media inquiries: William Youmans
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Public Affairs Officer
(202) 635-5810
- immigration expertise
- policy analysis
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May 19, 2006 / Volume CXXXIII, Number 10
SHORT TAKE
Two Disasters
Donald Kerwin
Before Hurricane Katrina hit, an estimated twenty to thirty-five thousand undocumented immigrants lived on the
Gulf Coast. In the weeks following the disaster, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to provide
assurance that undocumented individuals who sought government aid would not be deported. Instead, DHS
announced that it would not “turn a blind eye” to violations of the law and would take a “case by case”
approach to “illegal aliens.” The results were predictable. In Long Beach, Mississippi, federal officials demanded
that undocumented residents leave a Red Cross shelter or be deported. In El Paso, Texas, DHS initiated
deportation proceedings against three Gulf Coast evacuees.
As a consequence, needy immigrants in the Gulf region did not seek emergency aid. (Although the
undocumented do not qualify for food stamps and federal cash assistance, they can receive short-term,
noncash disaster relief like emergency shelter, medical care, food, and water.) As Homeland Security officials
surely know, most immigrants will not seek help if doing so might lead to deportation. Nor will they come forward
to report crimes, share information regarding potential terrorist threats, or inform officials of a potential public-
health emergency.
Five years ago, in the aftermath of 9/11, immigration officials took a more compassionate approach. Ten days
after the attacks, the commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) made an announcement to
immigrants who had lost loved ones. They need not fear coming forward to identify their relatives, he said; they
would not be arrested or deported. (Family members of undocumented workers were also later included in the
9/11 compensation package.) Why did the government decline to make a similar offer of amnesty to victims of
Katrina? Part of the answer lies in the decision to place INS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) under the control of the newly formed DHS. In the rush to create a government agency to help prevent
further terrorist attacks, the administration failed to recognize the potential conflicts created by charging one
organization with both humanitarian relief and immigration enforcement. Unfortunately, the Katrina tragedy has
made this problem all too clear.
DHS was created to streamline the management of numerous government organizations. At the time, immigrant
advocates cautioned that placing immigration services within a security agency could send the message that
foreign-born individuals were inherently a threat. Advocates also worried that DHS would focus its energies on
enforcement activities at the expense of the important job of awarding legal status to qualifying immigrants. To
be fair, few people at the time anticipated the problems that could result from having DHS handle both
immigration services and disaster relief. (Earlier this month, several senators-including Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and
Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)-called for making FEMA independent of DHS, but the Republican majority seems unlikely to
approve such a move. Another Senate proposal would do away with FEMA and replace it with a new agency
called the National Preparedness and Response Authority, which would remain under the auspices of DHS.)
DHS policies have also adversely affected the immigrants who are new to the Gulf Coast: workers hired for the
rebuilding effort. In tacit recognition that immigrants would be needed to assist in the cleanup of the region, DHS
initially announced that it would not sanction employers for hiring undocumented workers. President George W.
Bush also temporarily suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires employers to pay the “prevailing”
community wage in federally funded contracts.
Not surprisingly, immigrant laborers-many of them undocumented-migrated to the Gulf Coast in massive
numbers. Yet despite the generous promises of labor contractors, many workers have suffered gross labor
abuses, including unpaid wages, substandard housing, and unsafe working conditions. Like the immigrants
displaced by Katrina, many fear seeking help lest they be deported.
The realistic solution to this problem is also the humane one. The Gulf Coast area-with its 99,000 square miles of
devastation, thousands upon thousands of destroyed homes, and $125 billion in damages-cannot be rebuilt
without immigrant labor. DHS should provide temporary work visas to undocumented laborers so that they can
assist with cleanup and reconstruction. The government should also provide temporary legal status to
undocumented immigrants displaced by the disaster. Such an approach would not be without precedent. The
United States regularly offers “temporary protected status” to people from countries that have been ravaged by
war or natural disaster.
Immigrant labor is in demand throughout the United States, not just in the Gulf Coast region. Legislators need to
find ways to set these workers on a path toward legalization-and, by extension, into U.S. society. There are 12
million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The Senate is currently considering proposals that
would allow them to “earn” permanent residency if they work for a certain number of years, demonstrate good
moral character, learn English, and pay a fine. It is unclear what action the Senate will take. Thankfully, the Bush
administration and a bipartisan group of senators have distanced themselves from the harsh immigration
legislation passed by the House of Representatives last December, which would make it a crime simply to be an
undocumented person. Most observers agree that attempting to prosecute and deport large numbers of
immigrants would be both impractical and inhumane. The Senate should agree on a comprehensive bill that
provides a path to legal status for such workers. Such legislation would serve the needs of the Gulf Coast and
the good of the nation.
