NEW YORKIMMIGRATIONCOALITIONCOV I D - 1 9 TOOLK I T MARCH 2 0 2 0

New Yorkers looking for the most updated information can text COVID or

COVIDESP (for Spanish) to 692-692 or call the New York State Department

of Health’s Coronavirus hotline at 1-888-364-3065.

You can get care in NYC regardless of immigration status, health insurance

coverage, or ability to pay. From now until April 15th special enrollment for

uninsured New Yorkers is available: individuals can enroll through NY State

of Health or directly through insurers now for coverage effective on April

1st. If you need help getting medical care, call 311. 

All NYC schools are closed until at least April 20. Schools will be open 7:30

a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to hand out breakfast and lunch for any student until

further notice.

Immigration Courts, ICE and USCIS updates: NYC Immigration Courts

(Broadway and Federal Plaza) are CLOSED until further notice. All ICE in-

person check-ins are cancelled, but telephonic check-ins are still

happening. USCIS is closed, and all appointments are cancelled until at

least April 1.

Immigrant households can fill out the Census online now. Census forms can

be completed online: https://my2020census.gov/ or by phone 844-330-

2020.

CONTENTS

PART I : NYIC CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

A. HEALTH

B. IMMIGRATION

C. EDUCATION

D. SOCIAL SERVICES

E. CENSUS AND VOTING

F. LEGAL

G. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

PART II : COMMUNITY RESOURCE LIST

NYIC : COVID - 19 RESOURCE TOOLKIT

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PART I: NYIC CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

A. HealthNew Yo rke r s who a re expe r i enc ing f eve r , cough ,

sho r tness of b rea th o r o the r co ld o r f lu - l i ke

symp toms and do no t f ee l be t te r a f te r th ree to four

days shou l d consu l t medica l he lp . I f you need he lp

ge t t i ng medica l ca re , ca l l 311 . You can ge t ca re i n

NYC rega rd less of immig ra t i on s ta tus o r ab i l i t y to

pay .

Spec ia l en ro l lmen t fo r un insured New Yo rke r s now

ava i l ab le as COVID -19 cases c l imb . I nd iv i dua ls can

en ro l l th rough NY S ta te of Hea l th o r d i rec t ly

th rough i nsure r s f rom now un t i l Ap r i l 15th fo r

cove rage e f fec t ive on Ap r i l 1s t .Th is spec ia l

en ro l lmen t pe r i od hopes to d iscourage i nd iv i dua ls

f rom avo id ing COVID -19 tes t i ng o r medica l ca re

fo r f ea r of the cos t .

Eve ryone shou l d s tay home as much as poss i b l e ,

even i f they do no t have any symp toms of COVID -

19 . Whi le a t home , a l l New Yo rke r s shou l d se l f -

moni to r . Se l f -moni to r i ng means you check yourse l f

fo r f eve r and rema in a le r t fo r cough , sho r tness of

b rea th o r so re th roa t . I t is rea l ly impo r tan t tha t

peop le who have these symp toms s tay home and do

no t a t tend wo rk , schoo l , pub l i c even t s o r g roup

ga the r i ngs .

USCIS announced tha t rece iv i ng t rea tmen t o r

tes t i ng fo r co ronav i rus w i l l NOT be used i n any

future pub l i c cha rge ana lys is .

I nc iden t s of an t i -As i an o r an t i - immig ran t

d isc r im ina t i on can be repo r ted to 311 o r the New

Yo rk S ta te Ha te C r imes Task Fo rce ho t l i ne a t 1 -

888 -392 -3644 .

B. ImmigrationImmig ra t i on Cour t s : NYC Immig ra t i on Cour t s (B roadway and Fede ra l P laza ) a re

CLOSED un t i l fur the r no t i ce .

USCIS is c losed , and a l l appo in tmen t s a re cance l l ed un t i l a t l eas t Ap r i l 1 .

ICE : NYC i n -pe r son check - i ns a re cance l l ed , te lephon ic check - i ns a re s t i l l

happen ing . Wai t i ng to hea r back fo r Bu f f a lo/ups ta te of f i ce .

Fede ra l Cour t s : Ci t izensh ip Oa th Ce remon ies cance l l ed .

