Us & Them Takes A Look At How Natural Disasters Affect Migrant Laborers

On this West Virginia Morning, we hear from WVPB’s podcast Us & Them. Host Trey Kay speaks with journalist Timothy Pratt, who produced an investigative series for 100 Days in Appalachia about undocumented seasonal workers who’ve struggled to recover from Hurricane Florence. That storm hit the Carolina coast in the fall of 2018.

Disaster relief programs provide assistance to many, but some people are not eligible for any help. Migrant workers — who harvest crops and perform other temporary jobs — and are in the U.S. on temporary H2A work visas or those in the country illegally —  can lose everything.

Trey and Tim Pratt talk about a farm worker whose name is Martin — they don’t use his last name because he’s in the country without documents.

Also on today’s show, the Appalachian Regional Commission announced this week more than $44 million for projects in communities affected by the downturn in the region’s coal industry.

The Ohio Valley ReSource’s Becca Schimmel reports.