Continued from Page 1
t;rs recruited more than they
needed to avoid a similar short
age.”
Joe Rivera is another counsel
or at the Chicano Affairs Center
and oversees the shelters. He
said the surplus of workers this
year also shortened the length
of the harvest, so those who did
find work were employed for a
shorter period.
"And when they did work on
the farms, 90 per cent lived in
substandard housing, in tents
or barns, without running wa
ter or cooking facilities.” Ri
vera said. "One place near Har
risburg was charging 60 work
ers $05 a month each to share
five tents."
Rivera also said it is common
for employers to take advantage
of the surplus of workers and
pay them less than the going
rate for their work as the mi
grants fear losing their jobs in
the tight market.
Simon Rojos, who stays at a
migrant shelter, said he worked
11-hour shifts in a waterbed
factory for less than three dol
lars an hour, but tolerated this
because it was his first source
of income in months. Although
he now works in a mill, he said
high rents in the area absorb
most of his income.
“I used to send what money I
could to my wife and children
in Mexico," Rojos said in
Spanish. "But now it's a strug
gle to survive from day to
day."
Martin Hernandez also lived
in migrant camps in Oregon
over the summer. He said a
common practice of those who
ran the camps was to charge
workers a "deposit" of around
$50 in addition to rent. He said
that frequently the deposit was
never returned. In any case,
when the harvest ends the
camps are disbanded and the
workers are out on their own.
“Somos vondidos,” Hernan
dez said. “We are sold.”
Migrant workers are reluctant
to report these abuses because
they often fear deportation and
rarely know English. “They
live in fear of the criminals and
the authorities,” Olaldes said.
Salvadore Garcia is a home
less worker who was assaulted
two weeks ago as he was walk
ing from the Eugene Mission to
a nearby store.
"Two men demanded that I
give them my money,” he said
in Spanish. “I told them I
didn't have any and they
stabbed me in the side."
Although Garcia is now out
of the hospital, he lost his job
during his absence. He "aid
many migrant workers avoid
the Mission because of the
crime and danger nearby.
In addition to these dif
ficulties, many former employ
ers are reluctant to provide
workers with documentation
and work records so workers
can apply for immigration am
nestv.
According the Immigration
Amnesty Act, Mexican citizens
in the United States are eligible
for amnesty if they can prove
they have completed at least 90
days of agricultural work in the
United States from May 1985 to
May 198(3, Signed statements
from former employers are es
sential proof for amnesty.
Hoth Rojos and Hernandez
have had former employers
deny that they worked for
them. Hernandez traveled from
Spokane, Wash., to Fresno.
Calif., to personally deliver his
forms for signing and was re
fused. The deadline for appli
cation for amnesty is November
30.
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Hut Rivera is suspicious of
the new law, even though he
helps people comply with it.
He sees as particularly trouble
some a provision that requires
applicants to pass a compre
hensive English, American his
tory and citizenship examina
tion within 30 months of the
deadline.
"Most of these people don't
have more than a sixth grade
education in their own coun
try.” Rivera said. "They also
work hard and put in long
hours. How can we expect
them to learn all this in two
and a half years?
"This new immigration law
will create a police state,” he
said. "Once they have every
one registered and tagged, it
will be a lot easier to deport
them when they fail the test.”
Still, Rivera and Olalde refer
workers interested in learning
English to the University of Or
egon's High School Equiva
lency program, which has pro
grams to help migrants learn
English.
Rivera also said the new im
migration law can do little to
curb employer abuses.
"Farmers will still find and
hire undocumented workers be
cause they know they can get
away with paying them less.”
Rivera said. "This has been go
ing on for years and years, hut
only the big influx this year has
brought it to public attention."
Apparently the right people
have been listening. According
to an Associated Press article,
the Legislative Emergency
Board on Friday approved a
$500,000 emergency fund to
help homeless migrant work
ers. The board also also estab
lished a center for homeless
workers in a former Governor’s
residence to receive donations
and coordinate volunteer ef
forts to help migrants.
Governor Neil Goldschmidt
and former Governor Bob
Straub strongly urged approval
of the funds in a joint appear
ance before a board subcommit
tee on Thursday.
According to an article in
Friday's Statesman-Journal,
Goldschmidt and Straub made
emotional pitches before the
subcommittee for migrant aid.
“It’s a disgrace we’ve made
no headway in 30 years,”
Straub said. “It’s time to buck
le down and deal with this in a
humane and decent
way....Half a million dollars
can alleviate a lot of human
suffering that otherwise may
may well result in the death of
people this winter.”
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