Migrant workers are slowly making their way back to tomato fields in Carmel Valley. Last fall, more than a hundred men were forced from their camps in McGonigle Canyon following protests from local residents and the Minutemen. As Joanne Faryon tells us, the men are quietly returning to work.
I'm on old Carmel Valley road, looking out over McGonigle Canyon. What I don't see are the tops of blue plastic tarps. For many of the migrant workers who called this canyon home last year, the blue tarps were quite literally the roof over their heads. Today, the canyon looks deserted; the dirt road is barricaded by sand, rocks and a slab of concrete.
Just down the road are tomato fields. There are at least 20 men in the field digging planting digging planting, it appears endless.
Christauria Welland: They're not here to do any harm, they're here to work.
Christauria Welland has been volunteering with her local church for the past decade. She brings the men boots, blankets, water even phone cards so they can call home. And on Sundays, she helps with the outdoor mass her church hosts. But even the location of the mass is kept secret.
Welland: We don't want what happened last year to happen again. So we're keeping its location secret.
Last fall, a group called the minutemen organized protests against the migrants. They were eventually forced to leave their camps. Welland says wishes the immigration debate would have resulted in a guest worker program that would have allowed the men to come here legally.
Welland: As a result these men don't really have any options about how to get into this country. If they did, they would."
While it may not have guaranteed higher wages or housing for the migrant workers, Welland says they wouldn't be forced to hide or live in fear.
