Helping Hispanics In Storm Ravaged Tuscaloosa

At one church in Tuscaloosa you can hear the sound of Latinos speaking Spanish at a furious pace. They’re loading and organizing tornado relief supplies. You may not understand what you are hearing but you can definitely tell what they’re doing just by watching. These are volunteers at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tuscaloosa. They are working to get supplies and aid to the Hispanic community. Some illegal immigrants may fear aid workers and mistake good will as an attempt at arrest or deportation. Organizers say they've already had difficulty helping at least once Hispanic neighborhood

“So [the Knights of Columbus volunteers] got a caravan of cars full of food and water to take to these people when they got there the people fled into the woods,” says Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry Dorothy McDade. Volunteers say helping tornado victims is more important than a person's immigration status and they want Latinos to know they are safe.

“To come and do not hesitate to ask for help, we are here to help each other we are here to protect them,” says Victor Tlapanco with the Knights of Columbus. Organizers say authorities in disaster zones have bigger worries than whether or not someone is in the country legally.

“We are helping each other we don't ask 'what is the immigrant status of the people' they are humans and as humans we have to help each other,” says Victor.