[blind-democracy] FW: Barriers To Water
- From: "Bob Hachey" <bhachey@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2016 01:05:55 -0500
From: The Progress Report [mailto:progress@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Monday, January 25, 2016 5:50 PM
To: bhachey@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Barriers To Water
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Barriers To Water
Jan 25, 2016 | By CAP Action War Room
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Unauthorized Immigrants Face Additional Challenges In Flint Water Crisis
Even though President Obama declared
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a state of emergency in Flint, Michigan, more than 2 weeks ago, residents are
still struggling to find safe water, let alone deal with the long-term impacts
of lead poisoning. The state of emergency declaration provides federal aid to
help local and state efforts to address the crisis in Flint. However, this aid
isn’t reaching all Flint citizens. Due to fear surrounding their immigration
status, many of the 1,000 unauthorized immigrants living in Flint have been
unable
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to safely receive water during this crisis.
The water crisis in Flint began in April 2014 when a state-appointed emergency
manager switched
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the city’s water source in an attempt to cut costs. The state Department of
Environmental Quality did not add the needed chemicals to the local water,
which was saltier and more corrosive. This caused lead to leach from the pipes,
leading to elevated levels of lead in the city’s water. And based on emails
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from the office, Gov. Snyder’s office—which waited until January 2016 to
declare a state of emergency—was made aware of the problem as many as six
months ago. Flint will likely face long-lasting problems as a result of this
crisis since elevated levels of lead were detected in children. Since lead
poisoning is known to cause lasting mental and physical disabilities, schools
in Flint are already preparing
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for children to enter the school system with developmental, behavioral, and
cognitive challenges.
The state government’s delay to act has particularly impacted Flint’s
unauthorized immigrants. According to a local ABC affiliate, many of the
unauthorized immigrants were unaware
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of the lead content in Flint’s water until just a few weeks ago. To make
matters worse, due to fears of deportation, many of the unauthorized immigrants
are too scared to get safe water from the water distribution centers or open
their doors
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to volunteers distributing water and filters. According to first-hand reports
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, some of the water distribution centers have been asking to see residents’
drivers’ licenses before giving them water, creating a significant barrier to
water access. Many unauthorized immigrants likely do not
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have identification since Michigan law prevents unauthorized immigrants from
applying for driver’s licenses and other forms of identification without proof
of legal presence
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.
The Flint water crisis is not the first time that unauthorized immigrants have
been afraid to access emergency service due to deportation concerns. After
September 11th, unauthorized immigrants were afraid to seek help
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finding lost loved ones. And during Hurricane Katrina, FEMA had to release a
statement
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informing unauthorized parents that they could apply for disaster aid on
behalf of their children with legal status due to fear in the community.
The Flint water crisis comes at a time
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when fear is particularly high in the immigrant community. Three weeks ago,
the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been conducted raids in
several states, detaining at least 121 people
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from immigrant families, many of whom came to the United States to escape
violence. Since those raids, 77 of those people have been deported
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to Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. Despite protests
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from advocacy groups, community leaders, and even nearly half of Senate
Democrats
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, the Obama administration appears determined to continue with the removal of
families. These raids have caused mass panic in communities across the country.
BOTTOM LINE: The Flint water crisis has caused many problems for residents,
many of which will continue to have a lasting effect. Though officials are
finally acting in Flint after months of delay, safe water is not reaching all
of the residents in the city. Due to officials checking drivers’ licenses and
other barriers, many of the 1,000 unauthorized residents in Flint lack access
to safe water, endangering their health.
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