January 23, 2006

Study: 75% of day laborers are illegal aliens

The University of Illinois at Chicago and UCLA have conducted a survey of 2660 day laborers in 20 states and D.C. The NYT provides some of the findings in "Broad Survey of Day Laborers Finds High Level of Injuries and Pay Violations":

- 75% were illegal aliens
- more than half said they'd been cheated out of wages in the past 2 months
- earnings median: $10/hour, $700/month
- only a "small number" make over $15,000/year

"We were disturbed by the incredibly high incidence of wage violations," said study author Nik Theodore, of the University of Illinois at Chicago. "We also found a very high level of injuries."

..."This is a labor market that thrives on cheap wages and the fact that most of these workers are undocumented. They're in a situation where they're extremely vulnerable, and employers know that and take advantage of them," said another study author, Abel Valenzuela Jr., of the University of California at Los Angeles...

...In addition, the laborers have become the target of groups opposed to illegal immigrants...

...The biggest hope for day laborers, the study said, are the 63 day-labor centers that operate as hiring halls where workers and employers arrange to meet. These centers, usually created in partnerships with local government or community organizations, often require workers and employers to register, helping to reduce abuses. Many of the centers set a minimum wage, often $10 an hour, that employers must pay laborers.

Would you please send an email to public *at* nytimes.com and suggest they put on their thinking caps? The reason those laborers are able to be abused is because they're illegal aliens. Many "liberals" - including those at the NYT - support illegal immigration, and they therefore support the abuses that those workers are subjected to. There is no other option: if someone is here illegally, they're liable to be abused. And, "liberals" support that abuse by supporting illegal immigration.

Note also that while the NYT covers their immigration status in the second paragraph, the AP - another illegal immigration supporter - waits until the twelfth paragraph: "Day-Laborer Study Finds Community Ties". Please write to feedback *at* ap.org about that.

Posted to Immigration at January 23, 2006 09:02 AM

Comments

I gathered this from one article:

""On The Corner: Day Labor in the United States," by professors from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of California, Los Angeles and New York's New School University."

But is this just a repackaging of a study released last June by the same people to influence the immigration bill before Congress? The following excerpts leave little doubt about their connection to advocacy groups.

http://www.uclalumni.net/htmlemail/Jul05/daylabor.cfm?email=F7II
“Day Labor in Washington, D.C.: When Bad Things Happen to Good People”

"These are the findings of a UCLA study released June 23 by the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and the Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants.

But the study also reveals that, unlike many other groups of American workers, the region's day laborers are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

The study, "In Pursuit of the American Dream: Day Laborers in the Greater Washington, D.C., Region," is part of a nationwide study of more than 300 day labor sites in 143 cities throughout the country.
The study is being led by Abel Valenzuela, a UCLA sociologist and director of UCLA's Center for the Study of Urban Poverty.

The research also received funding from the Ford and Rockefeller foundations.

Researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the New School University also worked on the study.

The Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants was launched in 1998 by the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region through support from the Emma Lazarus Fund of the Open Society Institute. Initially established to support the ability of immigrants to obtain U.S. citizenship, the partnership has developed into a strong regional leadership group assuming an important role in the development of emerging immigrant leadership and in the protection of legal rights."

Posted by: jeff at January 23, 2006 02:46 PM