El Pasoans applaud new stimulus package offering relief to families with mixed immigration status

EL PASO, Texas -- With congressional leaders reaching an agreement and approving a $900 billion stimulus relief bill, help could soon be on the way for millions of Americans. While many El Pasoans feel the bill falls short, it will provide relief for a new group: mixed status families.

Mixed status families are those who have members with different citizenships or immigration statuses. They were previously neglected, and not eligible for the one-time $1,200 check. This time around, congressional leaders ensured they were included in this bill.

"One other important aspect of this stimulus and I am glad to see there was bipartisan work on this, is making sure that mixed status families are able to tap into the stimulus," El Paso County Commissioner David Stout said.

While the stimulus will now cover mixed status families, Stout tells ABC-7 the bill neglects another group.

"There are a lot of folks that are undocumented that will continue to be out there working, especially in this community. We, anecdotally, have 60,000 or 70,000 undocumented folks here," Stout said. "Those folks can't stop working if they are exposed and if they have become sick, they can't stop working, they can't tap into unemployment. Its been really difficult for them".

Stout tells ABC-7 the county did not receive any additional funding to help with expenditures at the county level, but will be able to continue to spend CARES Act funds with an extension past the year's end deadline.

"Look at our Medical Examiner's Office, for example, and just the amount of expansion that we’ve had to put into that and to that area just being able to provide services to folks during a pandemic - it costs more,” Stout said.