Posted on 01/11/2002 11:00:51 PM PST by sarcasm
GAITHERSBURG, Maryland - The death of a Salvadoran family in a fire in Gaithersburg demonstrates the danger of many Hispanics' practice of illegally renting out basements and extra rooms without ensuring adequate safety measures.
Officials attribute this practice to economic and cultural factors, since many Latin American immigrants are used to sharing their homes with relatives.
On the other hand, many immigrants find it economical to rent a room at a low price given the high cost of houses and apartments.
These people also face dangers, as was the case for Israel Herrera, his wife, Alba, and their two small children, who died last weekend when a fire broke out in the basement of a Gaithersberg home that did not have the secondary exit required by law.
The owner of the property, Javier Argueta, has received criminal citations for failing to install smoke detectors and for renting out a sleeping area that did not have a secondary means of escape.
Argueta said he had allowed the sublet of the basement to help the Hispanic family living upstairs pay the $1,200-a-month rent.
The family living upstairs survived the fire.
"Many homeowners take advantage of the immigrants' situations and in their zeal to make money they fail to provide their renters with adequate living conditions," said Jose Ramos of the Center for Central American Resources (CARECEN) in Washington.
But, the community activist noted, the situation is complex, as many jobless or low-income Latinos are willing to accept these living conditions. In addition, many Hispanic families have bought expensive homes and rent out their basements, attics and extra rooms to help pay the mortgage.
The director of the Tenants and Workers Support Committee in Arlington, Virginia, Jon Liss, told The Washington Post that many Latinos prefer basements because they offer more privacy than smaller rooms upstairs.
It is not necessarily illegal for relatives or other people to share a home, but in some parts of the country limits are set as to how many people can live in a given amount of space.
Hispanic activists say that many recently arrived immigrants cannot obtain low-cost housing because of the long waiting lists for these facilities.
I don't see a world depression but I do see the potential for a serious world recession. The Japanese were degenerate gamblers (in property and their stock market) and leveraged themselves to the hilt and you know what? So are we and so is the rest of the world. Every major currency is leveraged.
I don't see much shelter from this storm. At least not in "things" "toys" and "stuff".
1. Realize that you are in a country uninvited.
2. Realize that have transgressed and broken US laws to stay in this country.
3. Realize that you are taking jobs Americans wanted before millions of illegal aliens drove the pay scale down.
4. Realize that your coming to the US illegally will make it easier for terrorist to sneak over the border too.
5. Do not have your children born (AKA anchor babies) in the US to get welfare because that is stealing from the American people.
6. Do not take any kind of welfare or food stamps or rent assist because that is stealing from the American people.
7. Do not enroll illegal alien children in American schools because that is stealing from the American people.
8. Do not use charity hospital emergency rooms in order to get FREE health care because that is stealing from the American people.
9. Realize you are a ILLEGAL ALIEN and not just a "undocumented worker".
10. Realize that you need to go home and start making your country a better place to live instead of coming to my country and making it a worse place to live in.
JOIN FAIR http://www.fairus.org/
No, for them, "diversity" is the PC term for a fast way to make a buck on cheap labor and government hand-outs. For the rest of us, it's a giant pain in the rear.
When even nepotism and string-pulling won't get their 30 year old son a job and he and his girlfriend and their baby and her two kids from her previous marriage all move in with mom and dad. Heh heh heh.... can't wait.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.