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Advocates say farmworkers, indigenous and undocumented communities face outsized harm from wildfires and need language access and permanent relief funds
Summary
Speakers representing Mixteco and indigenous farmworker communities told the Assembly committee that structural inequities left monolingual indigenous workers and undocumented people exposed to hazardous conditions, excluded from federal aid and without culturally competent emergency communications.
Committee testimony from Genevieve Flores Haro and others described a pattern of disproportionate harm to farmworkers, indigenous-language speakers and undocumented residents during California wildfires.
Genevieve Flores Haro, associate director of the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), told the Assembly that many indigenous farmworkers speak only Mixteco or Zapoteco, lacked access to early emergency alerts during previous large fires (she cited the 2017 Thomas Fire example in Ventura County), and often continued to work outdoors in hazardous smoke because unpaid day labor leaves them no safety net. Flores Haro said workers had to buy their own masks and goggles and that some were denied federal disaster aid because of immigration status. "We all got sick," she testified, relating accounts from workers who lost wages and had children miss school.
Policy context and recommendations Flores Haro listed laws passed since 2017—AB1877 (Limon) for emergency language access, SB160 (Jackson) on cultural competency and disaster resilience planning, SB56 and AB4 (Medi-Cal expansions referenced broadly)—as steps forward but said gaps remain. She urged real-time culturally competent interpretation that includes indigenous languages, permanent statewide disaster funds for undocumented people (she discussed short-term programs like Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants and Storm Assistance for Immigrants), stronger enforceable occupational protections (hazard pay, PPE, safe-reporting mechanisms) and durable funding for Cal/OSHA inspections (she cited a current budget request of $1,250,000 in support of AB694 for more inspection capacity).
Why this matters: Testimony emphasized that preexisting economic and language barriers magnify exposure to smoke and impede access to health care and disaster relief, creating persistent inequities.
Ending: Advocates asked lawmakers to expand language-access requirements to indigenous languages, codify disaster-relief funding for undocumented residents, strengthen workplace enforcement for outdoor workers, and ensure community organizations are funded partners in planning and response.
