MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
WAUCHULA, Fla. - Fear of deportation is one of the many obstacles preventing illegal immigrants who lost their homes or jobs during Hurricane Charley from seeking disaster relief. The language barrier is also a problem, and undocumented workers can't apply for cash assistance, although they are eligible for food and temporary shelter.
"Some of them are scared and they won't get the help they need," said Cristina Avalos, a farmworker crew leader in this tiny agricultural town.
Thousands of illegal immigrants, most originally from Mexico and Guatemala, work in southwest Florida's agricultural heartland, which was devastated by Charley's 145-mph winds.
Many are migrant workers who were picking crops up north and won't have jobs when they return to Florida in the winter since the hurricane damaged an estimated 20 percent of Florida's citrus crop for the upcoming season.
Others have settled in the area permanently. In two counties that were hardest-hit, agricultural bastions DeSoto and Hardee counties, Hispanics make up a quarter and a third of the population, respectively. Foreign-born residents account for one in six residents in both counties.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency limits cash-assistance and unemployment programs to U.S. citizens and qualified aliens, although undocumented residents can get nonmonetary help such as ice, water, shelter, food and counseling.
Associated Press
WAUCHULA, Fla. - Fear of deportation is one of the many obstacles preventing illegal immigrants who lost their homes or jobs during Hurricane Charley from seeking disaster relief. The language barrier is also a problem, and undocumented workers can't apply for cash assistance, although they are eligible for food and temporary shelter.
"Some of them are scared and they won't get the help they need," said Cristina Avalos, a farmworker crew leader in this tiny agricultural town.
Thousands of illegal immigrants, most originally from Mexico and Guatemala, work in southwest Florida's agricultural heartland, which was devastated by Charley's 145-mph winds.
Many are migrant workers who were picking crops up north and won't have jobs when they return to Florida in the winter since the hurricane damaged an estimated 20 percent of Florida's citrus crop for the upcoming season.
Others have settled in the area permanently. In two counties that were hardest-hit, agricultural bastions DeSoto and Hardee counties, Hispanics make up a quarter and a third of the population, respectively. Foreign-born residents account for one in six residents in both counties.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency limits cash-assistance and unemployment programs to U.S. citizens and qualified aliens, although undocumented residents can get nonmonetary help such as ice, water, shelter, food and counseling.
