Wauchula, Fla. ? Angel Lopez examined a blue flier that read in English and Spanish, “Disaster Assistance is Available Now,” but discarded it as soon as FEMA workers moved on to another house in this neighborhood of migrant farmworkers.

Lopez had no intention of applying for federal assistance even though Hurricane Charley ripped off part of the roof of the home he rents and damaged his possessions.

“I fear being deported,” said the 32-year-old farmworker, who came to Florida illegally from Vera Cruz, Mexico two years ago.

Fear of deportation is one of the many obstacles preventing illegal immigrants who lost their homes or jobs during Hurricane Charley from seeking disaster relief. The language barrier is also a problem, and undocumented workers can’t apply for cash assistance, although they are eligible for food and temporary shelter.

“Some of them are scared and they won’t get the help they need,” said Cristina Avalos, a farmworker crew leader in this tiny agricultural town.

Thousands of illegal immigrants, most originally from Mexico and Guatemala, work in southwest Florida’s agricultural heartland, which was devastated by Charley’s 145-mph winds.

Many are migrant workers who were picking crops up north and won’t have jobs when they return to Florida in the winter because the hurricane damaged an estimated 20 percent of Florida’s citrus crop.

Others have settled in the area permanently. In two counties that were hardest-hit, agricultural bastions DeSoto and Hardee counties, Hispanics make up a quarter and a third of the population, respectively.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency limits cash-assistance and unemployment programs to U.S. citizens and qualified aliens, although undocumented residents can get nonmonetary help such as water and shelter.

Undocumented worker Armenta Ramiro stands next to his damaged trailer in Bokeelia, Fla. Many immigrants are waiting to find out what assistance they can receive in the wake of Hurricane Charley.