recent immigrants varies by county. “In Marin County, most of the recent immigrants our firm serves are from Guatemala. In Napa, the majority are from Mexico. In Sonoma County, most of the recent applicants are from Mexico. We have seen a growing number of people from Colombia, Peru and Venezuela,” says Gallelli. The influx of people from the last three countries is tied to the political and economic crisis in Venezuela, which has seen over 7.7 million people flee the country as of August 2023. This is currently the largest out-migration in the world. Venezuela’s weak economy, which crashed in the mid-2010s, has worsened. Venezuelans who had migrated to Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have become frustrated with the scarcity of economic opportunities. Many are making a second trek to the U.S. Richard Martinez, chief program officer for Canal Alliance, a San Rafael nonprofit that serves the Latino community, added there are also recent immigrants from El Salvador, Mexico and Nicaragua in Marin County. He says many Latino immigrants in Marin come from remote, rural areas. For individuals coming from Mexico, the state of origin is important. This is because
immigrants often come to where there is a community of people from their area. “In Sonoma County, most people coming from Mexico are from Michoacán. In Marin County, about 35% of recent Guatemalan immigrants seen at our firm are indigenous. Spanish is not their first language. They are usually Mam or Quiche speakers,” says Gallelli. Latino immigrants come to the North Bay for economic opportunity and to join family members already here. They also come because of problems relating to safety and racism in their home country. “Women who enter alone often are fleeing domestic violence and the lack of protection from their government. Indigenous people are subject to insidious discrimination that ranges from lack of protection from criminal groups that target the vulnerable to lack of access to economic opportunity and basic human needs such as schools and hospitals,” says Gallelli. The level at which a Latino immigrant starts in construction depends on their education, work experience, personal connections and luck.
José Eduardo Vera Velázquez, owner of Bee Vera Construction, works on a remodel in Sonoma. [Photo courtesy José Eduardo Vera Velázquez]
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August 2024
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