Learning from Katrina: Civil rights in disaster relief

While reports of discrimination against Latinos and other minorities at relief sites for last month's fires made the news, the National Council of La Raza applauded steps taken by the American Red Cross to better serve minorities and immigrants.

NCLR, a national Latino civil rights organization, said in an email to its affiliated groups that the Red Cross showed significant progress during the wildfires in serving Latinos since Hurricane Katrina. According to program manager Eduardo Cusicanqui, NCLR and the Red Cross have had an ongoing dialogue since Katrina, in which NCLR has urged the relief organization to train volunteers in serving diverse populations, including speaking second languages.

Cusicanqui said the Red Cross didn't provide enough Spanish-speaking volunteers last month, but praised its effort to address immigrant and minority needs. Cusicanqui said the Red Cross immediately contacted NCLR to encourage its affiliated local organizations to attend a meeting with city leaders as representatives of the Latino and immigrant community.

NCLR did, however, back claims of discrimination at relief sites. It said the ACLU and Immigrant Rights Consortium report "Firestorm" accurately detailed accounts given by alleged victims and witnesses.

An NCLR report from the Katrina disaster accused the Red Cross of not being experienced in serving diverse populations. It also reported that FEMA shelters turned away Mexican-American evacuees because their ethnicity was associated with illegal immigration. According to the report, some families with mixed citizenship (the children are American-born but the parents are in the country illegally) did not receive government assistance they were entitled to because conditions for eligibility were unclear and unavailable.

"In the Eye of the Storm: How the Government and Private Response to Hurricane Katrina Failed Latinos"
Immigrant Eligibility for Disaster Relief