Thread: Disaster aid urged for illegal migrants

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Disaster aid urged for illegal migrants
PLEA: The leader of the Inland Catholic diocese decries limits on help for noncitizens in need.

11:37 PM PDT on Thursday, September 22, 2005


By MICHAEL FISHER / The Press-Enterprise

Bishop Gerald Barnes, leader of the Diocese of San Bernardino, is urging federal legislators to extend disaster aid to illegal immigrants uprooted by Hurricane Katrina, and not to deport undocumented immigrants who fled the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.

"Now is the time to serve our common humanity and not discriminate against victims of the disaster because they are not U.S. citizens," Barnes, the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, said in a Tuesday letter to federal lawmakers.

"Like U.S. citizens, noncitizens have suffered from the hurricane and its aftermath, having lost their loved ones, their homes, jobs, and possessions. The relief they need is commensurate with the relief needed by U.S. citizens affected by the disaster, but they are in danger of being overlooked," Barnes wrote.




Undocumented and nonimmigrant workers are eligible for noncash, in-kind emergency disaster relief such as food and shelter and emergency medical care, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But federal rules do not allow illegal immigrants to receive other federal aid unless a member of their family, such as a child, is a citizen, FEMA officials said.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the federal government announced that undocumented immigrants could apply for federal aid without fear that their names would be turned over to law enforcement. There are no immediate plans to renew that assurance for hurricane victims, said Joanna Gonzalez, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security.

"Right now, the priority is to provide immediate assistance to all victims: Food, water, medical care, shelter, crisis counseling, disaster legal services," Gonzalez said.

Barnes' letter comes amid a handful of reports of hurricane evacuees in Texas and elsewhere being taken into custody or ordered to appear at deportation hearings. Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Southern California, said no illegal immigrants who are evacuees have been detained in Riverside or San Bernardino counties.

Mark Krikorian, with the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., argues that illegal immigrants should be eligible for emergency aid only.

"If somebody is on a roof and the water is rising, we are morally obliged to rescue that person. We are not going to ask them for their green card," said Krikorian, whose group backs tighter immigration laws. "When it comes to helping people resettle, to find new jobs, we are morally obliged not to give that kind of assistance to illegal aliens."

Barnes also asked federal lawmakers to give hurricane victims access to food stamps and Medicaid regardless of their immigration status, and that they provide work authorizations for victims without legal status.

sure aid, why not, aid them right back to the border.

Originally Posted by Charlesoakisland

sure aid, why not, aid them right back to the border.

I second that.