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NILC Resources |
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Immigrant Eligibility for Disaster
Assistance, fact sheet prepared by NILC, National Council of
La Raza, and the American Red Cross. (Forthcoming: Chinese,
Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese translations.) (PDF)
(6/07) NEW! |
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National Immigration Law Center
Denounces Department of Labor’s Ongoing Failure to Enforce Employment
Laws in the Gulf Coast (10/5/06) |
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And Injustice for All: Workers' Lives in the Reconstruction of New
Orleans
(see Human and
Employment Rights-related Issues and Reports). |
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Louisiana
Recovery Authority issues inadequate housing plan
(Immigrants' Rights Update,
5/23/06) |
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ICE steps up
raids in Gulf Coast
(Immigrants' Rights Update,
5/23/06) |
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COMMENTS RE: LOUISIANA RECOVERY ACTION PLAN:
Letter to the Louisiana Recovery
Authority Re: "The Road Home Housing Programs: Action Plan for the Use
of Disaster Recovery Funds" (PDF)
(4/17/06, posted 5/11/06)
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African-American
and immigrant advocates ask Congress to take an active role in
safeguarding the rights of Gulf Coast hurricane survivors and workers
(Immigrants' Rights Update, 3/23/06) |
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Gulf Coast
hurricane survivors ask international body to investigate human rights
violations
(Immigrants' Rights Update, 3/23/06) |
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Exploitation, abuse of immigrant
workers in Gulf Coast is main topic in advocates' meetings with ICE and
DOL officials
(Immigrants' Rights Update, 3/23/06) |
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ISSUE
BRIEF:
Priorities for Immigrant Workers in
the Gulf Coast (PDF)
(posted 3/15/06) |
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Disaster Assistance: Food, Shelter, Cash
Payments, Loans, and Other Help for Victims of Major Disasters
(posted 9/2/05) (Excerpted from NILC's
Guide to Immigrant Eligibility for
Federal Programs, 2002 ed.) (PDF) |
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Hurricane
Disaster Relief Measures Fall Short or Stall: Immigrant Workers
Recruited for Cleanup Face Exploitation, Danger, Immigrants' Rights Update,
Vol. 19, Issue 6, Oct. 21, 2005. (posted 11/15/05) (PDF) |
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Features That Should Be Included in
Hurricane Katrina Relief
(posted 9/19/05) (PDF)
Like all others who have suffered from the hurricane and its
aftermath, non-U.S. citizens who were living in the affected zone when
Katrina hit have lost their lives, their loved ones, their homes, jobs,
and possessions. Their need for relief is the same as that of
other survivors, but other circumstances they face as noncitizens could
prevent them from accessing relief that is available to others.
Hence the recommendations in this memo. |
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Hurricane
Katrina-related "Immigration Relief" Bill Passed by House Falls Short
(posted 9/22/05) (PDF)
The House bill that passed on Sept. 21, 2005, is
disappointing because it leaves in place provisions of our immigration
law that threaten to act as a second wave of harm to hurricane survivors
whose livelihood has already been destroyed by the storm. |
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NILC Community Education
Material |
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Immigration
Enforcement:
Know Your Rights At Home And At Work (PDF)
(English |
Spanish) |
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What to Do
if You Are Arrested or Detained by Immigration (PDF)
(English |
Spanish) |
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Litigation |
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Castellanos-Contreras, et al v. Decatur Hotels, LLC, et al:
Guest workers expose hotelier's scheme to profit from immigrant labor while
excluding African Americans.
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Information about other lawsuits brought on behalf of immigrant workers in the
disaster-affected area is available on the website of the Southern
Poverty Law Center.
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Xavier v. Belfor USA Group Inc.
(The lawsuit alleges that Belfor has unlawfully used a subcontractor system
to avoid paying any overtime wages to workers on its massive reconstruction
projects in New Orleans.)
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Navarrete-Cruz v. LVI Environmental
Services of New Orleans, Inc., et al. (LVI used a subcontractor
system to avoid paying workers the wages owed to them. One such
subcontractor, D&L, Environmental, Inc., failed to pay many of its migrant
workers anything for much of their labor. The plaintiffs were employed
cleaning public elementary and high schools.)
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Information
regarding FEMA-related litigation is available on the "FEMA Answers"
website:
www.femaanswers.org.
Information on the following cases appears there:
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McWaters v.
FEMA (re: FEMA's failure to provide adequate assistance, including
sufficient provision for temporary housing)
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Brou v. FEMA
(re: FEMA's failure to provide temporary housing that is accessible for
people with disabilities)
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Sylvester v.
