PALM BEACH POST

November 8, 2005

Florida considers migrant situation

By Alan Gomez

Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau

TALLAHASSEE — Farmworkers in Florida may have lost as much as $50 million in wages due to Hurricane Wilma, and a state commission on Monday began figuring out how to help them.

The lost work is compounded by a housing shortage that was made even worse by Wilma, and legislators openly wondered how much they can do without any change in immigration and workers compensation laws at the federal level.

Until then, the members of the newly created Legislative Commission on Migrant and Seasonal Labor appear focused on the housing shortfall and how they can make long-term improvements in migrant conditions in Florida.

"This is a state and federal issue, and we just hope the federal government will partner with us to do the right thing," said state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, a member of the commission who has visited hurricane-impacted farmworker camps since Wilma tore through South Florida.

Aronberg was referring to several proposals going through Washington that could help farmworkers with emergency financial assistance and would provide illegal workers with a way to attain legal status, which would open them up for even more assistance.

Until any of those measures pass, legislators said there are few options at the state level.

"If you assist the illegals (immigrants), you're advocating them being here. You are effectively saying, 'It's OK that you're here' when clearly they're not documented and they shouldn't be here," said Rep. Baxter Troutman, R-Winter Haven, vice chairman of the commission. "So I think the problem lies deeper."

One issue that garnered the interest of several legislators was either to expand or make permanent a $10 million pilot project to build more improved housing for farmworkers. The Florida Housing Finance Corp. is starting the project, which would partner with grove owners to provide better and more affordable housing to farmworkers.

Several advocates told the commission Monday that farmworker housing already was decrepit before Wilma or the 2004 hurricane season — mostly old, dilapidated mobile homes that are usually the first to fall during a hurricane or tropical storm.

Rob Williams, director of the Farmworker Justice Program, said that of the hundreds of farmworkers' homes destroyed during last year's four-storm season, not one had been rebuilt for this year. And with this storm affecting up to 100,000 farmworkers, Williams said the total impact could reach $50 million in lost wages.

Tirso Moreno, a general manager with the Farmworker Association of Florida, said that shortfall has resulted in up to 20 farmworkers cramming into damaged mobile homes while being afraid to ask for any kind of help.

"They don't have savings accounts to fall back on and wait for three months," said social services advocate Karen Woodall. "These people work from week to week and get paid from week to week, so... state agencies and legislators can help push things along."