Immigrants Rush to New Orleans as Contractors Fight for Workers

LA Times ^ | 10/10/5 | Peter Pae

[Crackingham]

Most of the signs are handwritten and simply worded, such as "Workers Wanted" or "Need 50 Laborers Now!"

Word has gotten out and each morning day laborers — who come from Central America and Mexico by way of California, Texas and Arizona — gather on street corners in the Kenner and Metairie neighborhoods on the western edge of the city. Lured by jobs paying $15 to $17 an hour, the Spanish-speaking day laborers have flooded into New Orleans to haul out debris, clear downed trees, put in drywall and perform other tasks as rebuilding takes hold in the city. Specialized roofers can make $300 a day. Contractors know the new day-labor pickup spots. By noon, a tree-trimming firm hires the last available hand on Williams Boulevard near Interstate 10.

"We've never had Hispanic day laborer sites. That's a totally new phenomenon," said David Ware, a longtime New Orleans immigration lawyer.

With 140,000 homes destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is undergoing the nation's largest reconstruction effort and its new workforce is largely Latino. No one knows how many immigrants have descended here since Katrina ravaged the city five weeks ago, but their presence is visible throughout the city.

Abimael and Filegonia Diaz may have been among the first wave of newcomers. Since Sept. 12, the couple has been clearing debris, washing windows and sweeping floors at a hotel in downtown New Orleans. For six years, Abimael worked in Nashville as a day laborer and sent money to Filegonia and their three young children in Mexico.

"We'll stay here because I think the job will last a long time," Abimael Diaz said. "If we can make enough money, we would like to buy a house and bring our children to New Orleans."

[iowamark]

Ever wonder how terrorists were getting into our country? Same way these people are and as you can see, as long as they work, they don't care who is getting in.

Please show us some examples of these terrorist construction workers.

[WasDougsLamb]

If you read my post it said terrorists were getting in the same way and as long as they work (ex. airplane pilots) they don't care who is getting in. No where in my post does it say the immigrants who are contractors are terrorists. Sorry you misunderstood what I wrote.
Thanks,and have a nice day.