“Some cleanup workers I knew died of cancer,” one cleanup worker said. “We should all be remembered for what we did.”
He and other immigrants, mostly Spanish-speaking clean up workers, have long asked to obtain legal immigration status in the U.S. as a way to compensate for the work and subsequent health problems they suffered after the attacks. A few of them are organizing a small protest in October to push the government to establish a pathway for legal residency for immigrant cleanup workers.
“The Congresswoman is also supportive of greater immigration reform, co-sponsoring many pieces of legislation that would have provided a path to citizenship for these workers as well as others,” said Ocasio-Cortez spokesperson Lauren Hitt. “This became a space so they could feel safe, talk about their lives, about their needs, but most of all, support each other, not feel alone,” said Bramble Caballero.She received compensation from the federal victims fund after developing breast cancer and takes medication for rhinitis and gastritis. She is being treated for depression and uses an asthma inhaler.
More than 112,000 people have enrolled in the federal World Trade Center Health Program, which offers free medical care to people who can document that they were exposed to dust from the twin towers, regardless of their immigration status.