Corner Cleaners

Many immigrants who come to the United States illegally have to make their money as day laborers, both men and women. In New York City many Polish women are used to day laboring. The most common way they make their money is by house cleaning. Many of these women stand on a corner and wait for people to drive by and stop to pick someone up. "There were originally maybe 40 or 50, according to veterans of the hiring corner." Recently that number has doubled, mainly because of the increase in immigrants from Latin America and the rough economy. Right now many more Hispanic women are getting more jobs over the Polish and are causing a total flip in roles on the corner of Marcy and Division Avenues in Brooklyn. "The Hispanic women may be willing to accept less money -- $7 or $8 per hour -- than the Polish women, who generally charge $10." American citizens aren't the only ones upset about the amount of illegal immigrants in this country. It's starting to get hard for other illegal immigrants to make a living. The American argument that illegal immigrants take away jobs from Americans never really stuck with me. I never believed it because nobody wants the jobs that the illegal immigrants have. However, it is very interesting that certain illegal immigrants are now saying that they are losing their jobs to other illegals. This is one argument I'll believe because they all have the same jobs since none of the Americans want them.

Kern-Jedrychowska, Ewa. "On a corner in Brooklyn, Polish gives way to Spanish.(women day job)(Metropolitan Desk)." The New York Times. (Jan 29, 2010): A17(L). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 9 Feb. 2010 .