As influx of Puerto Ricans continues, Koch-backed group starts seeking them out in Florida

The following article by Ed O’Keefe was posted on the Washington Post website January 8, 2018:

This item has been updated and corrected.

Leonor Figueroa, 82, center, a survivor of Hurricane Maria, is surrounded by her daughters after arriving at the Orlando airport from Puerto Rico in September. (Joel Achenbach/The Washington Post)

A massive influx of Puerto Rico residents displaced by recent hurricanes is transforming communities in Florida and other states, and a conservative group is moving quickly to woo them ahead of the midterm elections.

The Libre Institute, an offshoot of the Libre Initiative, a group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, is launching new outreach programs this week in the Orlando area designed to provide English-language courses and civics lessons to thousands of Puerto Ricans living at least temporarily in Central Florida as the island continues rebuilding after deadly hurricanes Irma and Maria last fall. Continue reading “As influx of Puerto Ricans continues, Koch-backed group starts seeking them out in Florida”