Posted on 01/28/2009 11:31:13 AM PST by Checkers
They are down and out in the United States and homesick for Guatemala. And El Salvador. And Honduras. And Mexico.
And they would go back without even an American penny in their pocket if only they had enough to get home.
They are the discouraged and disillusioned Central American and Mexican day laborers who, in a sign of how hard times are in this economy, find themselves so broke they can't send much, if any, money back to loved ones they haven't seen for years.
"We have lost our reason for being here," laments Jose Perez, 42, a Guatemalan living in the San Fernando Valley who vows he will be back home by next Christmas - and wishes he could leave sooner.
"I would leave today, with just the clothes on my back, if I had the money. It wasn't that long ago that I used to put money aside to send home. Now I'm saving it in hopes that I can go back home."
Perez, who hasn't seen his wife and family in five years, is among the hundreds of day laborers who gather each morning at the same corners in various parts of the Valley, hoping to find work cleaning yards, hauling furniture, painting houses or doing light construction.
But in an increasingly tight economy, homeowners are now handling many of the tasks they used to hire day laborers to perform.
"The dream I had when I left Guatemala to come to America is now gone," said Perez with a trace of bitterness.
He is not alone.
The economic recession and the crackdown on illegal immigration have forced growing numbers of Central American immigrants to consider giving up their dreams in the United States and returning to their homelands, according to an Inter-American Development Bank survey of 5,000
(Excerpt) Read more at dailynews.com ...
My point is the Mexicans do not want them in their country either. Especially the folks from El Salvador.
He could sneak back into Mexico; they will deport him back to his home country a lot sooner than ICE would.
Oh, the Huge Manatee!
Illegal immigration in a nutshell - "I don't want to BECOME an American, just LIVE like one."
This is Hugh. And series.
BS. Just show up at an ICE office and tell 'em your here illegally.
They'll feed you a nice lunch on top of the free ride home.
L
The OTMs probably paid a smuggler to get themselves here ... now they're (sort of) stuck. Since the "Long March" isn't really an option, they can either sit on the pity pot, or turn themselves in.
No, they are waiting for the Obama-McCain Amnesty, which will then allow them to get welfare.
The dream I had when I left Guatemala to come to America is now gone,” said Perez with a trace of bitterness.....
Thank God!
Sorry to see anyone suffer, but I’d be more than happy to help pay for at least one to go back home.
My advice to them?
Try it again when you can do it legally, then you won’t have to worry about being here ILLEGALLY.
One half of your problem will no longer be a problem.
now who can post the picture of the manatee bursting out from the zeppalin? lol
No sympathy for illegal aliens, who took jobs away from Americans.
They are more than welcome to turn themselves into ICE for a free ride home
Hang in there. I am sure each of you will receive a new pickup as part of the obama bailout package. And free gas for life.
They are anxious to leave probably b/c got several 100% mortgages they need to default on-—and leave taxpayers to bailout the dumb US banks that gave them mortgages without proof of citizenshuip or employment.
RE: “Didn’t the ICE have a program last year for free rides back to their home countries, and no one showed up to take them up on it? When they can look forward to BO making them all eligible for US taxpayer-financed welfare, why in the world should they not “hang on”?”
************
A few may just leave, but unfortunately most will stay, sucking up the overly generous benefits granted them by idiot government and voters who seem not to “get it.” I’d drive them all back across the border if I could find them. Actually, some of them hang around various places here in the Valley and in LA looking for someone to pick them up for “day work.” They urinate and worse on those properties and those of surrounding owners. NOT good! There have been many complaints about this for YEARS.
The San Fernando Valley looks like the worst of Tijuana these days; and has done so for MANY years now — really sad as it used to be a nice place to live. I should know, I’ve been here most of my life and I’m a “senior” now.
One of the biggest problems is the amazing amount of services they use, bankrupting the hospital ERs and such. They get the flu, off to the ER for free treatment they go. And then the ERs close for lack of funds. They manage to get for free better health care than those of us paying high prices for lousy health “insurance.” Again, I should know — I worked for a major health insurer and saw the claims and payments — so much spent on these undocumented types, costs picked up courtesy of the legitimate citizens/taxpayers.
No point in speaking about the schools in L.A. Virtually NO middle class children attend the public schools in any areas other than a couple of schools in very high end areas. A friend is a teacher in elementary grades and says it’s worse each year — he is BABYSITTING, nothing else. The immigrant’s kids, born here or not, cannot seem to learn; education is NOT stressed by their families.
Then there’s the huge amount of gang warfare going on nonstop — helicopters circle day and night — and home and auto break-ins are constantly attributed to this group. Since the economy tanked a few months ago you would not believe the increase in crimes by illegals. Tens of thousands of “them” are also incarcerated in CA prisons. Why are we supporting this scourage?!
Let’s not forget their gang and wannabee gang graffiti — other people who try to paint it out are often shot these days and we are admonished to let the City of LA anti-graffiti teams handle it.
We now have a firearm, a big dog, alarm system and are active in our local neighborhood watch. And we’re in a relatively “good” area of the southeast SF Valley!
Family and friends are still in L.A. area or we’d move — but we like the weather and grew up here and why should we be the ones to move? Enough already — I hope they all leave and don’t look back. But undoubtedly they are just whining — no matter how bad they might think things are for them now, it’s 99% better than what they’d find in their homelands. Most won’t go anywhere...
More likely that they THEMSELVES have several 100% mortgages...
The part the media REFUSES to tellfolks is that mortgage fraud is as high as 40% of repos in some areas, and the tales almost all read the same, regardless of the city.
And they almost always involve black,hispanic gangs.
Call ICE, they have dozens of planes, free ride home.......
I read about some illegals seeking to get deported to get that free ride home
One could stand on a corner with a card board sign that says.
“I NEED $10 MORE AND I CAN GO HOME TO MEXICO”, and he’d have enough in an hour.
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