Day laborers in New York and New Jersey are mobilizing to offer their most valuable asset, their labor, for communities that have been damaged by Hurricane Sandy. As New York and much of the East Coast have been recuperating from the damage caused by the super storm, day laborers, themselves victims of the hurricane, have taken leadership as volunteers, emerging as a valuable source of support for community members. The relief brigades will include offering hands on cleanup work, distributing supplies, and education for other workers about health and safety hazards on the job. Fourteen workers centers that are members of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network will be participat

Cientos de mexicanos residentes en Nueva York se quedaron sin casa, sin enseres o sin empleo tras el paso de Sandy por el este de Estados Unidos. En algunos casos, no se atreven a solicitar ayuda y son víctimas de abusos por temor a que las autoridades detecten su situación migratoria irregular. “Es muy difícil que salgan a pedir ayuda”, dice vía telefónica a CNNMéxico el chileno Gonzalo Mercado, director del Centro del Inmigrante, ubicado en el condado de Staten Island, uno de los más afectados en Nueva York por la tormenta.

New Yorkers who suffered losses from Hurricane Sandy can still apply for FEMA assistance, but immigrants without lawful status may have difficulties in the application process. However, a FEMA spokesman points out that undocumented disaster victims could apply for assistance on behalf of their child. Many victims of Sandy are immigrants without papers. FEMA spokesman William L. Rukeyser says that the agency only provides financial assistance to those who have lawful status in the United States, including citizens, green card holders, and refugees who were granted asylum. Applicants must provide evidence of their legal status in order to apply.

Although it is no longer front page news, thousands of New Yorkers are still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. But one group of New Yorkers has gone unnoticed in the recovery: undocumented immigrants. As a former undocumented immigrant myself, this group’s plight is something that I can’t ignore like many New Yorkers seem to. Here are some facts about undocumented immigrants that many people are unaware of: they do not get financial aid for school or food stamps or free health care. They are exploited and they accept it because it is still better than what they left to come here. But their experience needs to be reflected on, because how we treat undocumented immigrants demonstr

On Saturday, November 17, 2012, day laborers from the Bay Parkway Community Job Center along with other local organizations will convene at the restaurant Tacos Dona Zita in Coney Island, located at 1221 Bowery Street Brooklyn, NY 11224 at 11AM to help clean up homes and small businesses in and around Coney Island.

El huracán Sandy afectó a millones de personas en Estados Unidos, sin considerar su condición social, pero a los migrantes indocumentados de origen latino les tomará más tiempo y esfuerzo recuperarse del impacto de la denominada "súper tormenta". "Cuando he solicitado (algo al gobierno) no me lo ha dado. Lo ven a uno mal, le dicen en las oficinas que no hablan español. Ya no he querido insistir ¿Para qué meterme en ese problema?", afirmó Araceli Díaz, originaria de El Salvador y actual habitante de Far Rockaway, en el extremo más vulnerable de condado de Queens.

Destrucción causada por la tormenta Sandy abrió la posibilidad de trabajo a inmigrantes. Pero esto pone en riesgo su salud. Desde Nueva York, Nayeli Chávez-Geller nos explica por qué.

After Hurricane Sandy destroyed their workers' center and trashed the surrounding waterfront, Bensonhurst day laborers eager to do debris-clearing work say they can't connect with contractors or homeowners. "It's really difficult," said Gavino Hernandez, 46, who does construction and painting work. "Really, we're desperate. We're not sure what to do. No one helps us, they just tell us to move away from there. We have to think about rent."

Edgar veía las noticias en la televisión a las seis y media de la tarde cuando se fue la luz, y 15 minutos más tarde ya estaba inundada su casa. Media hora después, y con el agua a la cintura, él y su hermano se aferraban a un poste de la calle para salvar la vida. A consecuencia del huracán Sandy, Edgar Ángeles, de 34 años de edad, y su hermano Jorge, de 52 –originarios de Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, en el estado de México–, perdieron en minutos todo el patrimonio que habían adquirido luego de dos décadas de trabajo en Nueva York.

La actriz mexicana Thalía y el consulado de México se reunieron con víctimas de Sandy en Staten Island.