C. EducationAl l NYC schoo ls a re c losed un t i l a t l eas t Ap r i l 20 . Schoo ls w i l l be open 7 :30 a .m .

un t i l 1 :30 p .m . eve ry day th is week to hand out b reak fas t and lunch fo r any ch i ld

unde r the age of 18 un t i l fur the r no t i ce .

NYIC : COVID - 19 RESOURCE TOOLKIT

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D. Social Services

E. Census and VotingThe Queens Bo rough P res i den t Spec ia l Elec t i on has been pos tponed to an

unknown da te .

Census fo rms can be comple ted on l ine : h t tps : / /my2020census .gov/ o r by

phone 844 -330 -2020 .

Fo r l anguage suppo r t comple t i ng the Census , p lease v is i t :

h t tps : / /2020census .gov/en/ l anguages .h tml

P lease v is i t New Yo rk Coun t s 2020 fo r Census F requen t ly Asked Ques t i ons :

h t tps : / /newyo rkcoun t s2020 .o rg/census -1 -2 -3s/

S tuden t s and f ami l i es can p ick up medica t i on o r rece ive any s tanda rd medica l

se rv i ces f rom Tuesday th rough Thursday , dur i ng regu l a r schoo l hours ; schoo l

nurses and schoo l -based hea l th cen te r s ta f f w i l l be on s i te .

S ta r t i ng Ma rch 23 , Reg iona l En r i chmen t Cen te r s w i l l open fo r the ch i ld ren of

essen t i a l wo rke r s and o the r vu l ne rab le commun i t i es , mo re e l i g ib i l i t y de ta i ls a re

fo r thcoming .

Also s ta r t i ng Ma rch 23 , s tuden t s w i l l t rans i t i on to remo te l ea rn ing . The

Depa r tmen t of Educa t i on w i l l be mak ing tab le t s connec ted to the i n te rne t

ava i l ab le to the app rox ima te ly 300 ,000 s tuden t s tha t don ’ t curren t ly have access

(mo re de ta i ls fo r thcoming ) .

S ta r t i ng Monday , Ma rch 16 , Cha r te r cab le w i l l of fe r f ree Spec t rum b roadband

and Wi -F i access fo r 60 days to househo lds w i th K -12 and/o r co l l ege s tuden t s

who do no t a l ready have a subsc r i p t i on , and i ns ta l l a t i on f ees w i l l be wa ived fo r

new s tuden t househo lds (ca l l 1 -844 -488 -8395 . )  

The NYC Depa r tmen t of Educa t i on has pos ted   i ns t ruc t i ona l resources i n Eng l ish

fo r s tuden t s i n g rades P re -K th rough 12 on l ine a t schoo ls .nyc .gov/ l ea rna thome .

T rans l a t i ons i n a t l eas t the 9 cove red l anguages w i l l be deve loped .  

Mo re i n fo rma t i on about remo te l ea rn ing , mea ls , and o the r co re se rv i ces w i l l be

made ava i l ab le fo r f ami l i es a t schoo ls .nyc .gov .

F. Legal 

Ev i c t i on p roceed ings and pend ing ev i c t i on o rde r s w i l l be suspended s ta tew i de , un t i l

fur the r no t i ce s ta r t i ng Ma rch 16 a t 5 :00 p .m . Essen t i a l func t i ons tha t w i l l con t i nue

inc lude p roceed ings on l and lo rd l ockouts , se r i ous hous i ng code v i o l a t i ons and repa i r

o rde r s . The Depa r tmen t of Co r rec t i ons w i l l suspend i n -pe r son v is i ta t i on beg inn ing

Wednesday , Ma rch 18 . Fo r mo re i n fo rma t i on , p lease v is i t

h t tps : / /www . immig ra t i onadvoca tes .o rg/nonp rof i t/ l ega ld i rec to ry/sea rch?s ta te=NY

Any ch i ld unde r the age of 18 can p ick up b reak fas t and lunch f rom any schoo l fo r

the week of Ma rch 16 (7 :30am -1 :30pm ) . Al l p rog rams run by the Depa r tmen t fo r the

Ag ing a re c los i ng and cance l l i ng a l l cong rega te mea ls , rec rea t i ona l , and educa t i ona l

se rv i ces and ac t iv i t i es , e f fec t ive immed ia te ly . Sen io r cen te r s w i l l ope ra te s t r i c t ly to

de l ive r food to sen io r s , e i the r as take -home mea ls o r mea ls de l ive red to homes .

