Call to Action: Marshalltown, Iowa, Needs You!
Dear LULAC Brothers and Sisters,
I am writing to urgently request your financial help for our Latino community in Marshalltown, Iowa following two devastating tornadoes that struck that town of 27,000 people on July 19, 2018. One month after the tornados hit Marshalltown, many Latinos are being denied assistance because they are working immigrants without social security numbers.
Marshalltown has a large immigrant and minority population, about 20 percent are Latino. We are seeing blatant discrimination, by local and federal agencies who are denying assistance to these families because they cannot provide sufficient documentation.
Some Marshalltown residents who are in the country legally have been hesitant to seek aid because they fear drawing attention to a family member who doesn’t have proper papers, reports Maria Gonzalez and Joa LaVille of Immigrant Allies of Marshalltown. “In the current climate, going to an agency becomes extremely scary to people,” LaVille said.
The links below will allow you to see far better than my words could describe the terrifying event that our families endured as well as the aftermath that they are trying daily to cope with and survive.
What the videos and pictures cannot show you is the utter helplessness of some our poorest Latino community members --- seniors, pregnant women, mothers and children still living in structures with heavily damaged roofs, lack of daily necessities including food, access to electricity and safe, dry shelter.
We are blessed to have LULAC leaders such as Mike Reyes, Iowa State Director and Carlos Portes, Council President in Marshalltown doing everything they can along with our LULAC brothers and sisters but the need is overwhelming for them alone.
Thank you for your support of our Latino communities in Marshalltown, Iowa. Share this message widely and let us each do whatever our hearts and situations permit us.
Today, it is there…tomorrow it could be us needing the assistance of our brothers and sisters.
Gracias!
CBSNews - television news reports
Youtube – twin tornados – emergency sirens
Youtube – security camera
Youtube – drone video amazing
Youtube – aftermath
Youtube – compilation – eyewitness videos
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The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org.