![]() "What I've been seeing more and more is people saying they have to consider going back to their home (countries)," said Dapser, who estimates that about 75 percent of the workers are now legal ones. Those jobs that are available usually go first to the workers who have proper papers. But longtime Key West immigration attorney Wayne Dapser said he thinks the recession has led to a decrease in the percentage of illegal foreign workers. There are no statistics available that track the number of foreigners (legal or illegal) among Key West's work force of nearly 15,000. "Americans don't want to clean toilets and wash dishes for a living." "There are jobs that Americans just won't do, as the lodging and restaurant industries have found out," said Jodi Weinhofer, president of the Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key West. ![]() Three years ago, jobs were so plentiful in Key West that landing one often required simply filling out an application and showing up sober. What might be surprising is that it remains the case today, despite a December unemployment rate of 7.9 percent in Monroe County, which includes Key West - lower than most of Florida but an incredibly high number for the island located 130 miles from the mainland. International workers have long been a necessity - dating to the 19th century when Bahamians filled jobs as wreckers and spongers - to supplement the limited local labor pool. The Czech finish carpenter who remodels multimillion-dollar homes in the Historic District was sponsored by a construction company.ĭown the tourist drag of Duval Street, the Argentine hostess at Hard Rock Cafe is on a student visa, and the frail man who sells cigars he rolls himself came from Cuba on a "bad boat."Īnd inside a tacky T-shirt shop, the Romanian who operates the cash register is working under the table. The housekeeper who serves breakfast in the courtyard at the Island City House won a green-card lottery in Poland.
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