" Keep the rules the way they are. These workers need to read and write and understand english. We always make it so easy for people to come here and we have to cater to them. "

" All expenses paid at $360 a month?! What a sweet deal. My PG&E bill alone this month is $379.60 "

" For most of the workers, there is no incentive to learn english. They are merely here to make and send money home to mexico.
No one is catering to these people, its quite the opposite. I doubt you would call their road easy if you had ten hour shifts in the fields in calistoga, all while making little money and jerks treating you as if you are nothing.
Learn spanish, damn near half the population speaks it (and that numbers not decreasing). "

" Learn spanish??? This is America not Mexico. Learn to speak english, contribute in the comunity, become a citizen, or get deported!!! People just make excuses why we need to give EVERYTHING to illegals, when people that are americans are going without!!!! "

" This is actually good news, this means fewer illegal aliens in Napa County. Proof that illegals, regardless of where they come from have no loyalty to this country.

They are here while the gettin' is good, and when it isn't, they cut and run. "

" The rules are in SPANISH just like 95% of anything we get in written form these days, especially if it comes from any government agency. If the workers can't read their birth language, that can't possibly be our fault, but I know there are Farm Worker Advocates who help them understand what they are signing. It's true that their "numbers are not decreasing"..uncontrolled borders, multiple children per family are the base reasons. Add in free health care, education and other government subsidies...why would they not increase? There are also quite a few "unofficial" labor houses...one right down the street from me... that houses a minimum of 15 people in a three bedroom...mostly men, a couple of women and a few children. Of course, it could just be an extended family helping each other out in these tough times?? "

" I imagine the rules are provided in Spanish. The inability to understand them is probably a literacy issue. "

" I didn't notice the article saying which language or languages the paperwork is in.

More local contenders for the olympic long jump to conclusions.

~Ruff "

" Im with Mark on this one - where else in this valley can you pay $12 a day for a roof over your head AND three hot meals!! jeez - when will this county start doing stuff for the people who actually live, work, pay taxes, and STAY here!??! "

" Also - I would like to add that in this economy there are a lot of AMERICAN citizens looking for work. Instead of assuming that work like this is only delegated to migrants, why dont the wineries offer up programs to teach/train/intern young high school and college aged students in the area?!? It would enable young men and women in this valley to learn a trade that has sustained and made this valley world famous. Instead of outsourcing the jobs to people who eventually end up leaving. "

" mykdgirl54, because the young men and women wouldn't want to do this work. Long hours outside for minimal pay? No thanks.

You all are looking to blame the wrong people. You think these immigrants come here because no one would hire them? They come here because they know they can find work. Wineries (and other businesses) hire them because they know our government will look the other way. You know who the ICE arrests when they find a group of immigrants here illegally? It's not the head of the company that brought them here! "

" Markmiwords, Wow! You are extremely fortunate to have a place to live where your PG&E bill is $380 per month. Good for you!

Justnana? Fifteen people in a three-bedroom house? Maybe. But have you ever stopped to wonder why we native americans "need" 3 or 4,000 square foot homes for 3 or 4 people? Where else in the world do peope have homes that large? I find it rather admirable that many among the hispanic population find smaller homes adequate

Mykdgirl54, you think those people hanging out at the First United Methodist Church waiting for their next meal are really looking to work in the vineyards but can't because the "illegals" got all the jobs? How about those able-bodied guys going to the homeless shelter every night? I have yet to see an hispanic immigrant among them. "

" Ladies and Gents. vote with your wallets. In these cash strapped times your buying dollars are even more powerful to business. Buy from companies that support your position no matter what side of the issue you or on. To simply yell and then spend your money business as usual changes nothing. Business is here to fill a demand, demand changes - business models change. "

" mykdgirl54, we built an economy on the foundations of an immigration influx and now that it's crumbling, the parts of it we became dependent on dictate who gets hired and who doesn't.

We falsely believed that if we over developed (built more cheap houses and accompanying infrastructure) to facilitate this influx, that a new economy would be born. Not so.

We manipulated numbers to make it work. It didn't. Banking and Real Estate collapsed.

Today, those "New Economy" immigrants are typically dependent on a weakened system which no longer has the resources to sustain either them or those who were born in this country.


Reality has been twisted in such a way as to convince employers that they must hire immigrants because those who were born here cannot work as hard. Listen to the rhetoric. Unfortunately, employers actually believe it. You've got to give immigrants credit for creating effective PR and then creating a system of dependency ("must speak fluent Spanish").

