Trade Trump’s border wall for welcome mat

If it wasn’t obvious after the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, the destructive force of Hurricane Irma makes it crystal clear. In order for Texas and now Florida to recover, Congress must trade Donald Trump’s wall for a welcome mat. For non-citizens. Primarily, Latinos. Otherwise, there simply aren’t enough construction workers to rebuild all that needs to be rebuilt.

This actually was the case before any hurricanes.

Not long ago, the Associated General Contractors of America released a report saying that 70 percent of construction companies in the United States are having a hard time finding enough workers to keep up with demand.

It was that way before any 100 mph winds and menacing storm surge demolished buildings and roads and infrastructure. Who’s going to fix it? Who is going to put all of America’s Humpty Dumptys together again?

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the administration of George W. Bush loosened regulations requiring employers to verify the immigration status of workers.

It was the only way to attract enough laborers. And it worked.

A study by Tulane and the University of California, Berkeley, found that roughly 100,000 Hispanic workers (many undocumented) helped to rebuild the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina.

The majority of them came from Mexico and Central America.

One of the most life-assuring aspects of a weather catastrophe like these two hurricanes is how neighbors came to the aid of neighbors. With Katrina, our neighbors to the south did just that.

They did a lot of the cleanup and reconstruction work, and some were never adequately paid for their work. It was easy for unscrupulous contractors to take advantage of workers who feared for their immigration status.

We’re in a bigger bind this time around. Two states. Hundreds of millions in damage.

It was bad enough after Harvey, when there was still talk of a multibillion dollar border wall. Now we have the remnants of two hurricanes to clean up after. It’s not about politics anymore. It’s about money being better spent and humanity being better served.

President Donald Trump began his campaign speaking in ugly terms about Mexicans, and has used anti-immigration rhetoric whenever he’s needed to bolster the support of his base. But the people he has spoken of with disdain are now … needed. And they’re willing to do the work. No one is suggesting an open-border policy.

But we would do well — in Texas and in Florida — to welcome thousands of hard-working non-citizens with open arms.