Many Immigrants Struggling As Construction Jobs Vanish

The slowdown in construction is hurting immigrants along with everyone else. Legal and illegal workers are without work. DP

By MICHAEL SASSO, The Tampa Tribune

tbo.com: WIMAUMA - Ramon De La Rosa couldn't be more of an optimist. He sprinkles "thanks to God" into every conversation and, during a short interview, broke into a boxer's pose three times to illustrate his never-say-die attitude.

But these days, his optimism - indeed, the spirit of thousands of Hispanic construction workers - is being put to the test.

De La Rosa's painting and drywall business is just surviving at the moment, he says, operating at perhaps 20 percent of its capacity. Where he had 15 workers a couple of years ago, today it's just himself, his wife and three employees.

Three of his former crew left to look for work in North Carolina. Two went to Texas. At least a couple returned to their native Mexico, he says.

Still, De La Rosa counts himself lucky for having any work at all. Growing up in Mexico, his mother occasionally had nothing to feed him and his three sisters other than sugar water, he says.

"I was surviving on less in Mexico," said the 44-year-old from Fort Meade, who immigrated to Florida 10 years ago.

Construction workers of all ethnicities are hurting during the housing slump, but Hispanic workers appear to be suffering more than most. In recent years, Hispanic immigrants flooded into the construction industry to capitalize on the housing boom. Some, like De La Rosa, are U.S. citizens, speak at least a little English, and thus might find work in other industries. But those here illegally have fewer work prospects.
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