Finding Housing: Discrimination and Exploitation of Latinos in the Post-Katrina Rental Market

Abstract

This case study investigates the discriminatory and exploitative housing practices that contributed to the social marginalization of Latinos in the Gulf Coast Recovery Zone following Hurricane Katrina. Discriminatory practices (such as denial of available units or rejection of Latinos from homeless shelters) leave migrants vulnerable to homelessness and economic exploitation. The most vulnerable Latinos are those who hold an undocumented legal status, have marginal occupational status, or have limited English ability. These vulnerabilities are magnified following a disaster when housing is in short supply, group tensions are high, employers are heavily involved in allocation of housing, and government oversight is lacking. Using 25 interviews with established and newly arrived Latino immigrants on the Gulf Coast, the author finds that these four factors-legal status, occupational status, limited English language ability, and the disaster context-contributed to the exploitation of and discrimination against Latinos in the housing market following Katrina.

Combinatorial effects of discrimination, legal status fears, adverse childhood experiences, and harsh working conditions among Latino migrant farmworkers: Testing learned helplessness hypotheses.

“…Fears related to deportation or other documentation concerns are common among migrant farmworkers (Grzywacz et al, 2010; Winkelman et al, 2013) and may increase the risk of experiencing discrimination (Cobb et al, 2017). Across immigrant populations, those without documentation, those connected to immigrants without documentation, or even those without a permanent status may become targets of discrimination in housing and employment contexts (Hall & Greenman, 2013; Hall, Greenman, & Farkas, 2010; Haubert Weil, 2009). In these cases, perpetrators may exploit their knowledge of immigrants’ immigration status fears and perceived inability of such immigrants to respond to instances of discrimination.…”

Latina/o or Mexicana/o? The Relationship between Socially Assigned Race and Experiences with Discrimination

“…For example, Latina/os who have immigrated to the United States relatively recently may face discrimination because of their immigration and legal status (Finch, Kolody, and Vega 2000; Rumbaut 1994). Similarly, language has been a source of discrimination experiences among Latina/os (Pew Research Center 2007; Haubert Weil 2009; Kossoudji 1988). These factors suggest that research focused on discrimination aimed at Latina/os will need to be sensitive to some of these nuances specific to the population that may predict discrimination experiences.…”

Long-term housing recovery among Mexican immigrants: How service providers navigate racialized anti-immigrant disaster recovery policies

“…Further, the fact that Latine immigrants impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were racialized and often assumed to be "illegal" by disaster relief officials (Trujillo-Pagán 2007) demonstrates how ideas of citizenship and its racial meanings continue to inform the ways in which racial inequality is structured and reproduced. This has the added effect of portraying Latine immigrants as undeserving victims of disaster (Jerolleman 2019), particularly if their skin is brown or if their English skills are poor (Weil 2009). This has devastating impacts for Latine immigrant disaster survivors.…”