Posted on 10/28/2003 8:01:38 PM PST by mykdsmom
The arrest of 250 illegal workers at Wal-Mart
worries them. But if deported, they say, they
will come back
Days after federal agents arrested more than 250 illegal workers at Wal-Mart stores across the country, Efrain Ramirez had a simple plan for avoiding capture.
If immigration agents show up at the intersection in Carrboro where he often waits for work as a day laborer, Ramirez said, he won't stick around.
"If they come, I'll run," Ramirez, 47, vowed Monday as he reclined in a lawn chair among a group of about 40 men waiting at the corner in hopes of finding work.
His mouth full of sunflower seeds and the brim of his hat pulled over his forehead, Ramirez said he has eked out an enjoyable life working illegally in the United States. The wages he earns in six or seven months here allow him to spend the rest of the year relaxing at his home on Mexico's Pacific Coast.
Nearly 200,000 illegal immigrants are believed to be residing in North Carolina, and news of the arrests on Thursday didn't take long to get around. In North Carolina, the sweep began at 5 a.m. when authorities burst into four Wal-Mart stores and arrested 14 men and one women who were working on cleaning crews.
Those detained included five people from Mexico, four from Russia, four from Mongolia, one from Slovakia and one from El Salvador. They ranged in age from 20 to 35. Agents released them later that day with a notice to appear in front of an immigration judge in Atlanta in April 2004.
Undocumented ILLEGAL workers interviewed Monday in Carrboro said the arrests made them more apprehensive than ever. But most said they were resolved to continue working -- even if it means being deported.
"It's sad to think that you can go through all this trouble to get here only to have something like this happen," said Freddy Isunza, 33, who traveled from his home in San Pedro, Honduras, about a year ago to look for work in North Carolina. "But what can you do? Nothing."
Armando Ortiz-Rocha, the Mexican consul in Raleigh, said undocumented immigrants learn to live with the risk of deportation. The money Mexican workers in the United States send back to their home country is one of Mexico's largest sources of income.
"They know the worry is part of the cost of coming here," Ortiz-Rocha said.
But most think that if they don't commit crimes and live a quiet life, the risks are minimal. "They also know that if they work hard and comply with the laws, it's very likely that they can stay here as long as they want," Ortiz-Rocha said.
The men who gather at the intersection in Carrboro typically find work mixing cement, laying bricks, cutting grass, trimming trees or painting houses. They are hired by contractors and sometimes residents who need help with yard work and other chores.
The jobs usually last a day to a week and pay $5 to $10 an hour. The wait for work can be long: By 10 a.m. Monday, four of the men had found jobs.
"It's like this every day," said Mauricio Hernandez, sipping coffee at a service station across the street from the group of men.
Hernandez, from Mexico City, said he used to wait for work at the intersection when he first came to the United States eight months ago. But now, he finds odd jobs through churches in the area that pay even better.
Federal officials caught Hernandez twice trying to enter the United States; he made it across the border earlier this year and said he would not be deterred by deportation.
"This kind of thing happens all the time," said Hernandez, 30. "They deport us, but we come back."
This is the problem, right here. I keep saying that the only way the problem will be solved is to go after the employers. Make it painful enough and they'll stop hiring illegals.
I saw we fire them!
And Americans pay for his medical care while he's here, and he's probably working for cash and not paying taxes. Many Americans would like to be able to relax at the beach too, but we're too busy working to support this guy and his millions of buddies. Now I know why they call it the DREAM ACT. It's a NIGHTMARE for American taxpayers.
This is a GREAT idea, I get a ton of mail from the GOP and various candidates begging for money. I usually just trash them, I'm going to start doing this.
MKM
I called INS to report that there were 40 day laborers hanging out on this corner in Carrboro. They took the report but, I wonder if they will do anything about it...
I suggest everyone call INS and call the report in. I volunteer to drive by at least once a week and see if they are still there. Then we call INS again....lets take back our country
...tick...tick...tick..
I'm not sure if they're all cowards or whether they're all being bought and paid for by corporations with a vested interest in cheap labor. Their's a lot of powerful interests with deep pockets that want to see the wage scale as low as possible and the country's future be damned.
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