Sidewalks and street corners at popular day labor spots in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island were once teeming with immigrant men looking for work. But lately, fewer jornaleros, Spanish for day laborers, are on the corners, and work has become scarce.
An undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, Manuel, 36, is one of the estimated 8,000 to 10,000 day laborers who call New York home, most of whom are recent arrivals.
Since 2012, Manuel, who asked asked to be identified by first name only, has held numerous odd jobs, but because of his undocumented status, finding steady work has always been a challenge. After losing a construction job in 2024 and with few other options, he began to make his way to various street corners across the city in search of work. With a specialty in electrical work, Manuel thought his skills would be in high demand.
But for the past three months, Manuel hasn’t been able to find any work at the usual day labor spots and is now broke. With no money for rent or child support, he has found himself homeless, forced to sleep in subway stations so he doesn’t freeze. He says he has been mainly getting by on the generosity of friends and strangers.
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On most days, Manuel, like other day laborers, would wait for a van or a truck to pick them up to work at various construction sites. Lately, he says that only a handful of men remain. For those who are still hustling for work on the corners, some spend upwards of 8 hours waiting to be picked up for a job, but fewer and fewer people are willing to hire them. And more laborers are afraid of showing up.
The day laborers and experts Documented spoke to didn’t know exactly why work had dried up, but only noted that it had, and speculated that the general anti-immigrant sentiment was scaring potential employers.
Still, with an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., President Trump’s promises to launch the “largest deportation” effort in history, and rumors circulating of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, many immigrant day laborers’ livelihoods are in jeopardy.
Despite the fear of deportation and lower demand for day laborers, immigrants like Manuel, with two kids to support, say they have to at least attempt to earn enough to support their families. Before Trump’s inauguration, Manuel said he would sometimes earn $800 a week.
“Absolutely I’m afraid and I’m certain that I’m not the only one who feels this fear,” he said. “Business was already slow, but now it’s even worse because of the fear of ICE.”
Manuel says that since Trump became president, work has mostly dried up. When a potential employer does pull up, he fears that it could be a trap. “We are worried when we walk up to the car it could be an ICE agent,” he said.
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On a recent Monday morning, at a popular day labor spot in Woodside, Queens, only about two dozen workers milled about waiting for work. Typically, the sidewalks and the nearby playground would be bustling with almost 100 men and a few women waiting for work. On this day, some workers listened to Bob Marley’s greatest hits while others chitchatted among themselves. Several day laborers that Documented spoke to expressed their frustration with the lack of work for the past few months.
Jorge, 43, who has been working as a day laborer since arriving from Ecuador four months ago, says he has struggled to earn enough to send back to his six children back home in Ecuador. Although he has heard rumors of ICE in the area, Jorge, who only shared his first name, said he still has to come out and find work.
“I’m afraid to be here, but I come to work,” he said. “One comes here to work and do good things. We are good people and we have good hearts.”
According to Nadia Marin-Molina, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Network (NDLON), Trump’s rhetoric and widespread misinformation around deportations are contributing to the day laborers’ fears.
“Arrests and raids are going on but there are a lot of rumors going around so we and many others are trying to distinguish what are real arrests and what are the rumors because we don’t want to amplify what Trump is doing, which is a campaign spreading fear,” she said. “So we have to be careful to not do that work for him while at the same time making sure people know their rights and organize to defend themselves.”
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Part of the way NDLON, a national network of 70 labor organizations, is helping defend day laborers from the potential of deportations is through conducting workshops and ‘Know Your Rights’ trainings. In July, in anticipation of Trump’s presidency, NDLON has been building Migrant Defense Committees led by immigrant workers that aim to develop rapid response networks and bring workers together.
“On the street corners, workers are vulnerable in the sense that they are visible, and unfortunately a target for local racists and politicians locally,” said Molina. “So it’s important that workers know their rights if immigration stops them on the streets. We are encouraging everybody everywhere if they are not connected to an organization already doing this to create a local committee to spread the word.”
At the Brooklyn-based workers center, Workers Justice Project (WJP), Executive Director Ligia Guallpa has seen an influx of day laborers expressing fear about the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“Many of these workers have come to us expressing alarm and concern that labor protections will be undone during the Trump administration and asking how workers can best protect themselves in the coming year,” she said.
WJP has long been a vital resource for migrant workers across the city. In the wake of Trump’s victory, and his anti-immigrant agenda, WJP has continued to advocate for migrant workers while also organizing to defend against ICE.
“[Immigrants] are disheartened to learn that they are being portrayed as the threat to our nation,” said Guallpa. “And though cruelty seems to be the point of this administration’s measures, at the end of the day, many workers remain focused on doing their jobs.”
Meanwhile, Manuel, who remains vigilant, refuses to give in to the fear.
“If I’m homeless it doesn’t matter because I won’t give up and I have faith,” said Manuel. “Even though ICE is around, I’m still knocking on doors looking for work and making an honest living.”
