*Erika evacuated her home in Fort Myers Beach the same day Ian made landfall in Florida.
An aunt called her and told her: "Daughter, the hurricane is going to enter where you live, please get out of there," according to her account.
On September 28, Ian left her homeless, without her belongings, without a roof over her head.
Two weeks later, she, her partner and her three children are still without a place to live.
In 2019, Erika and her family arrived on a visa to the United States.
For a year, they had been renting a three-bedroom house for $1,600 on the beach in Fort Myers.
Today, prices in the area have doubled or tripled, even for homes under repair.
To rent, they ask for a deposit, first and last month's rent, plus proof of employment.
Where are the people who are in a situation like mine, who protects us?
Erika, lost her house to the hurricane
The restaurant where he worked was destroyed by Ian.
His children, he says, have suffered greatly.
At first to leave Mexico and, now that they were finally adapting, the hurricane arrived.
"My daughter had a crisis last night, she felt that she was afraid of dying, she is very scared," she laments.
Now Erika is seeking help from the government.
“I spoke with FEMA and they explained to me that they needed a social (number),”
she assured Noticias Telemundo.
But no one in his family has a Social Security number.
What she got is an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues to those who "do not have and are not eligible for a Social Security number."
The ITIN is only used to declare taxes.
"They told me they couldn't help me," he
laments.
Search and rescue teams inspect a condominium building in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Rebecca Blackwell / AP
Noticias Telemundo contacted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which assists in this type of disaster, to find out the requirements to receive federal aid.
According to FEMA,
someone qualifies for assistance if
:
🏚️ Lived in one of the 19 declared disaster counties.
It doesn't matter if he rented or owned the house.
🇺🇸 You are a US citizen, permanent resident, refugee, asylum seeker, or withholding of removal.
You can also apply if:
You have "conditional permission to enter the United States for at least one year."
He was given a "conditional entry (by law in force before April 1, 1980)".
He is originally from Cuba or Haiti.
You have been a "victim of extreme cruelty or human trafficking," or have a "T" and "U" visa.
If you are a foreigner and your children have been mistreated.
Non-citizen children "whose parent has been abused who meet certain criteria."
👶
If someone who lived in the house is a US citizen
.
This includes your children under the age of 18, for example.
When applying for help, you must do so with the name of the person who has a Social Security number.
[Homeless in Paradise: The Struggle of Eight Latino Families to Find Affordable Rent in Miami]
"I cannot submit the application in my name, with my son's social number," clarified Daniel Llargués, spokesman for FEMA.
"It has to be 'I am the father of,' and then the name of the minor with Social Security," he said.
When requesting this help, FEMA clarifies, "you will not have to provide any information about your immigration status or sign any document related to your status."
A Latino family and their neighbors were saved thanks to the roof of their house during Hurricane Ian
Oct. 8, 202202:02
Private insurers are estimated to have lost more than $60 billion over Ian in Florida, according to figures from the Insurance Information Institute cited by The Washington Post.
More than $323 million in federal assistance has been distributed to 178,000 families affected by the hurricane, according to the most recent data from FEMA.
If you meet the requirements indicated,
you must submit
:
🏚️ Description of the damage and the address of your home.
📝 Evidence that he lived in the affected place.
This can be: a rental agreement, your tax return, service receipts with the address, among others.
👶
Birth certificate of your citizen children
.
If he lost it, got it wet, or doesn't have it, he can bring other evidence that proves the relationship.
There is no specific aid for each family
, Llargués clarified.
It depends on different factors such as “where they lived, if it is a rented house or if they own it, what are the losses, if they have insurance, how many members of the family, what is the need”.
"I would ask you to give people a roof": victims of Ian expect help with Biden's visit
Oct. 5, 202202:29
According to the agency's official website, you must meet these parameters to qualify for:
FEMA Individuals and Households Program.
Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
You can apply on behalf of your US citizen child or another person in the family who qualifies.
The Government enabled a portal in Spanish to list other
available assistance such as
:
💵 Federal Small Business Agency disaster loans, IRS tax relief and home insurance claims.
🗣️ Free care if you experience emotional problems such as stress or anxiety, and assistance with medication or transportation for a family member with a disability.
[A teenager tried to save his 6-year-old brother after Ian's passing. They both drowned in a flooded canal]
FEMA also has a portal with
available contacts and some aid programs
for Hurricane Ian, such as:
🏨
Transitional Housing Assistance
that contemplates the payment of a hotel or motel for up to 180 days in the states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida for families who are left homeless or if the place where they live is not safe or habitable.
