Illegal Immigrants To Lose Out On BP Claims

[Purveyor]

By Anna Fifield and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington

Illegal immigrants working on the Gulf Coast will not be able to claim for economic losses they suffer as a result of the BP oil spill, according to Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of BP’s $20bn claims fund.

Mr Feinberg, who will take over the administration of the claims process from BP, is now drawing up parameters for assessing claims, which have been flooding in since his appointment 10 days ago.

“I think it’s very difficult for the fund to engage in any programme that violates federal law,” Mr Feinberg told the Financial Times. “I don’t think the fund can be in a position to be paying compensation .”

But his position on illegal immigration is at odds with his treatment of 11 families whose relatives were killed while working at the Windows on the World restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center. Mr Feinberg, who oversaw compensation to the 9/11 victims, awarded the families sums between $875,000 and $4.1m.

When Congress created the $7bn victims’ fund, it explicitly incorporated foreigners, including illegal immigrants.

Mr Feinberg at the time encouraged people to come forward, telling illegals not to fear punishment.

MORE...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/49546128-82d9-11df-b7ad-00144feabdc0.html

[Oregone]

1. The new slave class

[stray cat]

2. If I am in a country illegally I don't have the rights of a citizen of that country

and yet we are against legal H1 visa's?

[phleshdef]

3. Having your relatives killed vs compensation for losing job pay you were receiving illegally.

2 completely different situations and I think the decisions seem pretty fair in both.

[treestar]

4. It must be the difference between economic loss and personal injury

Negligently injuring someone physically - the defendant can't get out of it by saying you wouldn't have been injured if you weren't here like you were supposed to be. Anyone in that area would have been injured, legal or not. But with economic loss, it is easier to say well you weren't supposed to have that economic gain anyway, legally.