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CNN Saturday Morning News

9-11 Forces Undocumented Immigrants Out of Work

Aired December 29, 2001 - 09:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, September 11 has changed the employment picture in America dramatically. We've been talking about that. And for some immigrants, dreams have been shattered, and the United States is no longer a nation of promise and prosperity.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They nurture the fields of America. They are the builders of landmarks and the backbone of industries that depend on cheap labor.

Now, in an unusual turn of events, nearly 775,000 Mexican citizens are going home, some say for good.

Central American consulates report similar patterns since September 11.

AMILCAR MULL, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT (through translator): I lost my job because people stopped coming to the auto body shop where I work. A lot has changed since the 11th of September.

GUTIERREZ: In a week, this unemployed husband and father returns home to Guatemala.

UNIDENTIFIED TICKET AGENT: One-way ticket, no?

MULL: Yes, si.

GUTIERREZ: Undocumented immigrants like him with nothing to fall back on say they have no choice.

In this dilapidated garage in downtown Los Angeles, we catch up with 31-year-old Juan Carlos Guevarra.

JUAN CARLOS GUEVARRA, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT (through translator): So many of us come with the illusions of getting ahead in life.

GUTIERREZ: He tells us he left El Salvador less than a year ago after his home was destroyed in an earthquake.

GUEVARRA: This is my daughter at a birthday party. GUTIERREZ: He left behind a wife and daughter, he says, because he had no job, and the economy was in shambles. He borrowed $4,500 to come to the United States.

Juan Carlos says this garage, with no bathroom or running water, is his small piece of the American dream.

GUEVARRA: When I came to this country, I slept on the ground. Then I found this mattress on the street. I brought it here, then I felt a lot better that I had something to sleep on.

GUTIERREZ: Juan Carlos says he bought false documents, then got a job in a meat-packing plant, making $7.50 an hour. It's how he supports his family back home.

GUEVARRA: After what happened in New York, my wife told me to come home. She got scared.

GUTIERREZ: He got scared too. Now he's packing up and heading home.

I asked him why he wants to leave.

GUEVARRA: I could end up unemployed, and my family depends on me. But I'm also afraid to be here with all this talk of anthrax and war.

GUTIERREZ: Juan Carlos must get a one-way passport from the Salvadoran consulate to go home. Consul General Oscar Benavides says this is the impact of September 11.

OSCAR BENAVIDES, EL SALVADOR, CONSUL GENERAL: That's very symbolic. We have about 17 people a day that they're going back because of (UNINTELLIGIBLE), some because they are afraid, and some because they lost their jobs.

GUTIERREZ: After paying off his debts, Juan Carlos is going home with dresses for his daughter and shoes for his wife.

I asked him how much he's taking home. He said all he has to show for his labor is $700, some clothes, and memories of America.

GUEVARRA: On the day I board the bus to go back to my country, I will feel sad, because it was so hard to get here. But I will be happy to be with my family once again.

GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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