No Room for Bundles of Alegria in New Orleans

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The ethnic cleansing of African-Americans in New Orleans continues: Last week, the city made the controversial decision to tear down 4,500 units of damaged public housing, leaving former residents with nowhere to go. (The developments to be destroyed represent half of all public housing available in New Orleans before the storm. Fewer than 1,100 units have been reopened.)

But the Latino workers who went to New Orleans after Katrina ravaged the city are still living there. And now they are having babies, which, the New York Times reports, is putting a strain on the few operational medical facilities in the city. Somehow, these babies are a big surprise to government employees despite the fact that the influx of work-hungry Latinos to New Orleans is no more than a funhouse mirror image of Latino immigration everywhere else in the United States—bigger, but still the same animal.

So, who’s the problem, again? The people of color who are trying to survive and procreate, or the people in charge who can’t seem to prepare for anything?

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Our news will always be free to read, watch, and listen to online. But what is its value?

Unbiased reporting on the issues that billionaire-owned newsrooms won’t touch. Fearless research into the dark corners of government and corporations. Ferociously fact-checked news that focuses on the facts, and the facts alone.

It IS free for you and every reader, viewer, and listener to utilize. But it’s not free for our team to make. So, what’s it worth to you? Let us know by making a donation: Make a one-time donation today to support this work. Or make a monthly sustaining donation to help us plan for the future.

Whatever you choose, know that you’re supporting more independent, investigative journalism in a time when we need it most.

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