FREEHOLD — Seeing is believing in many cases and 11 students in Frank Argote Freyre’s “Latinos in the U.S.” class recently had a chance to see in real life what they have been studying about in class.
Argote-Freyre, a professor at Kean University, Union, used the streets of Freehold Borough as a living classroom. He took his students to Freehold for an “eyes-on” learning experience.
Argote-Freyre, a borough resident, led a walking tour to show his students where many members of the borough’s Latino community live, look for work and find comfort and solace far away from their native homelands.
The concept of the field trip was to expose the students to the challenges immigration poses to a community, he said. Most of the Kean University students who came to Freehold are enrolled in teaching programs and some are majoring in history.
The walking tour included a stop at the bus station on Throckmorton Street and a visit to the 6-12 convenience store on Broad Street. These two locations are areas where many immigrant day laborers gather to seek work in the early morning hours each day.
Latino advocates Rita Dentino and Juan Reyes met the Kean students at the 6-12 convenience store to discuss the immigration issue and to answer questions. Reyes is a member of the Freehold Borough Human Relations Committee.
The next stop on the tour was an area on Throckmorton Street — referred to as the muster zone — which is another location where day laborers gather to seek work. Argote Freyre explained to the students that the muster zone was the cause of a federal lawsuit, which he said cost the borough hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Argote-Freyre told the students that borough officials closed the muster zone in 2003 because they believed it was attracting day laborers from other municipalities. Advocates for Latinos initiated a lawsuit in response to the borough’s action.
In the end, the public portion of the property that was being used for the muster zone was deemed to be appropriate for that purpose. Adjoining property that was a railroad easement was deemed not to be usable as a muster zone.
People who pass the muster zone these days would likely see between 30 and 50 men standing there in the early morning hours, waiting to be picked up and employed on a daily basis, Argote-Freyre said. He said Dentino has helped to organize the work area by making a list of the workers.
“It’s a first-come, first-serve basis,” he told the students, explaining that Dentino keeps lists of workers who have not been paid and contractors who have not been paying workers.
“If you’re a contractor on that list, you will not be able to pick up a worker again,” he said. Argote-Freyre said Freehold’s day laborer population numbers about 300 people. He said the borough’s Latino community, which includes mostly families, totals about 3,000 people.
The final stop was the New Beginnings Agape Christian Center on Throckmorton Street, where the students were greeted by the Rev. Ricky Pierce, executive director of the I Beseech Thee Community Development Corporation.
Pierce recounted the days after the closing of the Throckmorton Street muster zone and told the students that the church had opened its doors to the day laborers and provided space for what became a hiring hall from January through March 2004.
Freehold Borough residents Tom Baldwin and his wife, Fidela San Miguel, were also at the church site to speak with the students.
One student, Marcelo Sousa, 28, understands the issue of immigration and has been dealing with it in his own town of Somerset. He said he parents were born in Brazil and settled in New Jersey in 1989.
“I take it personally,” Sousa said, “and I am appalled at some of the things I see happening to immigrants coming here.”
Sousa said he and his mother, who is a minister, fight to help immigrants protect their civil rights in their town.
“It is hard when there is no federal help,” he said.
Sousa said that taking the “Latinos in the U.S.” class has helped him to see the changes that are happening and how he can do more do to help.
Marco Guarino, 24, of Elizabeth, said his father was born in Italy and his mother was born in Uruguay.
“My father, who came here as a child, does not understand the position of immigrants as my mother does. She came here when she was much older,” Guarino said. “I’ve seen both sides of the story.”
Aruna Mathura, 22, of Hillside, was born in Trinidad. She said she is pro-immigration.
“It is hard for immigrants to become legal here; it is also difficult to become a citizen here,” Mathura said, explaining that she has spent five years in the process of trying to become a U.S. citizen.
Not all of the Kean University students were born of immigrant parents, as evidenced by student Lindsay Krug of Glen Rock. Krug said she hails from what she called “Lily White Wonder Bread.” She is, however, familiarwith the immigration issue and said she has seen many immigrants in the city of Paterson.
Timothy Hulme, 21, said his ancestors settled in the United States generations ago. Calling himself a “classic liberal,” Hulme said he is pro-immigration and will do whatever he can to help those who come to this country now.
The students concluded their field trip in Freehold Borough with a visit to El Meson restaurant for dinner.