Because it’s owned by the city of LA and managed under contract by a private equity firm? And it’s an enormous event venue that hosts thousands and thousands of show horses very year? It operates under strict water and pollution control since it’s so big and urban? The manager is paid a solid 6 figure salary to run it. I’d guess there is 8 figures of horse flesh on that property today easily.
This isn’t your local back yard place that people are going to co-op.
Several of the people posting on this thread ARE aware of what’s available in the area. Because we have horses here or did for decades.
Why would anyone here legally, who is working a good-paying job, quit and take a pay cut to muck stalls?
I would also venture to guess any “real american” that wanted to muck stalls had plenty of opportunities to try their hand at it before now as well.
my daughter in law has, came in legally obtained green card then applied for and obtained citizenship
My neighbor on the east side came from Vietnam, it took them years to get here legally, he obtained citizenship he now owns four restaurants. Across the street is a woman who came here from Australia decades ago who became a legal citizen, Neighbor to the north side came Cambodia. he is now legal citizen and CPA. Neighbor directly across the street is from Mexico, somehow he was able to figure out how to become legal and owns a concrete company
My hay is delivered by a Hispanic who also somehow was able to figure how to stay here legally, he is a hard worker and the only person our guard dog likes, the dog sees him and walks up wagging her tail
Perhaps you and Annie 10 can go to LA and sort this out for them. Seems as if you have knowledge and resources that are not available to others posting here.
well I did work for ten years in Chatsworth, my company wanted to move me and my family there but after looking at the cost to do so it was decided that I would commute by air twice a month for six stays rather than move me there. That division was moved to Nogales Mexico
As for my neighbors they all figured out how by themselves I had nothing to do with their success.
As for the Los Angles Equestrian Center there is the the H-2A visa program but that requires them to become an employer sponsor of the worker, so there pathways only if they want to seek them out rather than bitch
First of all, good for your neighbors who persevered and became legal citizens of our great country.
Second, however, I notice none of them came to America and sought work shoveling horse manure, cleaning waterers and leading horses to the turnout corrals. Not the restaurant owner, not the CPA, not the concrete company owner.
The point that seems to be escaping certain posters is that being a low level barn worker is an important job, integral to the well being of our horses. But it is literally shitty work. Can the necessary skills be taught? Of course. But do a whole lot of people want to do it? Nopity nope nope. That’s the experience many of us have had not just in SoCal, but in other parts of the country, too. It is, for better or worse, a job that we’ve historically handed off to immigrant laborers. It has become time to reconcile that, one way or another.
If becoming legal was easy, more people would do it. There are lots of barriers and no interest to fix the broken system. (See link below.) Also, there historically has been a shortage of immigration judges and it’s become worse with recent firings.
Why the Legal Immigration System Is Broken: A Short List of Problems | Cato at Liberty Blog
And it’s much harder to find a legal pathway if you’re from Mexico (and other South American countries). They have much longer wait times than some other countries because of the high demand.
According to the American Immigration Council, “Undocumented immigrants who want to become citizens of the United States cannot just ‘get in line.’ Although there are some lines, many aspiring lawful permanent residents are not eligible to be in any of them. Even if an undocumented immigrant does meet the formal requirements to immigrate, the wait can be very long if the individual is applying from a country with a lengthy backlog of applications.”
They list wait times for those from Mexico “between 19 and 24 years for visas to become available.”
Ah, come on, Peggy. I’m sure if some flyers are posted at Harvard-Westlake or Flintridge Prep the high school kids would gladly earn some extra money mucking stalls at LAEC. 
What is really disgusting people is that these big billionaire owned management firms had no problem employing undocumented labor for decades to save money. And the longer they do that the harder it is for people to get documented. One of the fired employees was there 30 years. But the second it became politically or financially an issue for them they magically were able to identify everyone was undocumented and fire them so quickly they didn’t have time to ensure the hundreds of horses were fed and watered. I’m personally not a big fan of the gender/ race/ language divide between athletes and employees in the US horse show world but it exists and has for a long time and it’s morally wrong to just discard people after exploiting them for your own gain for the best years of their working lives.
I agree the system needs an overhaul but it doesn’t need a nuclear bomb dropped on it. Especially on the most vulnerable people.
I started a thread on tariffs affecting showing in other countries and that got shut down. Just a friendly reminder that everything, and I mean everything is political. From the water you drink, the air you breathe, and the ponies we ride.
The threads get shut down when sides get brought into it.
They did that when they signed a boarding agreement with LAEC.
Look, I believe it’s wrong to target the low hanging fruit at car washes and construction sites and Home Depots, rather that do the detective work of finding the worst of the worst as the American people were promised.
But the fault in this particular situation is with management at LAEC who peed their pants as soon as they opened the letter from DHS and broke their agreement to provide basic care to the horses at LAEC. They had no back up plan. They didn’t warn anyone. And these same people have been unresponsive for months to the concerns of the people whose horses have been displaced by the renovations. They just stopped saying when work would resume and it would be finished.
Absolutely shitty management.
This not new. All federal contracts have had mandatory E-Verify since post 9/11. The option is also available to non-federal business. No excuse not to use it.
It’s more than saving money, too. You don’t necessarily have to follow the rules when you’re employing people who are undocumented, because where would they go? That’s why we have grooms riding dangerously in trailers, working absurd hours, etc., because there is no legal protection for them, so the millionaires and billionaires can exploit them.
This is true. When talking about legal immigrants who have been successful, you must ask some questions. What was their country of origin? How long ago did they immigrate to the U.S.? Who was president at the time? Were they sponsored by a church or other organization?
One can’t simply give examples of successful immigration without knowing the circumstances.
I am quite enjoying the public mockery of help wanted ads posted by private show barns the past few months. I’m certainly taking note of who offers reasonable renumeration and who… doesn’t.
True.
Even if the employer used EVerfiy to check for legal status, many illegals use fake SSN’s, green cards, etc. when applying for a job. Sometimes the employer doesn’t know if the id’s are real or not, until they’re asked by ICE for employee records, and ICE takes a look.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said ICE had asked if the workers were documented through EVerify. Since 40 workers were fired, I guess many weren’t. Maybe that’s why the manager quit. He knew what was coming.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
