

In June, MIRA collaborated with the Mississippi Department of Health and Sacred Heart Catholic Church to provide drive-thru COVID-19 testing for the immigrant community in Canton, Mississippi. We distributed handmade masks (which we purchase from an entrepreneurial group of Latina women) and encouraged everyone to participate in the 2020 Census. We plan to participate in similar pop-up COVID testing sites in the weeks ahead.

We continue to provide financial aid and other supplies to the immigrant families with greatest needs.

For further reading on the essential role that immigrants play during the pandemic, we recommend The Essential, The Undocumented from The Progressive.