"Immigrant Day Laborers, Far From Home and Losing Hope"

The article takes place in Hempstead New York where more than fifty immigrants stood outside of a Home Depot in hopes of finding work during the day. The article said that out of these immigrants only about six or seven of them were able to find work. These day laborers wait for work and it is significant to them because they are far from home and in desperate need of money. Most of these immigrant workers had full-time jobs in the past but are currently being laid off due to troubles in the economy. Two years ago the economy was doing well and the homebuilding industry needed the help of these workers, but now they are not being needed in abundance. A lot of these workers are living day to day and are hoping to find work. The article states that some of these immigrants are in fact illegal immigrants and have stopped buying supplies they need and sending money back to their families. This fall in economy puts these immigrants in a tight situation and that they may have to return home because they are failing to make enough money for their own survival in the United States. Carmelo Pena Garcia is an illegal immigrant and is trying to find the money to return home. This is extremely hard when the American dollar is decreasing in value due to the troubles in the economy. These laborers come to the United States in hopes of seeking the “American Dream” but are finding it hard to do so now. Mr. Mancillas came from a small village in El Salvador where he was a tailor and paid a smuggler 2,500 dollars to get through Guatemala and Mexico. When getting that far he was able to sneak across the border of Mexico and into the United States. He was able to make a decent amount of money in 2005 and even had enough to send large sums of this money back to his family, but not so much anymore. In New York there are seemingly more workers as the days go on. Immigrants travel from city to city in hopes of finding work. The companies that are hiring these immigrants are able to pay them less because they know that they will work for nearly nothing. Sometimes these companies even take it to the extent of not paying them at all. These immigrants can do nothing about it because they live in fear of being sent back home. These immigrants are not really up to date with the economy but they can see that work is becoming harder to find. They fear of going back home, because they are in a place where they are told they will prosper. Some are hoping that with a new President, their will follow a change. Until then, these immigrants will strive for work and do whatever possible to land day jobs to support themselves and their families. Other immigrants will try to raise enough money to head back home due to the small amount of work opportunities.

Article By: Kirk Semple
NY Times Monday October 20, 2008