Sen. Maggie Hassan was wrong to vote yes on Sen. Todd Young’s callous amendment that would have denied stimulus relief to millions of U.S. citizens and immigrants nationwide, including thousands right here in New Hampshire.

Last week, the senator from Indiana introduced an amendment that would have made it possible to exclude even more mixed-status families from receiving stimulus relief. This would have essentially imposed a “marriage penalty” or “family penalty” on U.S. citizens, punishing them for who they are married to or who their parents are.

While the amendment was quickly overturned as a result of an effort spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the shock remains that Sen. Hassan, along with seven other Democratic senators, voted to deny millions of Americans, including children, the relief they so desperately need to make ends meet during this crisis.

There’s no question that New Hampshire’s immigrant communities contribute to the vibrancy and success of our state. New Hampshire is home to 83,000 foreign-born individuals, as well as 103,000 U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent. Immigrants are the backbone of our economy, comprising 6.5% of our labor force. Also, 6.4% of all essential workers in New Hampshire are foreign born – the health care professionals, food service workers, child care providers, and more who are on the front lines of this crisis, putting themselves at risk to help our communities respond to the pandemic.

We also know that immigrant communities have been disproportionately impacted nationwide by COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and death, as well as job loss, and food and housing insecurity. Stimulus relief from the federal government is badly needed for many mixed-status families to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads during this crisis. That’s why Sen. Hassan’s vote to deny this relief is so egregious.

Mixed-status families have already been left out of previous stimulus packages. The CARES Act excluded 5 million U.S. citizens and legal immigrants nationwide. While the second round of relief included some members of mixed-status families and a retroactive fix for many who were left out of the CARES Act, it still excluded 2.2 million U.S. citizens and legal immigrants, as well as 9.3 million ITIN filers.

It is unacceptable that a stimulus package passed during a Democratic administration with Democratic control of both houses of Congress could be less inclusive than packages passed under a Republican president and Republican Senate. It is unacceptable that some Democrats, like Sen. Hassan, are enabling the Republicans’ efforts to deny badly needed relief purely based on who someone is married to or who their parents are. Every other Democratic senator from New England voted against this amendment – why couldn’t Sen. Hassan?

We sincerely hope that Sen. Hassan will apologize to the immigrants of New Hampshire for this reckless attack and that she will join us in the fight for an inclusive stimulus package. We cannot recover from COVID-19 if we don’t include all New Hampshire families, regardless of citizenship status. Immigrants have had our backs in New Hampshire throughout this crisis – it’s time that Sen. Hassan had theirs.

(Eva Castillo Turgeon of Manchester is director of the New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees. Sebastian Fuentes of Thornton is a Latino activist and New Hampshire Democratic delegate.)