1. Illegal Mexican Aliens in Southern Colorado: A Sampling of Their Views on Living and Working in the United States and Mexico.
- Author
-
Kelly, Philip L.
- Abstract
Observations and recollections of Mexican workers, smuggled illegally to farms in southern Colorado, resulted in this account of their attitudes toward work conditions, pay and benefits, leisure activities, feelings of insecurity, and their aspirations. Backgrounds of the 30 aliens interviewed coincided with available statistics on illegal Mexican workers. They were young (77% under age 30), predominantly male, from north central and northwestern Mexico, quickly deported (49% in less than 1 month, 96% in less than 1 year), poorly educated, and from farmworker backgrounds. Survey data indicated that pay rates were low, with long hours and few benefits; few complaints arose concerning unfair treatment; most housing was substandard and in the form of trailers; leisure activities promoted loneliness and danger of arrest and deportation; views of local Chicanos were ambiguous; future employment opportunities were greater in the United States than in Mexico. Constraints which should be considered when assessing the survey's authenticity are the subjects' illegal status; the jail atmosphere in which 24 of the interviews were conducted; and the possible cultural and language barriers between the subjects and interviewers. These expressed viewpoints may assist in facilitating a more effective program for dealing with Mexican laborers in the United States. (NEC)
- Published
- 1979