Gulfport, MS – On Friday, November 18, Janet Murguia, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., will join the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA) to visit and speak with Latino workers involved in the hurricane rebuilding efforts in Gulfport, Mississippi, who are being mistreated by federal subcontractors. Murguia’s site visit of “tent cities” and other makeshift worker housing sites in Gulfport will begin at 11:30 a.m., and will be followed at 1:00 p.m. by a media availability with workers and local elected officials.

MIRA, a local advocacy organization, will join Murguia to investigate complaints that contractors have failed to pay workers or provide basic food and housing, and have failed to adhere to federal worker protection and safety regulations. Site visit participants will discuss the need for stronger enforcement and financial oversight of federal contractors, adequate housing for workers and low-income hurricane victims, and the importance of including workers from the affected areas in the rebuilding efforts.

All members of the media interested in attending the site visit at 11:30 a.m. and/or attending the media availability at 1:00 p.m., please contact Alexandra Jost (ajost@nclr.org) at (202) 246-9327 or Diana Tejada (dtejada@nclr.org) at (202) 785-1670.

MEDIA ADVISORY

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