Men gather every morning outside a Home Depot hardware in Salt Lake City. Most of them are immigrants from Mexico and elsewhere in Central America. Some are legal with green cards. Some are illegal and wary.
Seeking shade, three of them huddle under the eave of a nearby gas station. A sign states that only customers are allowed on the premises. Nobody bothers these men, at least during my visits.
These Latinos are seeking work for the day.
Contractors buy supplies at the hardware, then hire immigrants. So do everyday people seeking assistance with home projects. No background checks. No paperwork. Just negotiations and trust.
Other Americans look down on immigrants. They claim immigrants take jobs and drive down wages.
I respect immigrants. Most of them work hard and value freedom. With persevere, they achieve the American Dream.
Those immigrants in Salt Lake City remind me of the words etched inside the Statue of Liberty:
'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free….'
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