Bossiere (re: failure to provide adequate notice to Katrina survivors
facing eviction proceedings)
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Information
from Government Agencies |
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employment-related |
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fema (federal emergency management agency) |
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finding missing relatives & friends |
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food & food stamps |
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U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) |
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Expanded Disaster Evacuee Policy
(excerpt: "FNS
is setting forth expanded criteria to enable State agencies to better
serve people who have evacuated Hurricane Katrina disaster areas and are
applying for food stamp benefits in areas where the Disaster Food Stamp
Program is not operating. Applications may be accepted under these
policies through October 15, 2005.") (PDF)
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Questions &
Answers on Evacuees (This guidance applies to the Expanded
Disaster Evacuee Policy (Sept. 5, 2005).) (PDF)
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FNS
Disaster Assistance page
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The National Enhanced Policy for
Evacuees
(excerpt: "The
Food Stamp Program is implementing a new, one-month policy for
certifying evacuees who have left Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi
because of Hurricane Katrina. This policy applies in all states, the
District of Columbia, and the territories only for September, 2005. The
policy
provides for a one-month maximum food stamp benefit for any evacuee
household. Eligibility is based simply on evacuee status. States with
unusual needs based on their volume of evacuees may work with USDA for
additional relief.") (PDF)
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housing |
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immigration & citizenship services |
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USCIS Announces Interim Relief
for Foreign Students Adversely Impacted by Hurricane Katrina
(U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services press release, dated
Nov. 25, 2005, with links to a FAQ page and the relevant
Federal Register notice) (PDF)
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Remedial Measures Made Necessary
by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services interoffice memo
dated 10/5/05) (PDF) (excerpt:
"In general, USCIS employees should take a generous approach to
addressing issues brought about by the hurricanes and should use
whatever proper means are available to them to remedy
hurricane-related immigration situations. . . . This guidance covers
individuals or entities who can establish that they resided, worked,
or operated their professional business or other entity in an
affected area of Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama at the time of
Hurricane Katrina (on or about August 29, 2005), or an affected area
of Texas or Louisiana at the time of Hurricane Rita (on or about
September 23, 2005), regardless of where those individuals or
entities may be currently located.")
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USCIS Hurricane
Katrina Resources (U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services web
page)
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What
Services Are Available to USCIS Customers Affected by Hurricane
Katrina? (U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services flyer) (PDF)
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U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services
Operations after Hurricane Katrina FAQ (PDF)
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USCIS
Interoffice Memo on Fee Waivers for Hurricane Katrina Victims
(dated 9/19/05; posted 9/26/05) (PDF)
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immigration status issues & federal legislation |
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medicare & medicaid |
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HHS Secretary Mike
Leavitt declared a public health emergency for affected areas, allowing
it to waive certain Medicaid, SCHIP, Medicare, and Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements. The public
health emergency also allows HHS to make grants and enter into contracts
more expeditiously. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) is currently working to ensure that Medicaid, SCHIP, and Medicare
will accommodate the emergency health care needs of beneficiaries and
medical providers in states devastated by the hurricane. CMS also will
ease the programs’ normal operating procedures to speed provision of
health care services, waiving some documentation requirements. Federal
Medicaid officials are also working with state Medicaid agencies to
coordinate resolution of interstate payment agreements for recipients
served outside their home states. See attached APHSA memo and CMS
Medicaid fact sheet for details. |
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social security & supplemental security income |
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Resources from
Other Nonprofit Organizations |
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Links to additional disaster assistance-related resources for advocates: |
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Big, Easy Money a
report by CorpWatch details Disaster
Profiteering on the American Gulf Coast (8/17/06)
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Oxfam has just released its new report about the Gulf Coast
recovery: "Forgotten
Communities, Unmet Promises". (PDF)
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Disaster
Assistance Legal Resources (Sargent Shriver National Center on
Poverty Law website)
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Disaster Unemployment Assistance: How Families Can Access the
Program After Hurricane Katrina (National Employment Law Project
website)
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Federal
Benefits for Hurricane Katrina Victims: Links on Obtaining Medicaid,
Head Start, UI and Other Benefits for Hurricane Victims
(Coalition on Human Needs website)
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FEMA, SBA, and Other Benefits
for Hurricane Katrina and Rita Survivors: Annotated Outline,
10/28/05 (Neighborhood Legal Services of Los
Angeles County)
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Florida Legal
Services, Inc.-provided disaster assistance information (Florida
Legal Services, Inc., website)
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Health Care After Hurricane Katrina (National Health Law Program
website)
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Help for Hurricane Katrina
Victims (flyer)
(Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County)
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Hurricane Katrina
Relief Resources (LawHelp.org website)
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Katrina Legal Aid Resource
Center (This website is the result of a partnership among the
American Bar Association, the Legal Services Corporation, the
National Legal Aid & Defender Association, and ProBonoNet. It
links to resources for victims of the hurricane, for legal aid and
defender programs helping them, and for private attorney
volunteers.)
