Immigrants – especially those who are undocumented – are being disproportionately affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Almost 280,000 undocumented immigrants work in the healthcare industry, serving on the front lines of combating the pandemic. However, their hard work in hospitals and clinics comes at a high risk of exposing themselves to the virus, and creates a paradox: they’re considered both undocumented and essential at the same time.

Caitlin Dickerson, a national immigration reporter for the New York Times, joins us for a conversation on immigration during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Caitlin has been covering immigration since 2016 for the Times and, during the pandemic, has reported on changes to US immigration policy and the experiences of undocumented immigrants, international students and migrants at the US-Mexico border.