Unfortunately, an entire generation of native born, "English speaking only" young men (in particular), have been misplaced in the entry level job market. My young adult son is one of them. Two semesters of Spanish doesn't make one "fluent", and education doesn't seem to count for that much anymore.

And yes, I agree 100% that an effort should be made to hire legal citizens. There should be substantial penalties for hiring illegals. "

" Let us not forgot that services provided to undocumented farmworkers are no drain to our social services. Those services require lots of documents and and proofs. That kind of government aid asists documented people and citizens. Thank goodness that there are indviduals and advocacy groups to assist the populations that don't qualify for basic living needs . For us American born that criticize such assistance, shame on us for blaming others for our own individual financial circumstances. Scapegoating and xenophobia, what great traits. By the way if you are a unaccompanied worker of any background, willing to leave your family behind and willing to put all your sweat labor in the fields, you too can get the same deal of $12 a night with 3 meals. "

" I would imagine the rules are provided in Spanish, however the problem is probably a literacy issue. Whatever! In addition to learning English, they should be paying TAXES, too. Those who don't are depleting our economy. Anyone else agree with that, or am I wrong? "

" Napagirl...a Bel-Air 3 bedroom(less than 1500 sf) is not considered large in the United States of America. Maybe in Mexico this would be a mansion, but the last time I looked...this was still the USA. Along with the extra people are extra cars, oil leaking on the public streets, broken glass that doesn't get cleaned up for weeks...
I completely agree that the wineries and other service businesses that hire illegally are to blame. People would pay an extra dollar for a bottle of wine if it meant that the wineries would pay a decent wage to citizens or immigrants who are here legally. It's about the legality...not the people themselves. Enforcing existing laws would have cleaned up this mess years ago.l "

" $12 a day room AND board? And people are complaining about this being too high? Let me move in and I'll send my extra money to the Bahamas to pay down that bungalow I've been dreaming about...or I have a cousin in Germany that might want the remainder of my check. That's almost as cheap as a boxcar in the 1930's with one bowl of hobo stew per day.

My father used to order hot water and make tomato soup with the ketchup and complimentary crackers at the local diner... My mother used to sneak potatoes at 7 years old as directed by my grandmother as they walked from Russia to Poland after the Red Army shot my grandfather before her very eyes... I worked these vineyards as a youngster.

Somehow I just can't seem to muster very much sympathy for this story. "

" to think the illegals have left is wrong. they havent left. they have taken the few remaining construction jobs around. leaving people like myself unemployed. "

" Typical Napans...as soon as an article is written about or relating to "illegal immigrants" aka racism you all jump the gun to get your unwanted 2 cents into the mix of comments. Your comments dont provide much needed tax dollars to this county like the wineries provide and every hospitality related business in this county does. There are over 400 wineries in this town and not one "non-illegal" person ever attempts to work in any one of those fiields. Im sure they would faint on their first day out there. :)

You all seem to forget that this ENTIRE country was founded by immigrants and invaders who forced their ways in the minds of the natives, and if they didnt accept it then off with their heads.

If you bother to google official languages for all countries, you will notice your precious USA, as you closed- mindedly call it, has NO OFFICIAL LANGUAGE! Therefore, Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, etc can be and is expected to be spoken here. If it wasnt for the Spanish community in this town most of us wouldnt have any culture, morals, or values like the majority of us have who come from Hispanic backgrounds or any other background from another country...wait, I mean from an "illegal" background as most of you like to put it.

Open your minds and accept diversity in your country people. This is what this country was built upon. These "illegals" take nothing from me personally. They dont take money, time, resources, or anything from me. They dont affect me at all like they supposedly do to all of you, I mean that is why you are all so angry right??? My guess is no. "

" Its funny how we are all okay with money going towards people who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, or are criminally minded, but yet when it goes towards someone who will put towards good use then we all have something hateful to say about. Most of you are too blind to notice that our laws are so flawed that loopholes are easy to spot and jump through. This country isnt perfect and neither are you.

I wish that I could live on $12 a day. Mexicans are going to live here forever. So deal with it by accepting it or move to the midwest. :) "

" A "loophole" is a legal way to get around a mandate. Illegal aliens don't use loopholes, they just flat-out break the law. There is a HUGE difference.

