Attention to America’s immigration policies has intensified recently, with politicians and citizens wrangling over whether and how to control the number of foreigners entering the country. Emergency managers, however, largely don’t believe immigration is their issue. Except, in a sense, it is.

“I don’t see why or how [immigration] really relates to emergency management, which is distinct from homeland security,” said hazmat and emergency management logistics lecturer Bob Jaffin. “Why would that even come up … in a situation that is an emergency?” 

That sentiment holds true when evaluating the black-and-white definition of emergency management, but shades of gray exist in a number of areas. Immigration affects emergency managers in roundabout manners; instead of focusing on direct involvement — such as enforcement or policymaking — they attend to indirect effects, such as language barriers and population shifts.

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http://www.govtech.com/em/disaster/EM-Mag-Immigration-Implications.html