“Todo Duro ”

This chapter examines the distinct vulnerabilities encountered by migrant day laborers. Like im/migrants in other sectors, workers at the Portbridge Day Labor Center (DLC) experienced wage theft, unfair expectations, and mistreatment by employers. As im/migrants, they also experienced the strain of being far from home and separated from their families, as shared through several narratives in this chapter. Many workers experienced racism and discrimination professionally and socially, compounded by the difficulty of being undocumented while remaining visible for hire. Their vulnerabilities also included heightened risks of injury and illness, stemming from the dangerous work for which they were often contracted, providing a distinctive perspective to an anthropology of the body. Despite a growing demand for day labor, little has been done to protect workers in the global exchange of labor. Ultimately, this chapter connects these vulnerabilities to the core argument that migrant day laborers fulfill a great demand in the informal economy, a fact that, when discussed through the lens of workers&s; experiences, supports a reimagining of belonging in the form of dynamic local citizenship as migrants live and work in local communities.