Guest workers labor here to support families back home

[Omaha Steve]

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2008/apr/13/guest-workers-travel-between-two-worlds-support-fa/

Sunday, April 13, 2008

By: Perla Trevizo
(Contact)

Video: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/apr/13/video-guest-workers/

Domingo Braulio and his sons have one of the longest commutes to Chattanooga for work: 1,448 miles one way.

Mr. Braulio, 49, says goodbye to his family in Concepción Chiquirichapa, Guatemala, every year to spend about 10 months working here on a temporary visa for a landscaping company.


Staff Photos by Meghan Brown -- Domingo Braulio prunes a tree at an East Brainerd home.


“I tell them we come here to work and save money, not to rest,” he said as he was getting lawnmowers ready to start his first day of work, less than 12 hours after arriving at the Atlanta airport.

He and 16 Central Americans hired by Dawson Lawn Service Inc. are in the United States under a guest worker program, known as H-2B, that allows them to work for up to one year before returning to their native countries.

Congress limits the number of visas issued under the program to 66,000 per fiscal year. But demand for workers is higher than the number of visas available, said Walter Dawson, who credits the program for helping his business grow.

After almost 20 years in the landscaping business, Mr. Dawson said he couldn’t find local reliable workers.

FULL story at link.

[SaveOurSovereignty]

1. fix the process

Just fix the damn legal process