At least three Venezuelan migrants who were recruited for Ron DeSantis’ political stunt using children and adults as human props are either already in Florida, or are on their way to Florida, as part of Hurricane Ian recovery, Miami Herald reports. Pedro Escalona told Miami Herald that DeSantis operatives had promised him a flight to Delaware, only to then cancel it. You know, the one that his political campaign later tried to dismiss as “disinformation.”
Following the canceled Delaware plan, Escalona, with the help of Catholic Charities, made his way from San Antonio to New York City, where he stayed in a homeless shelter. But told of work that included overtime pay and housing, he jumped at the offer. He didn’t know with who, or where. That job turned out to be in hurricane recovery work in Florida, the very state that had sought to use him a political tool. But Escalona told Miami Herald that he and other workers were canned after just a week of work, under what he said were unfair circumstances.
RELATED STORY: Following Hurricane Ian disaster, Florida suddenly decides it needs migrant workers again
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Oceanside Labor and Demolition, the subcontractor hired by a local branch of Servpro to do work at a gated community, and the workers seemed to agree there’d been drinking and some sort of altercation that didn’t get violent. But at the same time, “reasons given by Oceanside employees for his dismissal were vague and often included ‘rumors’ that Oceanside said it couldn’t prove,” Miami Herald said.
The outlet said it also heard from other Venezuelan workers that Oceanside had given them similar grief, and Escalona ”said he felt one of the company’s managers had it in for him.” He and other workers were given their final pay, but because his I.D. had been taken by federal immigration officials when he was processed back in Texas, he couldn’t get it cashed anywhere.
Escalona and other workers finally got their pay in cash, after basically camping outside the motel rooms that Oceanside had rented for them. While they’d been told they had to leave the rooms after being fired, the company relented and told them they could stay another night. The following day, their severance was given to them in cash. Miami Herald reported that Oceanside’s owner provided free Uber rides to other migrant workers so they could also get their pay in cash.
While Miami Herald reported that photos from the crew site where Escalona had worked showed laborers wearing Servpro vests, the fire and water damage repair company said it had nothing to do with Oceanside’s practices. Despite having absolutely zero experience in child welfare, Servepro was last year revealed to also be the private contractor managing a camp for migrant children near El Paso, Texas. Whistleblowers revealed daily instances of gross mismanagement specifically endangering public health and safety,” including Servpro staff “routinely” waking up children by blasting loud music.
“A spokeswoman for Servpro Industries said that the contract was entered into by a franchise holder without the company's knowledge,” NBC News reported at the time. What exactly is going on over there, Servpro?
Advocates of laborers who commonly aid in recovery efforts have expressed worry about unscrupulous employers taking advantage of workers, many of whom lack permanent immigration status. Research from the Migration Policy Institute has shown the overwhelming majority of day laborers who aided in the cleanup following Hurricane Harvey lacked legal status. Greg Abbott knows this, but it hasn’t stopped him from his nativist political stunts. Ron DeSantis knows it too, but he’s instead pledged to continue on with his flights. He’s building his political campaign on the backs of migrants rebuilding his state. “The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment,” Miami Herald reported. Of course he didn’t.
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