Thread: Fox urges migrants to seek assistance from Hurricane Katrina

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Fox urges migrants to seek assistance

El Universal
Sábado 03 de septiembre de 2005
Nuestro mundo, página 1


Mobile consulates are being created to respond to the needs of thousands of Mexicans affected by Hurricane Katrina.


President Vicente Fox on Friday urged Mexicans hit by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cooperate with emergency workers without fear of being deported.
Mexicans make up one of the largest migrant communities in the flooded New Orleans area, say consular officials.

In New Orleans and other areas hit hard by the hurricane, Mexicans described harrowing experiences.

On Friday, a Mexican doctor trapped by floodwaters at New Orleans' Charity Hospital made an impassioned plea for help, in an interview with Mexico's Televisa network.

"Help us, please!" sobbed Rojas, saying that 1,200 people remain trapped in the hospital where he works, with staff members sleeping in hallways.

"The conditions of survival here are ever more deplorable," Rojas said, adding later, "Aid is arriving, but very slowly."

No Mexicans had been reported dead as of late Friday.

In the face of the humanitarian disaster, Fox said he has instructed Mexican consulates in Houston and Atlanta to strengthen their outreach efforts. Government officials said about US175,000 has been transferred to the consulates for emergency services.



MOBILE CONSULTATES

Fox also called for the immediate creation of mobile consulate offices in affected areas in Louisiana and Mississippi. He said there are now offices in Baton Rouge and the Houston Astrodome. The president urged Mexicans to cooperate with U.S. authorities.

"We ask that you work without fear of the U.S. authorities and cooperate with them," he said in an address earlier this week. "Don't be afraid to follow rescue officials' directions. They are capable people for these kinds of incidents and can help you."

Officials say illegal migrants may be avoiding authorities to duck questions about their immigration status, exposing themselves to even greater danger.

"We are sending messages that we consider very important so that they can receive the help of authorities without any fear," said Carlos González, Mexican consul to Houston, in a radio interview that was broadcast in Mexico City.

In a telephone interview, Remedios Gómez Arnau of the Mexican consulate in Atlanta said there are about 30,000 Mexicans in Mississippi and about 70,000 in Alabama. Yet, he was unsure of how many Mexicans were affected because of communication difficulties.

"At this point, we have not been able to find anyone in the Mexican community in the accommodations we have visited," he said.

In Alabama, an untold number of Mexicans have had their homes destroyed but many have resisted seeking help from authorities for fear of being detained and deported.

Raúl Anguiano, who moved to Mobile, Ala., from Michoacoan three years ago, said he lost everything.

"Our house was flooded by almost a meter of water and we lost everything: the cars, clothes, the furniture," he said. "The only the thing we have left is what we're wearing."

But instead of seeking refuge in a shelter or hotel, he preferred to move in with a Mexican family that had been more fortunate.



AVOIDING DETECTION

"We are not like any of the other people affected. We always have to be careful with the border patrol to avoid being detected," he said.

The consulate offices in Houston and Atlanta have fielded more than 900 calls from people seeking to locate their families. Offices are distributing telephone cards to affected Mexicans so that they can contact their families in Mexico.

On Friday, U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza thanked Mexicans for their support, saying in a press release that "in the wake of the worst natural disaster to strike the United States in more than a century," U.S. citizens were grateful for the sympathy received from Mexicans. Many, he said, have family members and friends in the affected area.

Officials say 21 percent of Mexicans living in Louisiana are originally from Guanajuato and 12 percent of those in Mississippi are from San Luis PotosÃÂ*.

Quote: President Vicente Fox on Friday urged Mexicans hit by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cooperate with emergency workers without fear of being deported.
Mexicans make up one of the largest migrant communities in the flooded New Orleans area, say consular officials.

Oh yea, Vicente? I think the American people will decide whether or not illegal aliens will get deported, Buster. You can FORGET the FEMA money. If George Bush tries to pull that on us....Impeachment is certain.
Then you're really out of luck. The well is dry, scram.

The president urged Mexicans to cooperate with U.S. authorities.

Which "president" is this? I get so confused since we obviously have two presidents running the US.

The Mexicans should have "cooperated" with US authorities AND LAWS and never have come here ILLEGALLY in the first place!

If you'd abide by the law, you'd by safe and dry in Mexico.

Maybe this experience will make some rethink their "American dream" and return to Mexico - hopefully!

This just burns me up. Do you clearly notice how there is no mention by Vicente of any plans to bring them back to Mexico. Oh NO. He expects them to stay here, collect FEMA money which is meant for the legal citizens of the United States....and his great hope is that they will be quickly re-employed in the rebuilding process of New Orleans.

In my opinion, this is an outrage. Our country is undergoing the aftermath of a catastrophe, and this stinking fool still wants to reap as many benefits as he possibly can out of the American people.

HOW George W. Bush handles this is going to be the biggest clue to the people of this country as to whether or not he wants to continue to be our president. He needs to address this fast.

If he lets this slide, I think it's time for protest in Washington SOON. I am serious .

I just browsed through the FEMA web site. It does not appear to me that illegals can collect FEMA money.

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/process/h ... nglish.pdf

To receive money or help for Housing Needs that are the result of a disaster, all of the following
must be true:
• You have losses in an area that has been declared a disaster area by the President.
• You have filed for insurance benefits and the damage to your property is
not covered by your insurance. You may be eligible for help from IHP to repair
damage to your property.
• You or someone who lives with you is a citizen of the United States, a noncitizen
national, or a qualified alien.
• Your home is in an area that has been declared a disaster area by the President.
• The home in the disaster area is where you usually live and where you were
living at the time of the disaster.
• You are not able to live in your home now, you cannot get to your home due
to the disaster, or your home requires repairs because of damage from the disaster.

The person filing the claim also needs to have a social security number.

Seeing how the United States is letting illegals have everything else I would not be surprised some kind of arrangement will be made to give them FEMA money. Illegals can get loans, open bank accounts, and buy houses without a social security number. Just flash that matricular card and collect the money. Rules, laws, and citizen status are no longer relevant in the United States.

Brian, go read the news story just posted by Dman1200 on this thread. YOU ARE RIGHT! He authorized and agreed with Mexico to give illegals FEMA and to not deport them.

I read Dman's article. The article I posted above, and another I posted this morning hinted about some kind of deal was made. His goes a little deeper into it. It appears Bush is going to use the disaster to sell us out even further by giving more benefits to illegals.

Here's one for the Pentagon and Homeland Security. If the illegals are allowed to stay and they are assisted, then any other illegals coming into New Orleans for future jobs can claim they were there before the storm hit. Thus the illegal population grows in New Orleans and before you know it, we have an eastern entry point of invasion, which is the same entry point in which oil is moved to refineries and goods are shipped overseas. At the rate we are going, Mexico will have control of New Orleans. Am I reaching to far people?

New Orleans could very well turn into a hispanic city. It's going to take years to rebuild for one. I would assume most people will leave and never return because of what happened. Once they are established elsewhere there will be less reason to return. That leaves the door wide open for another group to move in. If they have plenty of cheap affordable housing it definitely could draw in a large illegal population to fill the void.