Human Resources Admin is t ra t i on (HRA ) bene f i t app l i ca t i ons fo r food and ut i l i t i es , as

we l l as o the r fo rms of eme rgency ass is tance , a re curren t ly ava i l ab le on l ine . Pend ing

S ta te app rova l , HRA w i l l no t take any adve r se ac t i on on cases whe re c l i en t s a re

unab le to keep the i r appo in tmen t s . New Yo rk S ta te has wa ived the 7 -day wa i t i ng

pe r i od fo r wo rke r s to c la im unemploymen t i nsurance due to COVID -19 .

NYIC : COVID - 19 RESOURCE TOOLKIT

5

G. Know Your RightsThe New Yo rk Immig ra t i on Coa l i t i on con t i nues to

rece ive i nqu i r i es , ques t i ons , and conce rns about

the r i gh t s of immig ran t s and membe r s of the

commun i t y . Many of these ques t i ons re la te to

engag ing w i th Immig ra t i on Cus toms Enfo rcemen t .

I n response , NYIC has des i gned a Know Your

R igh t s campa ign to p rov i de i n fo rma t i on and

resources to membe r s of our commun i t y , and the

p rov i de r s who se rve them .

If ICE Approaches You, Take Note of:

Whe re/When was the encoun te r w i th ICE?

How d id ICE of f i ce r s p resen t themse lves?

Did they p re tend to be po l i ce?

Refuse to i den t i fy themse lves?

Wha t d id the ICE agen t s say?

L ied to en te r the home , i n t im ida ted anyone , o r

used ve rba l/phys i ca l fo rce?

Was consen t g iven?

How d id they reac t , i f no consen t was g iven to

en te r/sea rch?

TO REPORT A RAID, CALL THEIMMIGRANT DEFENSE PROJECT (IDP):

212-725-6422

In Any Interact ion w ith Law orImmigrat ion Enforcement, The MostImportant Pract ices to Rememberare:

S tay ca lm

S tay s i l en t (don ’ t men t i on whe re you we re bo rn

o r how you en te red the US )

Reco rd de ta i ls and names

Do NOT run

Ask to speak to your l awye r befo re s i gn ing any

documen t s o r answe r i ng any ques t i ons

I f you do speak , do no t l i e .

Your home ca r r i es w i th i t spec ia l p ro tec t i ons

tha t pub l i c spaces do no t . Unde r s tand ing the

d i f f e rence be tween a pub l i c and p r iva te space

can he lp you nav i ga te s t ress fu l encoun te r s w i th

immig ra t i on enfo rcemen t a t your doo r s tep , and

po ten t i a l ly avo id ha rm .

NYIC : COVID - 19 RESOURCE TOOLKIT

6

PART II: COMMUNITY RESOURCE LIST

Access to Health

USCIS encourages a l l i nd iv i dua ls rega rd less

of immig ra t i on s ta tus who have COVID -19

symp toms ( f eve r , cough , sho r tness of b rea th )

to seek necessa ry medica l t rea tmen t o r

p reven ta t ive se rv i ces . Seek ing t rea tmen t o r

p reven ta t ive se rv i ces w i l l no t nega t ive ly

a f fec t you as pa r t of a future pub l i c cha rge

de te rmina t i on .  

The pub l i c cha rge ru l e does no t res t r i c t

access to tes t i ng , sc reen ing , o r t rea tmen t of

commun icab le d iseases , i nc lud ing COVID -19 .

The ru l e does no t res t r i c t access to vacc ines

fo r ch i ld ren o r adu l t s to p reven t vacc ine -

p reven tab le d iseases .  

The l is t of pub l i c bene f i t s cons i de red fo r

pub l i c cha rge i nc ludes mos t t ypes of

fede ra l ly funded Medica id , but does no t

i nc lude CHIP , o r S ta te , l oca l , o r t r i ba l pub l i c

hea l th ca re se rv i ces/ass is tance tha t a re no t

funded by f ede ra l Medica id .    

