More than 1,600 Puerto Rican families displaced after Hurricane Maria are living in Connecticut.
There is now a new push for state lawmakers to help them.
Archie Santiago Rivera has been living in a hotel in Connecticut. He left Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, but now it’s not clear how long he can stay.
"FEMA said, 'Come to the U.S.- in this case, come to Connecticut. We’ll pay for your hotel in Connecticut, and we’ll work on your case'," Hartford City Council member, Wildaliz Bermudez, said. "Some of those cases are closed. So if their case is closed, as of January 14, these people will be displaced. They’re going to be homeless."
State Rep. Angel Arce is calling on the federal government for help.
"Puerto Rico is an American territory and we deserve the same treatment as Texas, Florida, and any other state," Arce said.
House Majority Leader Matt Ritter said it’s time to start streamlining services.
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"Getting representatives from the department of social services, the DMV, the department of housing," Ritter said. "They get a lot of questions on a daily basis. It’s good to put everybody in a room on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to make sure everybody is following the same procedures."
