Ves in the peculiar position of trying to keep a low profile while having to seek work out in the open where they are visible and vulnerable. Day laborers search for work in front of paint or hardware stores, home improvement malls, gas stations, busy streets, and day-labor worker centers. Many of these sites are near residential neighborhoods (Valenzuela et al 2006). In San Francisco, many Latino day laborers live in neighborhoods near labor pick-up sites, such as the wellknown Latino ethnic enclave, the Mission district. In Berkeley, day laborers usually live far from the pick-up sites. They commute by bus from neighboring cities such as Oakland and Richmond. The most frequented day labor pick-up site in San Francisco is in a densely urban, largely working-class Latino neighborhood along a very busy and highly trafficked thoroughfare. In contrast, the principle pick-up site in GS-5816 web Berkeley is located in a gentrified, middle-class residential neighborhood that is tree-lined, and has high-end retail stores, cafes and restaurants. Regardless of the neighborhoods where day laborers live and wait for work, daily instances of discrimination occur from insults being hurled at them from passing cars to the reduction of scarce public resources (i.e., homeless shelter beds allocated for Latinos). The ubiquity of discrimination is especially disturbing considering that San Francisco and Berkeley were among the first cities in the U.S. to declare sanctuary status. In the 1980s they became sanctuary cities when waves of war in Central America drove men, women, and children to the U.S. and to the San Francisco Bay Area in particular (Quesada 1999; Coutin 1993). The pretense and context for sanctuary status is certainly different than in the 1980s and raises the question of what sanctuary currently means. Today, sanctuary status applies to cities with migrants who have come to the U.S. for different reasons. But because many of the migrants are considered illegitimate by mainstream U.S. society, sanctuary status is no longer a necessary or politically desirable stance. Regardless of the arguments, San Francisco and Berkeley are in the uncomfortable position of having to reassess their commitment to sanctuary, indeed to redefine what it means. This has become even more critical in light of the aforementioned association of the undocumented with organized crime, which in a broad stroke solidifies linkages between the undocumented and criminality (Chavez 2004; Ro4402257 chemical information Willen 2011). In San Francisco, several incidents compelled then Mayor Gavin Newsom to call into question the city’s adherence to its declaration of sanctuary. A number of undocumented Latino gang members were involved in murders and numerous undocumented Central American youth were arrested for selling drugs (Hwang 2008; Van Derbeken 2008). These events led to the public conflating undocumented Latinos with organized crime and welfare cheats who take advantage of the system. This induced greater splits and misgivings amongCity Soc (Wash). Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 April 01.Quesada et al.Pagelaborers as many sought to avoid being identified or affiliated with anyone who appears to be involved in criminal enterprises (Quesada 2011; Chomsky 2007).NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptA 37 year old Mexican who has been the U.S. ten years talked about the difference between different Latino day laborers: …the ones [other Latino day laborers] who come h.Ves in the peculiar position of trying to keep a low profile while having to seek work out in the open where they are visible and vulnerable. Day laborers search for work in front of paint or hardware stores, home improvement malls, gas stations, busy streets, and day-labor worker centers. Many of these sites are near residential neighborhoods (Valenzuela et al 2006). In San Francisco, many Latino day laborers live in neighborhoods near labor pick-up sites, such as the wellknown Latino ethnic enclave, the Mission district. In Berkeley, day laborers usually live far from the pick-up sites. They commute by bus from neighboring cities such as Oakland and Richmond. The most frequented day labor pick-up site in San Francisco is in a densely urban, largely working-class Latino neighborhood along a very busy and highly trafficked thoroughfare. In contrast, the principle pick-up site in Berkeley is located in a gentrified, middle-class residential neighborhood that is tree-lined, and has high-end retail stores, cafes and restaurants. Regardless of the neighborhoods where day laborers live and wait for work, daily instances of discrimination occur from insults being hurled at them from passing cars to the reduction of scarce public resources (i.e., homeless shelter beds allocated for Latinos). The ubiquity of discrimination is especially disturbing considering that San Francisco and Berkeley were among the first cities in the U.S. to declare sanctuary status. In the 1980s they became sanctuary cities when waves of war in Central America drove men, women, and children to the U.S. and to the San Francisco Bay Area in particular (Quesada 1999; Coutin 1993). The pretense and context for sanctuary status is certainly different than in the 1980s and raises the question of what sanctuary currently means. Today, sanctuary status applies to cities with migrants who have come to the U.S. for different reasons. But because many of the migrants are considered illegitimate by mainstream U.S. society, sanctuary status is no longer a necessary or politically desirable stance. Regardless of the arguments, San Francisco and Berkeley are in the uncomfortable position of having to reassess their commitment to sanctuary, indeed to redefine what it means. This has become even more critical in light of the aforementioned association of the undocumented with organized crime, which in a broad stroke solidifies linkages between the undocumented and criminality (Chavez 2004; Willen 2011). In San Francisco, several incidents compelled then Mayor Gavin Newsom to call into question the city’s adherence to its declaration of sanctuary. A number of undocumented Latino gang members were involved in murders and numerous undocumented Central American youth were arrested for selling drugs (Hwang 2008; Van Derbeken 2008). These events led to the public conflating undocumented Latinos with organized crime and welfare cheats who take advantage of the system. This induced greater splits and misgivings amongCity Soc (Wash). Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 April 01.Quesada et al.Pagelaborers as many sought to avoid being identified or affiliated with anyone who appears to be involved in criminal enterprises (Quesada 2011; Chomsky 2007).NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptA 37 year old Mexican who has been the U.S. ten years talked about the difference between different Latino day laborers: …the ones [other Latino day laborers] who come h.