Posted on 08/29/2004 12:11:24 PM PDT by Dubya
WAUCHULA, Fla. - Angel Lopez examined a blue flier that read in English and Spanish, "Disaster Assistance is Available Now," but discarded it as soon as FEMA workers moved on to another house in this neighborhood of migrant farmworkers.
Lopez had no intention of applying for federal assistance even though Hurricane Charley ripped off part of the roof of the home he rents and damaged his possessions.
"I fear being deported," said the 32-year-old farmworker, who came to Florida illegally from Veracruz, Mexico, two years ago.
Fear of deportation is one of the many obstacles preventing illegal immigrants who lost their homes or jobs during Hurricane Charley from seeking disaster relief. The language barrier is also a problem, and undocumented workers can't apply for cash assistance, although they are eligible for food and temporary shelter.
"The key issue now is discrimination taking place relating to emergency assistance because of immigration status," said Jorge Lomonaco, the Mexican consul general in Miami. "You don't want so many people left behind in this state."
Thousands of illegal immigrants, most originally from Mexico and Guatemala, work in southwest Florida's agricultural heartland, which was devastated by Charley's 145-mph winds.
Many are migrant workers who were picking crops up north and won't have jobs when they return to Florida in the winter because the hurricane damaged an estimated 20 percent of Florida's citrus crop for the upcoming season.
Others have settled in the area permanently. In two counties that were hardest-hit, agricultural bastions DeSoto and Hardee counties, Hispanics make up a quarter and a third of the population, respectively. Foreign-born residents account for one in six residents in both counties.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency limits cash-assistance and unemployment programs to U.S. citizens and qualified aliens, although undocumented residents can get nonmonetary help such as ice, water, shelter, food and counseling.
Those who have children born in the United States can apply for cash assistance on their behalf.
"The fact that you're undocumented doesn't mean you can't get assistance," said Justo Hernandez, deputy federal coordinating officer for FEMA.
Hector Barreto, the U.S. Small Business Administration administrator, conceded that illegal immigrants are limited in the aid they can receive from the department, but he said the state and private groups such as the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross may offer financial help.
"If we can't help them, we'll refer them to somebody who can," Barreto said.
About 70 miles southwest of Wauchula, at the Pink Citrus Trailer Park in the island town of Bokeelia, landscape workers Esteban Juanta, 36, and Antonio Avalos, 24, lived with a third roommate in a trailer that Juanta estimates has about $3,000 in water damage from the hurricane.
As illegal immigrants, they fear they will be unable to get disaster-relief cash that would allow them to stay in the trailer park, where at least three-quarters of the residents are Mexican.
"We need a Social Security number," said Avalos, 24, of Michoacan, Mexico. "If we don't have one, forget about it."
Gov. Jeb Bush, who has been in regular contact with FEMA Director Michael Brown, said illegal immigrants shouldn't fear being deported if they apply for disaster aid.
ONLINE:www.fema.gov
And I though being illegal in the USA was a crime.
Jeb is just being a truly compassionate conservative. As it is the only thing the illegals had left to fear is fear (as we all know real actions are rare), Jeb is simply removing that remaining burden.
It was, once.
Gee, I wonder what would happen to me if I were an illegal in Mexico when a hurricane passed through and took off my trailer roof? Nothing good, I'd wager.
Ya know, I think that if there were enough bank robbers voting, then soon bank robbery would be an "overlooked" illegal activity too.
I believe you are right. I will vote Republican this year. From then on the candidates had better start paying attention to what I want and I don't plan on sending them one red cent to get their attention. I am sick of politicians and their disregard for what the people who make up the party want.
This is really simple. If you're here illegally you've broken the law and are therefore a criminal. And you should be treated as a criminal.If we aren't going to treat the illegals as the criminals they are, why don't we get serious and practical and decriminalize breaking into our country.
Oh, and if you're a criminal alien reading this, speak English, DAMNIT!
Schwarzenegger veto probable on license bill
By Jordan Rau
Los Angeles Times
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Rushing to end their 2004 session on schedule, California lawmakers defiantly ignored Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's objections and voted to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants who pass a criminal background check.
The Senate narrowly passed the measure, 21-14, on Friday, and the Assembly followed, 42-35. The bill goes to the governor, whose aides said Friday night that he would veto it.
The passage came a year after Democratic lawmakers enacted a similar law -- only to repeal it on the heels of Schwarzenegger's election. Despite changes, the new version faces an all-but-certain veto from the governor, who spoke against the idea during the campaign to recall former Gov. Gray Davis.
Schwarzenegger and Democrats had spent the entire session talking about a palatable compromise on the politically charged topic. Democrats insisted that their revised plan addressed the concerns about public safety that the governor cited during last fall's campaign.
"This bill meets every expectation, every concern that the governor raised," said Sen. Gil Cedillo, a Democrat and the measure's author. "We've met it, and we expect that he's going to be honorable."
But the governor's aides said Schwarzenegger would veto the plan because the bill would not require a visible symbol on licenses identifying the holder as a noncitizen.
Abetting lawlessness is not "compassionate," it is a crime. If you help the criminal escape punishment, you join him in committing a criminal act. Jeb Bush is the Chief Executive of Florida, sworn to uphold the law, just as his brother, the President, is sworn to uphold federal law. Both of them are refusing to enforce immigration law.
You have put it very well.
I though helping a criminal was called conspiracy and a criminal by anyone who helps them.
I thought aiding and abetting was a crime - even for reporters.
So did I.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/WILFREDO LEE
Estevan Valazquez, a landscape worker from Guatemala, lives in a moldy, water-damaged trailer in Bokeelia, Fla. Illegal immigrants are ineligible to receive federal disaster-relief cash.
Illegal Aliens face obstacles getting aid after disaster (FL)
I'm all for the golden rule -- but if I don't see good will, I'll take the silver: "Do unto others as they do unto you." The US needs to do this with respect to immigration and benefits. Other countries treat US citizens like crap as soon as they run out of money--and sometimes even before.
I would prefer that the man in question go home and solve his country's problems by staying there and working for change. Barring that, which I suspect is the case, he'll probably get help from local church groups, volunteering labor and materials. Happens all the time. Points of light and all that.
ping
Oh, please that is another crap article about immigrants being afraid of being deported. The entire Federal and state government don't pay any attention to such information.
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