Hard Rock Hotel collapse reminds New Orleans of undocumented workers’ plight
Undocumented workers who rebuilt the city after Hurricane Katrina remain unrecognized and have seen their home become hostile
The sight of the collapsed Hard Rock Hotel is impossible to escape on the busy Canal Street corridor downtown. Slabs of broken gray concrete form a frozen landslide 18 stories above the ground, and the arm of a massive crane stands almost upright after a botched removal effort left it embedded in the sidewalk below.
Nearly three months after the deadly collapse, the bodies of two victims – José Ponce Arreola, from Mexico, and Quinnyon Wimberly, from New Orleans – still remain inside the wreckage.