An extra helping of diversity for New Orleans
The New Orleans Economic Development office estimates the city’sHispanic population has more than tripled since Hurricane Katrinadevastated the city. It has risen from 15,000, or 3.3 percent ofpre-Katrina residents, to 50,000, or 15 percent of today’s population.
Tulane University and the University of California, Berkeley,released a 2006 study revealing that almost half of the city’sconstruction labor force was Hispanic. At least 54 percent were foundto be illegal aliens, and 90 percent had lived elsewhere in the U.S.before migrating to New Orleans.
The Associated Press interviewed Kevin Work, a doctor who opened newprenatal offices and hired bilingual employees so he could make aliving delivering New Orleans’ Hispanic babies.
He performs “thirty to forty deliveries a month,” he said.
Work told the AP he has helped illegal alien mothers give birthto at least 1,000 babies since the storm hit in August 2005. He said heprovides payment plans to help the families afford the births, or theyare covered by government programs such as Medicaid.
In 2004, Emergency Medicaid cost taxpayers $1.7 million inMetro New Orleans, according to the report. Now the government programcovers five times as many people, and the cost is more than 4.5 timeswhat it used to be – at $7.8 million.
Likewise, schools are having trouble keeping up.