US-Mexico Border Immigrant Rights Groups Helping Haiti

(Border- Mexidata.info) - Deeply moved by the massive destruction of the Haiti earthquake, residents of the US-Mexico border region are contributing to relief efforts. In El Paso, Texas, the American Red Cross reported 240 donations received by Friday, January 15. Local schools are enlisting in the the aid campaign, and a private business, Agua Boutique, is collecting clothing that will be shipped to a New York charity for delivery to Haiti.

On Friday, January 15, US Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-El Paso) co-sponsored a measure to make Haiti donations deductible for the 2009 tax year.

Several dozen Haitian immigrants are believed to be living in El Paso, and some have already reported confirmed or suspected casualties among relatives still on the Caribbean island. For instance, El Paso residents Coolidge and Gemme Imperial reported losing a sister in the devastating quake that left Haiti's capital city in ruins.

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