MANASQUAN
Day laborers say path is hard
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/17/06
BY CLAUDIA VARGAS
STAFF WRITER

They get there by train, bus and even bicycle.

They sit or stand on the sidewalk and in front of the Acme market or 7-Eleven convenience store on Main Street with the hope of being offered a daylong job by a local contractor.

Day laborers from Belmar, Point Pleasant and other areas in Monmouth and Ocean counties have been coming to Manasquan for the past few years to earn income.

"My objective is to make something and go back (to Mexico) because I have a few businesses there," said Adrian Alonso, 37, a day laborer from Point Pleasant.

Like Alonso, many immigrants come to the United States to find jobs. However, many have to seek work on a day-to-day basis because they are in the country illegally.

Day laborers in Manasquan, who declined to give their names because of fear of being arrested or deported, said they wait around all morning for contractors to come pick them up for a job.

One of the laborers said they return home and hope for better luck the next day if they're not picked up by 11 a.m.

However, their luck has not been so great in recent weeks.

Members of the United Patriots of America, a nonprofit organization against illegal immigration, have been holding demonstrations on Saturdays in the same area the day laborers stand every morning.

Most of the day laborers say the protesters are the reason many contractors have stopped coming to offer them jobs.

In addition, there is more competition now in the parking lot, said one day laborer. Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. every day, there are as many as 40 day laborers waiting to get work.

Some, like Alonso, have taken English courses in an attempt to stay ahead of the game.

"I had to learn some English so I can speak with the contractors and not get ripped off," he said, adding that he believed most contractors are "good people" and look after day laborers by giving them snacks and water.

However, he said there are some contractors who cheat day laborers out of money or who are just racist.

"There are so many racists here," Alonso said. "If Europe was closer, we would go there. Those countries like us better."