Legal and illegal, Latinos labor to rebuild Texas

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: AP

All along the Texas coast, Latino immigrants are hauling away fallen trees, slashing through storm-tangled brush, patching punctured roofs.

On working-class corners, on ladders in front of Victorian houses, in the yards of ornate mansions, crews of men in dusty jeans, sturdy workboots and baseball caps are nearly as omnipresent in the post-Hurricane Ike landscape as blue tarps on rooftops.

These workers, who get picked up off the street by homeowners looking for quick, cheap labor, are helping to rebuild the devastated cities of southeast Texas.

Many of them are here illegally. Others are legal residents in need of income after their regular jobs were disrupted by the hurricane.



Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZwonrCptOVFEPjMEx23o9rZ3N2QD93BNMV80

[WriteDown]

1. Frustrating.

What amazes me is that we've got Katrina refugees right in that area that could use a good paying job. Actually, we've got people all over the country.

[Judi Lynn]

4. What do you know about the willingness of Katrina survivors to work. Are you calling them lazy?

What inside information do you have that they are not applying themselves and working hard already, or that they have turned their noses up at this hard work, or that the immigrants have grabbed up jobs other people want?

Just give us the low-down. We need to know whom to disrespect.

[WriteDown]

7. Huh?

I am saying they should actually be sought out for these jobs. I'm sure plenty would jump at the chance. Just talk to some you see in downtown Dallas.

[AlphaCentauri]

9. if you are talking about my busboy, I'll tell you

he prefers to make little money than lost his metro sexual appeal. For him look it's all, he can't spoil his manicure doing gardening or picking up trash.

[Judi Lynn]

2. No doubt the homeowners and business owners are thankful for these helping hands.

They'd simply be screwed without their assistance.

They're clearly worth their weight in gold, as there's far more work to do than the owners are accustomed to doing, or prepared to do alone.

[LanternWaste]

3. Work needs to get done. Workers want to work...

"No doubt the homeowners and business owners are thankful"

Absolutely no doubt.
Work needs to get done. Workers want to work. Seems like a prefect marriage to me.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Too bad there's only one of these "hard work"ers to go around!

[LanternWaste]

6. A pox on you....

A pox on you for that bit of political (albeit humorously topical to the the thread at hand) pornography!!!!

(.... and one day, I'll figure out what a pox is :P )

[kskiska]

8. Illegals helped out in NOLA, too

but were stiffed when payday arrived.