NYC migrants recruited by Florida contractors cleaning debris from Hurricane Ian: report

Dozens of Venezuelan migrants in New York City are taking vans to Florida to help clean up the aftermath left behind by Hurricane Ian, according to a report by The New York Post. 

The migrants told the New York Post that they were offered payment to head to the Sunshine state over the weekend. However, they said they had very little information about who they would be working for. 

“They want us for hurricane cleanup, we’d get paid $15 an hour, overtime, and $15 for food daily, I think,” said Javier Moreno, 37, who signed up after a woman named Camila approached him with a flier.

“I’m going for the work. It’s been hard for us migrants to find work here in New York, that’s why a lot of us are going. How’s the work in Florida?”

“They are telling us that are we going to work,” said another Venezuelan migrant who had been offered the job by a woman. “We have a contact with a lady who is taking us to Florida. We are going to work as contractors on the disaster.”

The vans are picking up the migrants in Corona Queens and headed straight to Florida. One of the van drivers told The Post on Saturday that he had been hired through a contract with a water and debris company. 

“I’m taking these people in the van straight to Florida tonight,” the van driver said. “I don’t know how many people have left or how many more vans are coming.”

A FEMA representative told the outlet that the agency was not involved in the job offer. Similarly, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said City Hall was not involved with the project.