New Orleans is undergoing the nation's largest reconstruction effort and its new workforce is largely Latino

Peter Pae:

No one knows how many immigrants have descended here since Katrina ravaged the city five weeks ago, but their presence is visible throughout the city.

Abimael and Filegonia Diaz may have been among the first wave of newcomers.

Since Sept. 12, the couple has been clearing debris, washing windows and sweeping floors at a hotel in downtown New Orleans.

For six years, Abimael worked in Nashville as a day laborer and sent money to Filegonia and their three young children in Mexico.

Within days after the hurricane hit New Orleans, Filegonia joined her husband in New Orleans to work for a construction company that is providing a room at the hotel plus three meals a day.

Last week, the couple had their first day off from work and hitched a ride with a construction crew to Kenner Supermarket y Restaurante, a gathering spot for Latinos on the west side of the city. They celebrated with their first Mexican meal in the city, before wiring half of their paycheck to their family back home.

"We'll stay here because I think the job will last a long time," Abimael Diaz said, as he and Filegonia downed a large bowl of beef soup. "If we can make enough money, we would like to buy a house and bring our children to New Orleans."

Big Easy cleanup a foreign affair