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State Protection &
Advocacy agencies, and links to governmental agencies serving people
with disabilities (National Disability Rights Network website)
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Students and Educators: NAFSA Responds to Hurricane Katrina (NAFSA:
Association of International Educators website) (Provides
information helpful for both non-U.S. citizen students and education
policy advocates)
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Immigration
Service Providers in Hurricane
Katrina-affected Areas |
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Links to Websites Devoted to Justice for Hurricane Victims |
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LawHelp.org/LA. Click
here to be taken to
LawHelp.org/LA, Louisiana's online guide to free legal help. Learn about
your rights, free legal services, how to help yourself with a legal problem,
courts, and community services.
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Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch. Click
here to be taken to
Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, a new project to document and investigate the
rebuilding of the Gulf Region from the devastation left by Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch is a project of the
Institute for Southern Studies, a nonprofit research and education center, and
the institute's flagship magazine, Southern Exposure.
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Justice for New Orleans. Click
here to be taken to
Justice for New Orleans, a website developed by the Loyola Law Clinic in New
Orleans that is devoted to social justice in the rebuilding of New Orleans.
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Oxfam
America. Click
here to be taken to
Oxfam America's "Gulf Coast Hurricanes" web page.
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Reports on Katrina/Rita-related Relief and Recovery Efforts |
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new!
Forgotten Communities, Unmet Promises
(Oxfam America, 8/06). Explores how the largest reconstruction effort
in recent U.S. history has failed so far to address the needs of the Gulf
region's poorest residents, despite grand promises to the contrary.
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Hurricane Katrina: Improving Federal
Contracting Practices in Disaster Recovery Operations (U.S.
Government Accountability Office, 5/4/06).
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Hurricane Katrina: GAO's Preliminary
Observations Regarding Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
(U.S. Government Accountability Office, 3/8/06).
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Good Work and Fair Contracts: Making
Gulf Coast Reconstruction Work for Local Residents and Businesses
(Gulf Coast Commission on Reconstruction Equity, 2/28/06). In this
report and a
report card that accompanies
it,
Interfaith Worker Justice and the GCCRE urge Congress to pass
legislation to establish ethical federal contracting standards for Gulf
region reconstruction work and to allocate funding for worker centers in the
region to be run by a coalition of labor, faith, and community
organizations. The report also urges the U.S. Dept. of Labor to
dispatch special enforcement units, including bilingual staff, to
investigate violations and to enforce wage and hour and worker health and
safety laws.
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In the Eye of the Storm: How the
Government and Private Response to Hurricane Katrina Failed Latinos
(National Council of La Raza, 2/28/06). This new report from NCLR
concludes that the federal government and the American Red Cross are
unprepared to address the needs of Latinos and other diverse communities in
the event of a disaster. It also recommends ways to improve both the public and private response in future
disasters.
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Recovering States? The Gulf Coast Six
Months After the Storms
(Oxfam America, 2/06). This report reveals that poor households are
being left behind in the disaster recovery efforts and urges federal and
state officials to recommit themselves to inclusive rebuilding plans that
address deep and persistent poverty in the region.
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Human
and Employment Rights-related
Issues and Reports |
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And Injustice for All: Workers' Lives in
the Reconstruction of New Orleans
(Advancement Project, National Immigration Law Center, and New Orleans
Worker Justice Coalition, 7/06). (PDF)
From the
news release issued with the report:
"[This report comprises] the most comprehensive documentation of
post-Katrina worker conditions to date. [It] is a compilation of personal
narratives based on more than 700 worker interviews that raises the voices
of New Orleanians struggling to return and reconstruction workers, all of
whom are attempting to survive in the face of inequitable and unjust
policies and practices of public and private institutions."
For more information, contact
Melissa Crow, NILC Gulf Coast policy attorney, or
Rosana
Cruz, NILC Gulf Coast field coordinator.
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When Disaster Strikes: A Human Rights
Analysis of the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes: In Response to the United
States' Periodic Report under the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (International Human Rights Law Clinic,
Boalt Hall School of Law, 6/06). (PDF)
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Request for hearing regarding human
rights impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (Copy of
letter sent to Mr. Santiago A. Canton, executive secretary, IACHR, 3/8/06). (PDF)
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Donate to a
Katrina Relief Fund |
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Southern
Relief Fund
c/o Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights
PO Box 1223
Greenville, MS 38702-1223
Phone: 662-334-1122 Fax: 662-334-1274
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People's Hurricane Fund
c/o Vanguard Public Foundation
383 Rhode Island St., Ste 301
San Francisco, CA 94103
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The ACORN Hurricane Recovery and
Rebuilding Fund
http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=9673
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Young People's Project
440 N. Mills St., Suite 200
Jackson, MS 39202
www.qecr.org.
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