Hard Life of Migrants Gets Harder : Despair Is Evident as Their Makeshift Camp Is Dismantled

The Mexican couple, a loaf of bread cradled between them as they sat on an embankment, wore looks of defeat and despair on their faces. Their dream of a better life for themselves and their children ended abruptly Tuesday before it had an opportunity to begin.

They had the misfortune of arriving at the Valle Verde migrant camp near Encinitas 13 days ago, after a long trek from Mexico City, where they had left their three small children with relatives. The man and woman politely declined to give their names, explaining that their situation was too embarrassing to share even with an anonymous public. But, they explained, they had decided to come to the United States to improve their lot.

The couple said they had expected some hardships after crossing the border illegally, but, after two weeks in this country, “the wrath that we found in the Norteamericanos “ caught them by surprise. On Tuesday, they joined other aliens who were reluctantly tearing down the plywood hooches that made up what was once a sprawling squatters’ camp nestled in the hills across from posh La Costa.

Citing health hazards, county health authorities in November ordered property owners to have the camp dismantled. Since then, a number of other North County migrant camps have also been torn down on health department orders.

The residents and the leaseholder of the property, Frank Wright & Sons, a construction company, were working hard Tuesday to meet a county-imposed deadline to have the camp dismantled by today. Although many of the dwellings in the primitive camp have been razed, it was evident on Tuesday that the deadline is unlikely to be met.

Those who had already torn down their hooches sat around during the day pondering their futures and making plans to spend the night sleeping on the cold, hard ground. Many of the camp’s residents have qualified for the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s year-old amnesty program. However, that is small consolation in light of the upheaval they face.

“Right now, I don’t have any idea what we’re going to do or where to go,” said the man from Mexico City as he looked forlornly at his wife. “What would you do if you were in our shoes? What would you do if you were in a country where nobody wanted you and you had no place to go?”

The man answered his own question.

“I guess we will go back to Mexico . . . . There’s nothing for us there, either.”

Guadalupe Mojica Elizondo, who ran one of two restaurants that served camp residents, said that many uprooted residents have chosen to return to Mexico. Elizondo has three children, two of whom attend school here. In November, Elizondo’s family was among 12 families who were taken to the Carlsbad Housing and Redevelopment office to apply for subsidized housing.

The families’ hopes were raised, perhaps unrealistically, by the applications.

“They made us so many promises. . . . We’re still being told that some of us will get to move into a house someday. . . . I’ve been told that houses and apartments are available, but who can afford to pay rents of $800 and $900,” Elizondo said.

No Housing Found

Two months after county officials said they would make genuine efforts to find low-income housing for all displaced aliens, they have yet to find anybody a home.

A sympathetic supporter of the aliens has offered to sell them plastic prefabricated sheds, at cost, that they can erect at another site. The converted homes are being offered to the aliens for $180 and look like a back-yard garden shed.

Several Valle Verde residents have already settled on other hillsides.

Maria Zavala, who is seven months pregnant, and seven other members of her Salvadoran family had dismantled their two hooches by late Tuesday afternoon. Silvestre Coca, 54, patriarch of the group, expressed concern for his daughter-in-law.

“We’re going to have to sleep on the ground tonight. I hope that this new hardship will not hurt the baby. We’ll have to make sure that we keep a fire burning tonight to keep Maria warm,” Coca said.

Coca, who has lived in Valle Verde 20 months, said he has paid a smuggler $1,400 apiece for each of the seven family members that have been brought across the border to the camp. His son-in-law, Marco Tulio Alas, arrived four days ago.

New Arrival Stopped

Leaseholder Wright and his partner, Daryl (Ben) Benstead, were turning back new arrivals Monday.

Lorenzo Santos said that, by every camp standard, he should consider himself extremely lucky. Santos, who has lived in Valle Verde 18 months, received a work permit from the INS three months ago and quickly found a job as a maintenance man at a Carlsbad motel. He believes he is the only member of the camp with a steady job.

Santos arrived home Tuesday afternoon to find that his wife and children had torn down their plywood home. The family’s belongings were stuffed inside nine plastic trash bags that were stacked under the blue plastic sheet where Santos, his wife, Paloma Rodriguez, and their three children had slept the night before.

Paloma had left earlier in the day to scout a new campsite where several camp residents have moved.

“We’re probably going to have to find another hillside. . . . Sure, I’ve got a job, but I don’t earn enough to rent an apartment,” Santos said. “We’re trying to save as much as we can to find a place to live. . . . Having a steady job was a dream that my wife and I had for a long time. I have a job, but look at how we live. It’s so hard.”