I f a pe r son sub jec t to the pub l i c cha rge ru l e

l ives i n a mun ic ipa l i t y whe re soc ia l

d is tanc ing o r qua ran t i ne a re i n p lace , o r

the i r employe r , schoo l , o r un ive r s i t y has

vo lun ta r i ly shut down ope ra t i ons to p reven t

the sp read of COVID -19 , they may submi t a

s ta temen t w i th h is o r he r app l i ca t i on fo r

ad jus tmen t of s ta tus i n o rde r to exp la in how

these po l i c i es have a f fec ted them and USCIS

mus t cons i de r the s ta temen t i n the i r pub l i c

cha rge de te rmina t i on . Fo r mo re i n fo rma t i on

on the pub l i c cha rge ru l e , p lease ca l l the

New Ame r i cans Ho t l i ne 1 -800 -566 -7636 .

NYIC : COVID - 19 RESOURCE TOOLKIT

7

PART II: COMMUNITY RESOURCE LIST

Department of Education

Support and ServicesTechno logy Ha rdwa re

h t tps : / /www .schoo ls .nyc .gov/ l ea rn ing/ l ea rn

-a t -home/d ive r se - l ea rn ing - fo r -spec ia l -

popu l a t i ons/ass is t ive - techno logy

Onl ine I ns t ruc t i on

Mea ls

Reg iona l En r i chmen t Cen te r s

h t tps : / /www .ny1 .com/nyc/a l l -

bo roughs/educa t i on/2020/03/17/c i t y - to -

open - - reg iona l -en r i chmen t -cen te r s - - fo r -

s tuden t s -whose -pa ren t s -a re -essen t i a l -

wo rke r s

h t tps : / /www .schoo ls .nyc .gov/schoo l -

l i f e/hea l th -and -we l lness/co ronav i rus -

upda te

h t tps : / /www .schoo ls .nyc .gov/ l ea rn ing/ l ea rn

-a t -home

h t tps : / /www .schoo ls .nyc .gov/schoo l -

l i f e/ food

The c i t y w i l l open about 100 s i tes to be used

as wha t i t ’s ca l l ed " reg iona l en r i chmen t

cen te r s" - p laces s tuden t s whose pa ren t s a re

essen t i a l wo rke r s can spend weekdays wh i l e

schoo ls a re c losed .

The cen te r s w i l l se rve s tuden t s f rom the

c i t y ’s "3 -K" p rog ram - p re -k inde rga r ten fo r

th ree -yea r -o lds - th rough h igh schoo l

sen io r s .

The cen te r s w i l l be open f rom 7 :30 a .m .

un t i l 6 p .m . , and each room w i l l have a

max imum of 12 ch i ld ren , suppo r ted by a t

l eas t one adu l t i n the room , i n o rde r to mee t

soc ia l d is tanc ing gu i de l i nes .

Census 2020Newyo rkcoun t s2020 .o rg

NYIC Resources Page

h t tps : / /www .ny i c .o rg/ resources -

t ra in ing/ resources/

Food Bank of NYC

Food Bank fo r New Yo rk Ci t y has been

mon i to r i ng the deve lopmen t

of  COVID -19  and tak ing p roac t ive

s teps to p ro tec t the New Yo rke r s who

re ly on the i r resources .

h t tps : / /www . foodbanknyc .o rg/cov i d -

19/

Tax Preparation

Ask your tax p repa re r to f i l e an

ex tens i on fo r you ;

F i l e us i ng tax p rep sof twa re , such

as Turbo Tax , H&R Block .

As of today , the dead l ine fo r f i l i ng

your i nd iv i dua l f ede ra l i ncome tax

re tu rns rema ins Ap r i l 15 , 2020 .

I f you need mo re t ime to f i l e your tax

re tu rns , cons i de r f i l i ng fo r an

ex tens i on . I nd iv i dua ls and bus i nesses

w i l l have an ex t ra 90 days to pay the

IRS i f they owe add i t i ona l i ncome tax

fo r 2019 .

To f i l e fo r an ex tens i on , you can :

Fo r mo re i n fo rma t i on , go to

nyc .gov/ taxp rep o r ca l l 311 and ask

fo r tax p repa ra t i on ass is tance .