Summary

Every different migrant worker has their own story to tell, they all may sound different but they all have the same plot. That plot is to make money somehow. When there are no opportunities in your home the next best thing to do is move to another home with more opportunities. This is the life of a migrant worker. The wages are terrible but in their eyes pocket change is better than no change at all. There are many people that would rather hire a migrant worker for below minimum wage than to hire a licensed, expensive professional. The only reason this abuse continues is because all of these migrant workers are illegal immigrants. They have no one to report any kind of injustice to. They fear reporting anything for fear of getting deported. Despite gaining low wages and little respect from different public views, virtually nothing can discourage the determination these migrant workers have. An individual looking for work must know the consequences at hand. Anything can happen, expect the unexpected; the two possible worse case scenarios that can occur during these instances are: finishing up the job and not getting paid or tricked into getting a job and getting deported instead. One of the many places migrant workers encompass, are near hardware stores. The most notorious one is called, “Home Depot”. This is one of the places where many migrant workers linger in hopes of getting any kind of work, whether it’s a couple of hours or a full day’s work. However, not all migrant workers wait around in hopes that employment finds them. Other migrants decide to use a different strategy, when attempting to sell your services doesn’t work, selling certain goods might increase your chances of some form of income. Some migrants are more fortunate than other in which some are able to acquire certain goods to sell and become street vendors. The goods range from fruits/vegetables to flower arrangements. These migrants are usually found in dense, traffic infested areas where they march up and down the street advertising their goods to stopped traffic in hopes of getting a quick dollar. Migrants vary from each location particularly in Northern California, mainly in Arcata, and Southern California, mainly in Huntington Park. One thing to note, is that the population of Arcata is only a fraction of what the population of Huntington Park is; therefore, it is more obvious that where there is more people that need things to get done more migrant workers will be there to offer their services in hopes of earning some currency.

Interviews

            For this blog I have attempted to conduct interviews and gather up research between migrant worker dispersal in Northern California, mainly in Arcata, and Southern California, mainly in Huntington Park.

The Questions asked during the interview are as follows:

1)      What is your cultural ethnicity?

2)      How hard does it get to find work?

3)      How long have you been in the U.S. seeking employment opportunities?

For private purposes I am only going to list the last name of the participants I interviewed. The following are interviews from people in Huntington Park. “Home Depot”.

Zavala

Question 1 Response:

·         Mexicano de Durango

Question 2 Response:

·         It gets very hard at times if a patron is looking for particular services such as craftsmanship construction versus landscaping duties. Not everyone has knowledge in every particular field of work. However, when there is no other alternative it’s time to take chances and improvise in what the patron is paying us to do whether we know how to do it or not.

Question 3 Response:

·         I have been here in and out of work for 7 years.

Morfin

Question 1 Response:

·         Mexicano de Michoacán

Question 2 Response:

·         It has gotten a lot harder over the years; in fact, 30 years ago there were more employment opportunities than there are now and immigration laws have gotten worse.

Question 3 Response:

·         I have been struggling to work here for 20+ years.

Rubalcava

Question 1 Response:

·         Mexicano de Jalisco

Question 2 Response:

·         Sometimes you get lucky sometimes you don’t, it can become very competitive getting work, and unfortunately not everyone can be guaranteed work.

Question 3 Response:

·         I have been in and out of work 10 years.

One thing to note is that, even though, the people I interviewed happen to be Mexican, this does not mean that all the migrant workers are Mexican, some are of other Hispanic descent. In other words, NOT EVERYONE THAT SPEAKS SPANISH IS MEXICAN!

Unfortunately, the vendors that I wanted to interview were off to no avail.

In Arcata, though there are quite a few street vendors some were not migrant workers and were too industrialized to consider for street vending and becomes more of a street establishment.

I have also attempted to go to Arcata’s “Home Depot”, Ace, and investigate the dispersal of migrant workers and found none standing around. It becomes clear that since the population of Arcata is only a fraction of what the population of Huntington Park is; therefore, it is more obvious that where there is more people that need things to get done more migrant workers will be there to offer their services in hopes of earning some currency.

Blog 2 Employment Population Density

                As I originally wrote in my previous blog I was going to focus on the employment lifestyle of a migrant worker. One of the places I mentioned some migrant workers gather around to look for employment is near hardware stores; “Home Depot”. Dispite gaining low wages and few respect from different public views virtually nothing can discourage the determination these migrant workers have. Looking for work on “Home Depot” grounds can be tricky business. An individual looking for work must know the consequences at hand. Anything can happen, expect the unexpected; the two possible worse case scenerios that can occur during these instances is: finishing up the job and not getting paid or tricked in hopes getting a job and getting deported instead. 

                However, dispite the fact that many migrant workers reside near hardware stores waiting for work from anyone that’s willing to give, not all migrant workers wait around in hopes that employment finds them. Other migrants decide to use a different strategy, when attempting to sell your services doesn’t work, selling certain goods might increase your chances of some form of income. Some migrants are more fortunate than other in which some are able to aquire certain goods to sell and become street vendors. The goods range from fruits/vegetables to flower arrangements. These migrants are usually found in dense, traffic infested areas where they march up and down the street advertising their goods to stopped traffic in hopes of getting a quick dollar. However, as I further dwell into the employment of a migrant worker there is one thing to note. Migrants vary from each location, for instance, Los Angeles has a lot more “Home Depots” than Arcata, therefore, it’s unlikely that migrants will be widely dispersed in Arcata. The places I would like to go interview in Arcata would be the nearest hardware store, ACE, and local vendors to see what the dispersal variation is compared to a densely populated area like southern California.

Illegal Aliens? (E.T.’s, Martians?) or Illegal Immigrants

            The term, “Illegal Alien”, what does it mean? The first thing that would pop in many people’s minds would be Mexican migrant worker or illegal immigrant. Let’s briefly analyze this compounding word. The word “Illegal” means something unlawful, being against the law. The word “Alien” means extraterrestrial being, a being from another planet. I personally, think that the wording for the description of an illegal immigrant is ludicrous. Who wants to be called an Alien, why not just stick with the term “foreigner”? Anyways, for the introductory blog I have chosen to write about the employment lifestyle of a migrant worker.

            Every different migrant worker has their own story to tell, they all may sound different but they all have the same plot. That plot is to make money somehow. When there are no opportunities in your home the next best thing to do is move to another home with more opportunities. This is the life of a migrant worker. One of the many places migrant workers encompass, are near hardware stores. The most notorious one is called, “Home Depot”. This is one of the places where many migrant workers linger in hopes of getting any kind of work, whether it’s a couple of hours or a full day’s work. The wages are terrible but in their eyes pocket change is better than no change at all. There are many people that would rather hire a migrant worker for below minimum wage than to hire a licensed, expensive professional. The only reason this abuse continues is because all of these migrant workers are illegal immigrants. They have no one to report any kind of injustice to. They fear reporting anything for fear of getting deported. With this brief introduction I hope to learn more about the perils that an illegal immigrant faces on a daily basis. And hopefully dig deeper into the injustices.