Hurricane Chasers: An Immigrant Work Force on the Trail of Extreme Weather

[Say it aint so]

Itinerant, largely undocumented workers devoted to hurricane recovery in the U.S. have endured shabby housing and haphazard payments.

"The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 1.2 million Americans live in coastal areas at risk of significant damage from hurricanes. The increased frequency and severity of such disasters have given rise to a new recovery-and-reconstruction work force.

It is overwhelmingly made up of immigrants.

Like the migrant farmworkers of yesteryear who followed the crops, the hurricane workers move from disaster to disaster. They descended on New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina; Houston after Harvey; North Carolina after Florence; Florida after Irma and Michael. And as the United States confronts more extreme weather caused by climate change, theirs has become a growth industry.

NYTimes

People like Abbott and DeSantis are well aware of this. If anyone thinks DeSantis will be bus loading these people to Martha's Vineyard or doing E-verification checks is fooling themselves. He will never say publicly the reality of needs.

 

[dqhall]

NYTimes

People like Abbott and DeSantis are well aware of this. If anyone thinks DeSantis will be bus loading these people to Martha's Vineyard or doing E-verification checks is fooling themselves. He will never say publicly the reality of needs.

I paid a licensed contractor yesterday to tarp my roof after Hurricane Ian. He used Hispanic roofing laborers. I did not ask them if they had green cards. Other people are frantically searching for help as there is a chance of rain this week.

Before the storm made landfall, I drove to Pompano Beach, Florida to stay in a hotel room I reserved online. While there, I met some of the hotel staff, shopped for food and used a fast food drive through. I was there six days and had to use a laundromat. Costs $4.00 to use the washing machine, had not used one in years. There were some Spanish speaking people along my path and some who appeared Hispanic, but spoke American English with a northern accent. Cubans and Puerto Ricans moved to Florida.

 

[Pommer]

I paid a licensed contractor yesterday to tarp my roof after Hurricane Ian. He used Hispanic roofing laborers. I did not ask them if they had green cards. Other people are frantically searching for help as there is a chance of rain this week.

Before the storm made landfall, I drove to Pompano Beach, Florida to stay in a hotel room I reserved online. While there, I met some of the hotel staff, shopped for food and used a fast food drive through. I was there six days and had to use a laundromat. Costs $4.00 to use the washing machine, had not used one in years. There were some Spanish speaking people along my path and some who appeared Hispanic, but spoke American English with a northern accent. Cubans and Puerto Ricans moved to Florida.

Narrator: Puerto Ricans are American Citizens.

 

[dqhall]

Narrator: Puerto Ricans are American Citizens.

A U.S. citizen can not vote in Congressional or Federal elections while residing in Puerto Rico as it is not a State. A Puerto Rican residing in Florida can vote in State and Federal elections. Puerto Ricans may be eligible for Social Security and Medicare. U.S. residents may live in Puerto Rico.