Immigrants cleaning up after Hurricane Idalia wonder if DeSantis’ immigration law will limit their ability to rebuild Florida

 

Immigrants cleaning up after Hurricane Idalia wonder if DeSantis’ immigration law will limit their ability to rebuild Florida

As Florida residents emerged from Hurricane Idalia on Thursday, some have started to assess the trail of destruction the storm left behind — and this included a group of Latinos who started cleaning up the severely damaged hotel where they work.

Alberto, Maggie and Jorge Vidal were among dozens of construction and agricultural workers who sheltered inside a 30-room hotel in the city of Perry. The Vidals had relocated to Florida from Mexico a year ago to work in construction, and Idalia was the first hurricane they've ever endured.

"In Mexico, we had never experienced a catastrophe like this," Jorge Vidal told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish. He recalled hearing the windows of the hotel crack. The wind gusts that seeped in blew everything away, including parts of the hotel's ceiling, and the rain flooded some of the rooms.