Report Finds Federal Gov't and Red Cross Unprepared to Serve Latinos in Next Disaster

Contact:
Lisa Navarrete, lnavarrete [at] nclr.org
Brenda Muñiz, bmuniz [at] nclr.org
(202) 785-1670
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb 28, 2006


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND AMERICAN RED CROSS NOT PREPARED TO SERVE LATINOS IN NEXT DISASTER, REPORT FINDS

Washington, DC – A new report from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., 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. The report, In the Eye of the Storm: How the Government and Private Response to Hurricane Katrina Failed Latinos, was released today at a news briefing on Capitol Hill.

"The disaster response - both public and private - was a disaster for Latinos and other communities of color. From a workforce lacking diversity from top to bottom to widespread communications failures to policies that endangered the public health and safety, the disaster response of the two entities most responsible for disaster relief - the federal government and the American Red Cross (ARC) - was a failure on every level for Latinos," noted Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.

Among the key findings:

* Latinos made up a much larger number than previously believed of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Initial reports put the number of Hispanics in the region at around 100,000. Using Census data and other sources, the report puts the actual number of Latinos in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi at 230,000.

* The federal government failed to serve Latinos adequately during the response effort:

o Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - Inadequately trained personnel unfamiliar with the Latino community failed to provide temporary shelter and housing to many legally-present Latinos under the mistaken assumption that they were undocumented and, therefore, ineligible for housing and other FEMA-administered assistance. Neither FEMA nor any other federal agency provided warnings and evacuation notices in languages other than English. This resulted in a tragic and unnecessary loss of life among Peruvian and Brazilian casino workers in Gulfport, Mississippi.

o U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - For the first time in more than 20 years, the federal government failed to suspend immigration enforcement to allow all disaster victims to come forward to access food, water, and temporary shelter. In fact, several victims who did come forward were placed in deportation proceedings.

o U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) - Suspension of Davis-Bacon, a haphazard FEMA contracting process with little oversight, and woefully inadequate DOL enforcement of labor laws have led to widespread worker abuse and exploitation. Hundreds of claims have been filed by workers who were not paid, were shortchanged, or were otherwise mistreated by contractors. Lack of contractor oversight has also led to growing tensions between local and immigrant workers.

* The American Red Cross failed to serve diverse communities due to:

o Numerous bureaucratic impediments to an appropriate response - Excessive and burdensome bureaucracy led to delays in assisting Latino evacuees. Latino social workers at an NCLR affiliate in Oklahoma were asked to go through "diversity training" before they were allowed to help evacuees.

o Lack of diversity in staffing, management, and governance - Only two Latinos serve on ARC's 50-member Board of Governors. And according to an ARC survey, only 5% of its volunteers are Black, only 2% are Asian, and just 2% are Hispanic.

o Lack of ties to organizations serving diverse communities - Several NCLR affiliates - the leading organizations serving Latinos in their regions - expressed interest in providing assistance, yet have never had any contact with Red Cross chapters in their areas. Furthermore, there are no Latino organizations in the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD), a coalition of organizations involved in disaster relief.

"This report confirms that the factors contributing to making the aftermath of Katrina an even greater nightmare for Latinos affected by the storm include not just the inadequacies of the federal government's and the American Red Cross's responses, but also their policies and actions such as deporting storm victims and asking Latinos suspected of being undocumented immigrants to leave shelters," continued Murguía.

The report also makes a series of recommendations to improve both the public and private response in future disasters:

For the federal government:

* Improve access to language assistance and materials for limited-English-proficient (LEP) victims of a disaster. All sectors of government should take steps to ensure that disaster relief communications are translated, interpreted, and disseminated in a timely manner so that LEP persons are able to communicate their needs and access assistance. One immediate step is for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to incorporate Spanish and other languages into the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).

* Temporarily cease immigration enforcement during times of disaster. Failure to suspend enforcement could have severe public health and safety consequences in future disasters and crises.

* Dedicate more resources to DOL and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Labor laws need to be respected, and workers involved in the Gulf Coast reconstruction need to be treated with dignity and fairness. More resources and staff should be allocated to expedite the efficient processing of worker claims, impose sanctions upon bad contractors, and investigate poor working conditions.

* Improve immigrant access to benefits. Congress must eliminate barriers that hinder affected legal immigrants from accessing benefits during a disaster. Also, when the general public's health and safety are at stake, undocumented immigrants should be given certain emergency relief services such as shelter and food. Cutting off these immigrants from basic services can impede evacuation and rescue efforts.


For the American Red Cross:

* Diversify executive staff and Board of Directors. In order to make "the American Red Cross look more like America," ARC must take steps to incorporate more Latinos and other ethnic minorities in its executive staff and Board of Directors.

* Foster key relationships with local and national organizations. In addition to ensuring that there is a cadre of "pre-positioned" professional relief workers, volunteers, and managers able to address cultural, language, and immigration status issues, ARC should establish agreements that will foster relationships with, and provide resources to, national and local organizations with the capacity for providing or referring trained professional bilingual and bicultural workers and volunteers.


"It is critical that we not only point out what went wrong but also what we can learn from the lessons Katrina has taught us. Now is the time for us to act - before the hurricane season begins and when several potential public health crises loom before us. Failure to address the demographic realities of this nation and their implications for any crisis will once again guarantee a failed response in future disasters," concluded Murguía.