Thread: Hispanics Flock to Gulf Coast for Work Opportunities

Hispanics flock to Gulf Coast for work opportunities
By Stephen Ohlemacher
ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 7, 2006


Hurricanes Katrina and Rita drove an estimated 450,000 people from their communities along the Gulf Coast last year, but in the storms' wake, Hispanics moved in -- perhaps 100,000 or more.
New government estimates show a region slammed by population losses four months after the storms. Orleans Parish in Louisiana lost 279,000 people, and nearby St. Bernard Parish lost 61,000, or 95 percent of its residents.
Hispanics, however, swept in by the tens of thousands, according to estimates released yesterday by the Census Bureau.
Jose Rios, a Mexican immigrant from Eagle Point, Texas, runs a food trailer near a spot in New Orleans where dozens of immigrants wait each morning to be picked up for a day's work.
"Every time you look up on the roofs, the guys doing the hard work, they're all Hispanic," said Mr. Rios, 36.
Guillermo Meneses, spokesman for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said, "Where you see work and the opportunity for work, you will see Latinos."
The Census Bureau released population estimates yesterday for 117 counties and parishes along the Gulf Coast for the period before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and for Jan. 1, about four months afterward. The counties -- all in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas -- had been designated for hurricane assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The data showed 40 counties and parishes losing a total of 450,000 residents. The other 77 counties and parishes -- most of them farther inland -- added 200,000 people.
Census officials cautioned that there weren't many people to count in some areas four months after the storm, creating larger margins of error than in most other census studies. Also, the region has changed since January, with more residents returning to some areas.
Steve Murdock, a demographer at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said: "It's a mistake to think that these numbers provide a comprehensive look at the effects of Katrina. They provide a certain snapshot, but they are clearly only a partial picture."
Among the weaknesses in the data: Only people living in households were counted, meaning that hurricane refugees living in hotels and shelters were excluded. That skewed some population counts.
For example, the estimates showed that Harris County, Texas, home to Houston, grew by 93,000 people. The city and county have consistently placed the population influx at 150,000 people
"We know it says 90,000, but the number of people in the housing program alone exceeded that," said Frank Michel, spokesman for Houston Mayor Bill White.
Also, while the data clearly show an increase in Hispanics and immigrants in the hurricane region as a whole, it is less clear where those increases happened because the changes were so small in some areas.
Jorge del Pinal, an assistant division chief for the Census Bureau, said much of the increase appeared to be in coastal Texas, though there were also increases in Mississippi and Alabama.
In New Orleans, demographer Greg Rigamer estimated the city has rebounded to at least 221,000 people since January, or about half the size it was before the storms.
"The analogy I like to use is that it's like a stock price in the middle of the day. It's a very dynamic and fluid situation. People are continuing to return and the availability of housing and utilities has a bearing on that," said Mr. Rigamer, head of GCR & Associates Inc., a New Orleans consulting firm
Still, census officials said, the data offer the best look yet at who was driven from their homes, who was left behind, and who moved to the region in the months after the storms.

"Every time you look up on the roofs, the guys doing the hard work, they're all Hispanic," said Mr. Rios, 36.
Guillermo Meneses, spokesman for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said, "Where you see work and the opportunity for work, you will see Latinos."

I'd like to make a comment here based upon personel in the area who witnessed this transformation.

You see Hispanic laborers because AMERICAN CITIZEN WORK CREWS WERE SENT HOME!

Within hours of this event, I had friends and employees who went to this area as professionals and they assisted in rescues as they assessed the damage and what it was going to take to clean it up. Hundreds of AMERICAN CITIZENS arrived as soon as they were allowed in the area to begin work. I personally know of 27 American Citizens who were working day and night to assist the area that were told "You can leave now the Mexicans have arrived."

The reason .... hispanics were willing to work for one/fifth the wage.

Our crew is offshore now so I do not have firsthand knowledge of what is occuring onland but I heard all I needed to hear anyway. Whatever they decide if it does not have a penalty for employers violating the law it is worthless! I totally support the bill proposed by the House.

P.S.
Bush's comment "doing jobs Americans won't do" strikes a particularly hot button for me. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr Its a good thing he got off that line of melarky.

I have often said, the good people of Western Pa. didn't get the memo about doing jobs Americans won't do. Up here, you see Americans working fast food, hotels, restaurants and labors

Originally Posted by xanadu

"Every time you look up on the roofs, the guys doing the hard work, they're all Hispanic," said Mr. Rios, 36.
Guillermo Meneses, spokesman for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said, "Where you see work and the opportunity for work, you will see Latinos."

I'd like to make a comment here based upon personel in the area who witnessed this transformation.

You see Hispanic laborers because AMERICAN CITIZEN WORK CREWS WERE SENT HOME!

Within hours of this event, I had friends and employees who went to this area as professionals and they assisted in rescues as they assessed the damage and what it was going to take to clean it up. Hundreds of AMERICAN CITIZENS arrived as soon as they were allowed in the area to begin work. I personally know of 27 American Citizens who were working day and night to assist the area that were told "You can leave now the Mexicans have arrived."

The reason .... hispanics were willing to work for one/fifth the wage.

Our crew is offshore now so I do not have firsthand knowledge of what is occuring onland but I heard all I needed to hear anyway. Whatever they decide if it does not have a penalty for employers violating the law it is worthless! I totally support the bill proposed by the House.

P.S.
Bush's comment "doing jobs Americans won't do" strikes a particularly hot button for me. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr Its a good thing he got off that line of melarky.

same here -- 70+ American workers from the Mobile area were told they were not needed any longer because "the Mexican's had arrived"