![Illegal alien protest shuts down bridges in New York City to demand $3 billion in unemployment benefits](https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=29503690&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C32)
Image Source: WCBS-TV YouTube video screenshot
Thousands of illegal aliens shut down two bridges in New York City on Tuesday to protest for the government to pay $3 billion more into an unemployment benefit pool for illegals.
The illegal aliens and their activist supporters shut down traffic lanes on the Brooklyn bridge and the Manhattan bridge Tuesday morning.
Protesters called on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to place more taxpayer funding into the "Excluded Workers Fund," which was initially created to pass out $2.1 billion of unemployment payments to illegal aliens affected by the pandemic.
WCBS-TV reported that the funds were distributed to about 130,000 illegal alien recipients before it ran out. Each received the maximum benefit which was $15,600.
"Immigrant workers lost everything during the pandemic, and those who receive these funds are able to get back on their feet. That's why we're here because there are thousands upon thousands more who did not receive those funds," said illegal alien activist Diana Moreno.
One illegal alien named Xichitl Gomez said through a translator that the funds ran out before she was able to apply and the pandemic forced her to seek help at food pantries.
Activists demanded that $3 billion of taxpayer money replenish the fund and give out more unemployment checks to illegal aliens.
A spokesperson for Hochul said she had already included billions in her budget proposal.
"Gov. Hochul and the Department of Labor have distributed more than $2 billion to immigrant New Yorkers through the Excluded Workers Fund -- a commitment and level of benefits that far surpasses that of any other state," read the statement in part. "The governor's executive budget includes a commitment to work with the Legislature to determine the best way to invest an additional $2 billion in pandemic recovery initiatives."
Protesters also demanded that unemployment benefits for illegal aliens be made permanent in the state of New York. Liberal legislators in California are also seeking to pass similar benefits for the immigrants illegally present in that state.
Undocumented workers in NYC call for more unemployment benefitswww.youtube.com