🔹
Operation Blue Roof
, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, which installs tarps or temporary tents in houses whose roofs were destroyed.
Here you can find the requirements.
FEMA will never charge for any service”
Daniel Llargués FEMA SPOKESPERSON
“We ask people to come with us, no matter what their need is,” said the FEMA spokesman, who asks families to seek help, even if the damage to their home seems minor or imperceptible.
"We are going to send an inspector to the damaged property, to do that inspection, verify the damage and see if it qualifies for assistance," he says.
Young people evacuate their apartment complex in Orlando, Florida.
Photo from September 30, 2022. John Raoux / AP
FEMA, he says, can also connect you with other agencies that support you with the cleanup of the land or provide you with clothing, for example: "it is what FEMA does, we coordinate with other agencies."
[Hurricane Compounds Florida Housing Crisis: “You Never Think About Being Homeless”]
If I don't have documents, is it safe to apply for help?
Noticias Telemundo asked the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) if an undocumented person who suffered the impact of Hurricane Ian can opt for federal aid.
The entity responded with this statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicating that:
Neither ICE nor Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will conduct "immigration enforcement activities in protected areas" such as evacuation routes, shelters, food or emergency supply distribution sites, and places where people register to receive assistance or reunite with their families.
These agencies will assist people "regardless of immigration status."
Its officials "will not impersonate people providing information related to the emergency."
Ian's devastation in 7 minutes: this was one of the areas most destroyed by the powerful hurricane
Oct. 8, 202207:41
In a 2019 publication, FEMA detailed that:
"It will not proactively turn over applicant information to immigration or law enforcement," but "in rare circumstances, and based on a specific request, a FEMA applicant's personal information may be shared within the Department of Homeland Security."
On this matter, this is what some immigration experts say:
Héctor J. López, a Texas-based attorney:
"If you received emergency federal aid, there is nothing affected
," López said, referring to whether or not this type of assistance harms an ongoing or future immigration process.
Whether or not ICE or another agency accesses your information when applying for emergency aid, "that's another problem," he says.
That, she says, doesn't mean ICE will step in and track him down, at least not right now.
"That's not going to happen, not with this Administration," she says.
The agency, he asserts, does not have the capacity to start a "hunt" and, in any case, "they are going to look for the people who committed crimes."
Although, he warns, if someone lives in the United States in irregular status
"there is always a latent risk that deportation proceedings will be initiated against them."
Alma Rosa Nieto, a lawyer based in California: "There are two points," says the specialist.
"One, be a public charge", in the case of those who want to start an adjustment of status later.
[With the help of three lawyers, we clarify the most frequent false beliefs in immigration cases]
“That assistance they receive cannot be considered a public charge when it is due to a pandemic or a hurricane or some problem of nature,” he explains.
Now, "what this Administration or another could do in the future with the information, that is a mystery."
At this time it is a matter, according to her, between "surviving" in an emergency situation or adjusting her status in the future and staying in the country.
Biden announces modification of controversial 'public charge' rule established by Trump
Sept.
11, 202201:49
"It is not about operations" of the agencies, he clarifies. "I have never seen operations after a tragedy, however, that they can leak that information in the future: that is the great unknown."
"If there is a government that wants it, it is there," he concludes.
Watch out for scams
The Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) told Noticias Telemundo that in "unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters", they offer services such as extensions, expedited processing of permits, including employment authorization, card replacement and flexibility if someone does not showed up for your scheduled interview with USCIS.
You can check all the options
here
.
[They report abuses to migrants who help rebuild Florida: they recruit them and then report them to ICE to be deported]
Both USCIS and FEMA ask people to be on the lookout for fraud and scams.
"Fraud after a disaster is common, that there are people who want to take advantage of the situation, the pain of other people," warns the FEMA spokesman.
"FEMA will never charge for any service, for nothing," he
clarifies.
The workers, she says, must wear official clothing and identification with a photograph, the name of the person and the logo of the institution.
Some common rumors are answered here.
If you want to contact FEMA you can:
📱 Call 1-800-621-3362 or 1-800-462-7585 to request information.
If you don't qualify, according to the agency, they could refer you to "other programs that can help you regardless of your immigration status."
💻 Visit their official page prepared for Hurricane Ian and the aid available.
You can also download their mobile app.
*
Erika's identity and real name are not included in this article to protect her privacy.
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