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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Fearing deportation, illegal immigrants avoid hurricane help NEW ORLEANS - Some sneak into shelters at night and then slip out in the morning, praying they won't be noticed. Mexican President Vicente Fox appealed to one of the largest illegal populations in the devastated region with messages in English and Spanish, urging them to seek help from Mexican consulates or U.S. rescue workers. ``We ask that you work without fear with the U.S. authorities and cooperate with them,'' he said. ``Don't be afraid to follow rescue officials' directions. They are capable people.'' Consular officials are struggling to reach out to their citizens, attempting to locate the missing and determine who might have died. Mexican officials have even set up ``mobile consulates'' for illegal immigrants living outside major cities. Rumors of deportations are rife, although U.S. officials have suspended for 45 days a requirement that employers check workers' identification. Fox also said the United States has promised not to send people home in the immediate aftermath, although Washington has not confirmed that. In some cases, the decision to stay put has been fatal. Four roommates - three Mexicans and a Honduran - decided to ride out the storm in their trailer in Marrero. They were asphyxiated by a faulty generator after the storm passed. Jorge Vitanza, Honduras' vice consul to New Orleans, said his staff has been scouring refugee centers and Hispanic neighborhoods to see how many of the 150,000 Hondurans living in Louisiana need help. Of the 9,600 Salvadorans in the affected area, only 40 have gone to shelters, said Margarita de Escobar, vice minister for Salvadorans living abroad. About 40,000 Mexicans live in Louisiana and roughly 90 have been reported missing, said Juan Bosco Marti, director-general for North America at the Mexican Foreign Relations Department. Mexican consular officials helped 297 Mexicans displaced by the hurricane as of Tuesday, repatriating 21 to Mexico at their request. But Marti said most Mexicans fleeing the destruction have sought shelter with extended family rather than seeking government aid. About half of Louisiana's 30,000 Vietnamese - many of whom fled war in their homeland decades ago - have taken refuge in churches or with friends and family in Houston, which also has a large Vietnamese population. At a Baton Rouge camp, Hector Padilla, 49, a Honduran carpenter who lived in New Orleans, said many immigrants were talking of raids by immigration authorities. Although Padilla said he had papers, he still was nervous. ``There is always fear when you aren't a U.S. citizen,'' he said. ``There is always fear they will get you.'' Associated Press writers Freddy Cuevas in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Diego Mendez in San Salvador, El Salvador, contributed to this report. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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