Latinos in the South often targets of abuse

This new report is 64 pages of unsettling information about the way Latinos are treated in southern states. Read the full report at http://www.splcenter.org/legal/undersiege/UnderSiege.pdf - - Donna Poisl

Low-income Latinos have become growing targets across the South. In a report released this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center, poor Latinos described life in the South as living in a "war zone."

The SPLC's "Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South" documents the widespread abuse facing low-wage Latino workers in Southern states. Focusing on Nashville, Charlotte, New Orleans, rural southern Georgia and northern Alabama, the Montgomery, Ala.-based civil rights nonprofit surveyed hundreds of residents who detailed a striking degree of abuse, including "widespread hostility, discrimination and exploitation." Researchers said they found a "population under siege and living in fear" -- fear of the police, fear of the government and fear of criminals who prey on immigrants because of their vulnerability.

In the South laws to protect workers from abuse are weak and almost nonexistent, making it even more challenging for Latinos suffering from wage theft, workplace discrimination or workplace injuries to seek justice. Nearly one third of people surveyed reported on-the-job injuries, and only 37 percent of those said they received appropriate treatment. The rate of deaths for Mexican workers in the South was one in 6,200--more than double the national average.
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