SHORT TAKE
Two Disasters
Donald Kerwin
Before Hurricane Katrina hit, an estimated twenty to thirty-five thousand undocumented immigrants lived on the
Gulf Coast. In the weeks following the disaster, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to provide
assurance that undocumented individuals who sought government aid would not be deported. Instead, DHS
announced that it would not “turn a blind eye” to violations of the law and would take a “case by case”
approach to “illegal aliens.” The results were predictable. In Long Beach, Mississippi, federal officials demanded
that undocumented residents leave a Red Cross shelter or be deported. In El Paso, Texas, DHS initiated
deportation proceedings against three Gulf Coast evacuees.
As a consequence, needy immigrants in the Gulf region did not seek emergency aid. (Although the
undocumented do not qualify for food stamps and federal cash assistance, they can receive short-term,
noncash disaster relief like emergency shelter, medical care, food, and water.) As Homeland Security officials
surely know, most immigrants will not seek help if doing so might lead to deportation. Nor will they come forward
to report crimes, share information regarding potential terrorist threats, or inform officials of a potential public-
health emergency.
Five years ago, in the aftermath of 9/11, immigration officials took a more compassionate approach. Ten days
after the attacks, the commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) made an announcement to
immigrants who had lost loved ones. They need not fear coming forward to identify their relatives, he said; they
would not be arrested or deported. (Family members of undocumented workers were also later included in the
9/11 compensation package.) Why did the government decline to make a similar offer of amnesty to victims of
Katrina? Part of the answer lies in the decision to place INS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) under the control of the newly formed DHS. In the rush to create a government agency to help prevent
further terrorist attacks, the administration failed to recognize the potential conflicts created by charging one
organization with both humanitarian relief and immigration enforcement. Unfortunately, the Katrina tragedy has
made this problem all too clear.
DHS was created to streamline the management of numerous government organizations. At the time, immigrant
advocates cautioned that placing immigration services within a security agency could send the message that
foreign-born individuals were inherently a threat. Advocates also worried that DHS would focus its energies on
enforcement activities at the expense of the important job of awarding legal status to qualifying immigrants. To
be fair, few people at the time anticipated the problems that could result from having DHS handle both
immigration services and disaster relief. (Earlier this month, several senators-including Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and
Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)-called for making FEMA independent of DHS, but the Republican majority seems unlikely to
approve such a move. Another Senate proposal would do away with FEMA and replace it with a new agency
called the National Preparedness and Response Authority, which would remain under the auspices of DHS.)
DHS policies have also adversely affected the immigrants who are new to the Gulf Coast: workers hired for the
rebuilding effort. In tacit recognition that immigrants would be needed to assist in the cleanup of the region, DHS
initially announced that it would not sanction employers for hiring undocumented workers. President George W.
Bush also temporarily suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires employers to pay the “prevailing”
community wage in federally funded contracts.
Not surprisingly, immigrant laborers-many of them undocumented-migrated to the Gulf Coast in massive
numbers. Yet despite the generous promises of labor contractors, many workers have suffered gross labor
abuses, including unpaid wages, substandard housing, and unsafe working conditions. Like the immigrants
displaced by Katrina, many fear seeking help lest they be deported.
The realistic solution to this problem is also the humane one. The Gulf Coast area-with its 99,000 square miles of
devastation, thousands upon thousands of destroyed homes, and $125 billion in damages-cannot be rebuilt
without immigrant labor. DHS should provide temporary work visas to undocumented laborers so that they can
assist with cleanup and reconstruction. The government should also provide temporary legal status to
undocumented immigrants displaced by the disaster. Such an approach would not be without precedent. The
United States regularly offers “temporary protected status” to people from countries that have been ravaged by
war or natural disaster.
Immigrant labor is in demand throughout the United States, not just in the Gulf Coast region. Legislators need to
find ways to set these workers on a path toward legalization-and, by extension, into U.S. society. There are 12
million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The Senate is currently considering proposals that
would allow them to “earn” permanent residency if they work for a certain number of years, demonstrate good
moral character, learn English, and pay a fine. It is unclear what action the Senate will take. Thankfully, the Bush
administration and a bipartisan group of senators have distanced themselves from the harsh immigration
legislation passed by the House of Representatives last December, which would make it a crime simply to be an
undocumented person. Most observers agree that attempting to prosecute and deport large numbers of
immigrants would be both impractical and inhumane. The Senate should agree on a comprehensive bill that
provides a path to legal status for such workers. Such legislation would serve the needs of the Gulf Coast and
the good of the nation.
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Suite 150
Washington, DC 20017
202.635.2556
202.635.2649 fax
media inquiries:
e-mail me
(202) 635-5810
Suite 150
Washington, DC 20017
202.635.2556
202.635.2649 fax
media inquiries:
e-mail me
(202) 635-5810
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