Major Latino Organizations Announce Voter Engagement Program in New Jersey to Highlight Urgent Need for COVID Relief

With Every Statewide Office and the State Legislature Up for Re-Election this Year, Latino Organizations will Contact 100,000 Latinx Voters and Voters of Color over the Next Month to Elevate Access to COVID-19 Relief

(New Jersey – March 16, 2021) More than 948,000 Latinos are registered to vote in New Jersey. Yesterday, major Latino organizations, including LUPE PAC, the Latino Action Network, UnidosUS Action Fund and Make the Road New Jersey, announced a non-partisan strategic partnership to engage 100,000 Latino voters and voters of color over the next month. The partnership was announced in the wake of bombshell news reports that reveal that Latino men in New Jersey make up nearly half of all COVID-19 related deaths of individuals under the age of 50, even though Latino men only represent 12% of the population. Latino young men are 7 times more likely to die of COVID than white men in New Jersey. Immigrant families, predominantly Latino, have been left behind from federal relief and nearly every form of COVID aid. 343,000 Latinos in New Jersey are uninsured, representing the largest percentage of uninsured of any group.

To respond, and to elevate concerns of access to aid during this election year, the coalition of organizations will conduct outreach to 100,000 registered Latino voters and voters of color over the next month to discuss the COVID relief response and urge them to vote in the upcoming primary and general elections.

“The past year has devastated Latino communities across New Jersey. Though Latinos represent much of our essential workforce, many still cannot access income replacement, vaccines, or quality health care. Our state cannot survive unless everyone is provided access to relief and life-saving health care. The voice of Latino voters in New Jersey is growing – we are nearly one million strong – and we need to be heard. We are proud to join this effort to educate voters on this critical issue and work for meaningful change,” said Laura Matos, President of LUPE PAC.

“COVID-19 has highlighted the harmful conditions Black and Brown people are disproportionately exposed to and show us that the family you were born into, where you live, and where you work determines your survival in New Jersey. Elected officials have left our communities behind for too long. As our state legislature and Governor are up for re-election we are urging them to take immediate action to provide COVID relief to our communities,” said Christian Estevez, President of Latino Action Network.

“For an entire year, Latinx immigrants and our families have been left behind from nearly every form of aid. While other states have stepped up to provide income replacement and relief to immigrant families, New Jersey has left us out in the cold. We are the essential workers that allowed this state to shelter in place. Our young men are dying at a rate seven times as high as white people. But our state has forgotten us. Latinx voters will not forget,” said Deyanira Aldana, lead organizer at Make the Road New Jersey.

“Latino immigrants in New Jersey are not political pawns: they are children, neighbors, and essential workers from our communities that deserve access to COVID-related health and economic support. It’s time for our state officials to provide this much-needed assistance to immigrants for their health and well-being,” said Rafael Collazo, the Executive Director of the UnidosUS Action Fund.