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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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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