HOUSTON — The Tamayo family stacked their mattresses on top of chairs, and propped the fridge on bricks. But in the end, Harvey's floodwaters still damaged their floors, walls and furniture.

Now, as the family, which includes some unauthorized immigrants, starts to rebuild and apply for disaster assistance, they face an additional fear. The same federal government that they're asking for help — and supplying with personal information — could also deport them.

"It's painful to see, when you grow up in a country that expresses a lot of support for their people, that at the same time, it's only certain people," said Areli Tamayo, 23, whose parents brought her to the U.S. as a baby.

Tamayo's parents are among Houston's nearly 600,0000 unauthorized immigrants — the third largest population of any U.S. city, after New York and Los Angeles, according to Pew Research Center. No one knows how many were affected by Harvey's devastation, but activists with the group United We Dream believe the number to be at least several thousand.

Houston's unauthorized community was already fearful amid immigration raids and crackdowns. A new Texas law, called SB4, which bans sanctuary cities and allows police to check anyone's immigration status, was to take effect Sept. 1, though a federal court temporarily blocked parts of it. And President Donald Trump's administration moved last week to end DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that protected undocumented youths brought to the U.S.

"There is nothing compassionate about the failure to enforce immigration laws," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in announcing the end of DACA. "The compassionate thing to do is end the lawlessness, [and] enforce our laws."

After Harvey, unauthorized immigrants face a particularly tough road ahead, as they navigate a lack of assistance and interactions with the government that they fear could separate them from their families.

1 / 6A kitten and a rooster inspect piles of discarded items to be thrown out on the curb of the Romero residence on Bronson Street in South Houston. Residents continue to work to recover from the Hurricane Harvey in Houston, photographed on Sept. 8. (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 2 / 6Discarded items to be thrown out sit on the curb of houses on Bronson Street in South Houston, as residents continue to work to recover from the Hurricane Harvey in Houston.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 3 / 6Areli Tamayo looks at a video of the flooding on the street of her South Houston home, as the DACA recipient talks about issues with recovering from the Hurricane Harvey storm damage in Houston.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 4 / 6Areli Tamayo, 23, looks where water poured into her house in the bathroom in her South Houston home.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 5 / 6Former home furnishings and belongings sit on the curb outside the home of Areli Tamayo.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 6 / 6Areli Tamayo, 23, talks about issues with recovering from Hurricane Harvey storm damage in Houston.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

"The undocumented community's been affected even more so" by Harvey, said Laura Patricia Fernandez, an immigration attorney and board member of the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston.

In Houston, 1 in 10 people is an unauthorized immigrant. Those with children who are U.S. citizens are eligible for assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, Fernandez said, seeking that help brings the risk that FEMA could share their information with immigration authorities.

In an email, a FEMA spokesperson said the agency would not "proactively" share people's information with immigration authorities, but may do so if the authorities claim a "significant law enforcement interest exists" such as a national security case.

Even if the immigrants can apply to FEMA for aid through their children, some don't have proof of leases, insurance coverage or their belongings because they often didn't know to keep documentation, Fernandez said. Some are facing eviction notices from landlords, she said, and because they always paid in cash and never had a written lease, they have no recourse. They're also not eligible for state disaster unemployment aid.

There is some help available. FEMA said anyone affected by presidentially declared disasters — "regardless of citizenship status" — is eligible for short-term relief such as shelter, food and water. They could also apply for legal services, case management and disaster food stamps.

1 / 4Policarpo Romero, a Mexican immigrant with legal status, talks about trying to pay for fixing his home on Bronson Street in South Houston after Hurricane Harvey. (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 2 / 4Discarded items to be thrown out sit on the curb of houses on Bronson Street in South Houston.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 3 / 4Discarded items to be thrown out sit on the curb of houses on Bronson Street in South Houston on Sept. 8.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 4 / 4Homeowners on Bronson Street in South Houston continue to work to recover from the Hurricane Harvey in Houston.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

Some nonprofits and churches have also started fundraisers for those who can't apply to FEMA.

Dona Murphey, with United We Dream in Houston, said the advocacy group had raised $60,000 — with a large chunk coming from the Mennonite Church — to give to unauthorized immigrant families trying to rebuild. Antonio Arellano, a contributor to a local ABC affiliate TV station, started another fund on YouCaring.com that has raised nearly $45,000.

Before the storm, Houston's mayor, Sylvester Turner, emphasized that authorities would not be checking immigration status at shelters.

But many immigrants still feared asking for help, said Thai Bustamante, 29, a former unauthorized immigrant from Mexico who now teaches at a middle school in Houston.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection trucks and boats could be seen throughout the city, in efforts their leaders said were related to rescue operations. People were skeptical, though, as the state Department of Public Safety had announced it would not suspend immigration enforcement checkpoints prior to the storm.

"A lot of people were more scared of immigration [authorities] than they were of Harvey, which says a lot because Harvey was a pretty epic storm," Bustamante said. "People see the Border Patrol trucks, and say, 'I don't know if you're here to help me, or here to deport me.'"

Thai Bustamante, 29, a formerly unauthorized immigrant who now teaches seventh grade in Houston ISD, talks about issues with recovering from the Hurricane Harvey damage in Houston. (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

There's a hopelessness that has set in since Harvey among many unauthorized immigrants who own homes, Bustamante said, since they paid property taxes for years and now aren't able to get back any of their investment through FEMA.

"They were able to buy a house and pay taxes, and now that they've lost everything, the government conveniently can't help them," Bustamante said. "It's really revealing of our society."

As the wide swaths of Houston begin to gut homes and rebuild — a process that will take years — immigrants feel their work in construction will be a big part of the city's recovery.

"Undocumented workers are doing that work," said Carlos Calbillo, an activist with Harris County Latino Power. "If they start deporting these people, who's gonna do all that?"