Not supporting illegals has nothing to do with race or "racism". I personally dealt with a Scottish Illegal that couldn't re-enter the States at the Mexican border. She was held in Mexico until she was deported to Scotland. She got what she deserved and that is what all illegals deserve; deportation. "

" ao1982, i'll work in those fields and i'll hate every minute of it. not because of the hard work(im used to that) but because of the fact that i know some illegal is working on a construcion site taking away work from me and not putting the money back into the economy. no matter what kind of job you have, there is an illegal waiting to do it cheaper and you are not immune. "

" most comments posted on this article make me laugh, mostly because of the people that ALWAYS jump into conclusion that they are illegals and so on, if you so alled "citizens" who STAY here and still have not found a job but yet keep complaining..i have a solution, head to the vineyards !!

stop whinning about being unemployed and all you do is sit at home job searching online, how about you drive to a winery and get work there, learn what "heard labor" is and maybe you will learn how to respect the people who have done that all their lifes.

just saying

-gogo "

" Please don't try and convince me that it doesn't affect our economy when a large, underground economy exists, one that doesn't contribute to our system of taxation. I've seen local construction workers, tree trimmers, landscapers etc put out of business as a result of the illegal immigrant. Nothing is contributed to our tax system because of the underground, under the table, economy. Very little money is spent here because it is sent back home.

The only way to solve this problem is to penalize those who employ illegals.

Btw, there are immigrants being brought over from Sweden and the Philippines to staff UCSF. I just don't get it. How can these large institutes pay to transport and train people from overseas when we have an economic crisis? Why don't these institutes make an effort to train and employ people who are citizens of their own country? What's up with that? "

" The schools first started with free lunches, then added free breakfasts. When school's out for summer, the State Ag Commission provides free meals for the entire family. Then there's the free Head Start pre-school, and the ever popular free health care at Clinic Ole. In addition, there's the free job placement at Work Connection and the $12 a day room and board. But when they have a family, there's the government subsidized housing where only a small percentage of their income is charged as rent. The folks living in the subsidized housing try to keep their rent down by working "under the table". (in addition to not paying income tax) But check the parking lots out at the subsidized apartments. They are full of really nice cars.....So there's no mystery to me why there's so many bitter entries on these blogs. "

" The only “racism” here is the hate spewed by those that claim legal citizens can’t do an honest day’s hard labor. Do a little research into the history of this problem. Look up what Chavez, Mondale, and Abernathy were marching against in the California fields of 1969. Look into the charges against Cesar Chavez’s brother and why he spent a few nights in jail. Gain a little knowledge and THEN tell me ‘kingsavage” is wrong. (The once great UFW now only represent less than 3% of California’s farm workers…the “scabs” are winning.) "

" How do you all figure that these "illegals" are not putting money back into the economy? What do you think, that they are robots or something? They have to eat. They have to drink (beer and water).They have to purchase gas for their vehicles that they bought in the states. They have to pay rent. They go to restaurants and truck stops for some tacos. Dont be so naive. And if you want to take their job simply for the satisfaction of taking their job, then do so. All of you can talk the talk, but you sure as heck cant walk the talk.

You think they dont put money back into the economy because they dont pay taxes??? get real. All of you wish you could get your full check without paying taxes. Do you think your/our tax dollars are going towards good use(ie. bailing out billion dollar companies)? the answer is NO! is it the "illegals" fault that schools are shutting down and firing much needed teachers? NO! its your faulty, and irresponsible governments fault. Blame the government when this future generation of uneducated people take advantage of all available "free" dollars. "

" So this is what it comes down to? The government is benevolent (we are benevolent and concerned for the needy) and you say it is our fault that people lie and cheat to get hands on the money that is meant for those that fall into a specific category of need.

You say that it is our fault that lairs and cheaters and lawbreakers break down the gates and run for the gold. It is our fault that the Mexican government puts out instructional manuals on how to use (abuse and cheat) the welfare system, health system, etc. Yet it comes down to this, it is our fault that this goes on, and we are evil for having any kind of public aid built into our system.

Why am I not surprised to get this first attitude first hand from some of our neighbors? "

" Here's an idea...If these poor guys are a bit short on work, maybe we could have them help out the grafitti removal folks. If that's not possible, how about going around town and picking up all those eaten corn-on-the-cobs thrown around with the obligatory wooden stick. "