Strangers in a strange land: Migrants and disasters in the US
2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT
More than 45 million people living in the United States were born outside its borders. In fact, the U.S. has a higher number of immigrants than any other country. In 2020, due to closed borders and other COVID-19 restrictions, slightly more than 400,000 people crossed a U.S. border to claim asylum. In the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, that number exceeded 2 million people, many of them unaccompanied minors or families.
In our $1 trillion food and agricultural industry, 73% of workers are immigrants, and about 4% are undocumented migrants. The number of undocumented workers rises to between 50% and 75% in California.
During this webinar, panelists explored issues connected to migrants and disasters. Why do people leave their original country to come to the U.S.? Is there a need for a climate refugee status for asylum seekers? What happens when migrants arrive in the U.S.? What happens to migrant workers during and after disasters?
- Eliza Brennan, Senior Program Officer for Education and Migration, International Community Foundation
- Cynthia Hernandez, National Training Director, Resilience Force
- Zenobia Lai, Executive Director, Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative
This webinar was co-sponsored by Alliance Magazine, Council on Foundations, Giving Compass, United Philanthropy Forum, Philanthropy New York, National VOAD and Hispanics in Philanthropy.
Please see the slide deck, read the recap on Giving Compass and watch the webinar recording to learn more:
Listen to the Spanish translation of the webinar here.
