http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/monte ... 633031.htm

Posted on Sun, Jan. 15, 2006

Farmworkers look north for better life
Better pay, low cost of living and lack of harassment push migrants to consider move to Washington state
By CLAUDIA MELÆ’NDEZ SALINAS
Herald Salinas Bureau

Eulogio Solano is looking north again.

Solano, from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, has lived in Greenfield for more than a decade. Over the years, he has worked in the fields harvesting broccoli and lettuce, and often dedicated his spare time to helping compatriots navigate the unknown ways of the United States.

But after having spent four months this summer harvesting broccoli in Mount Vernon, Wash., he is planning to return this year -- perhaps for good. The pay is better, the cost of living lower, and above all, they don't feel harassed like they do in California.

"People leave in search of places where there's work and where one is treated well," Solano said in Spanish. "Washington is very peaceful. Over there, they don't take the cars away from us."

Undocumented workers in California, on the other hand, can't get driver's licenses, making it difficult for them to even get to work.

"The driver's license is a huge issue," said Juan Uranga, executive director of the Center for Community Advocacy, a nonprofit agency that organizes low-income workers around housing issues. "They are getting pulled over, their cars are getting towed. The way the system works, they have to wait 30 days to get the car back and by then it is so expensive they might as well get another new car."

Some 10 states issue driver's licenses to undocumented people, with Washington and Oregon among them.

The high cost of housing in Monterey County is another deterrent to workers in the area.

The fair-market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Monterey County is $931, with $1,069 for a two-bedroom apartment -- both well beyond the reach of most farmworkers. Many live together in overcrowded rooms, houses and sometimes garages in an effort to reduce costs. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, to afford a one-bedroom apartment, someone has to work 40 hours a week at $17.90, well above the $7 an hour farm laborers earn in the area.

Solano said he earned $8.35 an hour when he worked in Mount Vernon, and he spent less on gas and rent.

It is not known how many undocumented immigrants live this county, where agriculture is the No. 1 industry. But studies have determined that up to 90 percent of farm laborers could be working in California without documents.

Last week, Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, re-introduced legislation to grant undocumented workers the right to obtain a driver's license, legislation that in the past has been vetoed by two governors. Although many police departments, clergy and the insurance industry have supported the bill, anti-immigrant groups contend that such a move could open the door for immigrants to obtain other benefits.

Cedillo believes the bill has a better chance of being signed into law because California must work on how it issues driver's licenses after passage of the Real ID Act last year.

Federal law requires all states to make uniform rules by 2008 to issue driver's licenses. The law allows for issuing driver's licenses to people who are in the country without immigration documents as long as the licenses are clearly marked.

"We believe this time around the climate is more favorable for passing this piece of legislation," said Shannon Murphy, a spokeswoman for Cedillo. "We can't stand by and watch the DMV struggle without a plan. We can work together on this project."

The legislation would provide an official record of an estimated 2 million drivers who drive without licenses in the country, a measure that could make Californians more secure, Murphy said.

Anti-immigrant groups contend that granting driver's licenses to those who are in California illegally is tantamount to rewarding lawbreakers.

But harvesters who have to get by paying for rides or using public transportation see the situation differently.

"It's true that sometimes we commit the crime of crossing the border," Andres Cruz, a Triqui Indian from Oaxaca, said in Spanish. "But we don't do it because we want to steal or cause harm. All we want to do is work."

Cruz, a community activist, said many of his compatriots are worried about all the immigration proposals that they say they are impotent to prevent.

"We human beings are our worst enemy," he said. "Look at the animals, they don't have borders. The geese, the ducks, the whales, they have their season to migrate. They move in search of life, just like we do, but a lot of people don't understand that."