The word Latino is used to refer to different groups of people who come from Latin American countries. The name of is used to refer to different people from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and many other countries (Gandossy, 2007). Latinos constitute one of the largest minority groups in United States and they have had different experiences in a country where all of them are treated as migrants. Considering their growing numbers, Latinos are deemed important in political and business front because they present a huge potential for the country.
In this article that appeared in CNN on October 2007, Rick Sanchez describes the experience of Latino laborers in the United States. In this article, Sanchez decided to make himself a migrant worker and visited day-laborer site at the corner of East Columbia Avenue and Broad Avenue in Palisades Park, New Jersey. The main aim of Sanchez in this mission was not to look for work but rather to experience how migrant workers went about looking for work. He dressed up in jeans, running shoes and a short sleeve shirt, in order to look just like one of them.
Day laborer sites are growing phenomena in the country. Every other day, there is always a new day labor site that is coming up. The laborers who flock these sites are mostly migrant laborers looking for menial work in construction, masonry, painting, or even in landscaping. They do any job that comes in their way so long as they will have earned at the end of the day. The formation of these sites has been encouraged by communities as a way of ensuring that those who are jobless can find jobs to sustain their life.
Although the workers at the site were hesitant to welcome a new person because this means competition for the available job, Sanchez was welcomed and a Hispanic man gave him few tips on how to find a job and negotiate for the price.
Through interacting with the Latino workers in the site, Sanchez learnt that they have to endure a lot to be in the site. They have to wait for long hours until a job comes in their way. However, what amazed him was their experience in U.S. One of them said, "All you get in this country is bitterness, sadness and loneliness." This shows that Latino workers have to endure a lot to stay in the United States. On average, a week they can make $90, which would be their best week. Comparing this with the condition at home, they argue that they can only get $5 a week for menial work which is not enough to feed their family. There is no doubt that most of the Latino workers in the site are in the country to get money to send back home and they are ready to do any kind of work to get that money.
This article portrays the truth as it is for most Latinos in the country. They are here to get money for their families and they will go to any length to get that money. They have to endure harsh conditions in the United States just to be able to put food on the table for their families back at home. At the same time, I agree with what I have learned about Latinos in the course. They are hardworking and committed to their work. Instead of engaging in crime, they would rather work with their own hands (Gonzales, 2007). This could explain the reason why there are few Latinos incarcerated in United State jails compared to other minority communities (Human Rights Watch, 2009).
Experience of Latinos in America