A Day Laborer Who Dreamed Of Returning Home To Mexico Dies Of COVID-19

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Workers at the CARECEN Day Labor Center in Los Angeles constructed a makeshift memorial for fellow worker Paulino Ramos, who died of COVID-19 in September.

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Ramos was 53. He was alone here in the U.S.; he lived apart from his family in Mexico for many years. He often told Nicolás that he was eager to return home to the state of Puebla to be with his wife and three kids, and his grandkids that he’d never met.

He died shortly after he was brought to the ER.

«He was a loving father, a loving husband, and he always tried to provide for his family,» says Nicolás. «That’s the reason he came [to the U.S.], to be able to provide a better opportunity for his kids.»

Ramos’ story reflects the reality of day laborers on the edge of poverty in this pandemic. The once-abundant construction jobs available in this parking lot have all but dried up since March, and Ramos could no longer afford to pay his rent. Before he died, he received a $300 grant from CARECEN and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network to assist with basic expenses. In a video he recorded for the organizations’ donors, Ramos said: «I am grateful I got help, so at least I can eat.»

Inside the tiny, open-air CARECEN Day Labor Center, which provides economic programs for day laborers, workers constructed a makeshift memorial to honor Ramos. There’s a small table with now-wilted flowers, prayer candles and photos. A black-and-white image shows Ramos in the hospital bed, hooked-up to machines and tubes as he battled COVID-19. But the color photograph the workers pinned above the memorial reminds them of the man they all knew: A quiet friend with graying black hair, a mustache and a little smile.

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Ramos, 53, spent over a decade working demolition jobs across LA. He supported his wife and children in Mexico, and dreamed of one day returning home.

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«There are strong chemicals in the old buildings we work in,» says Jesús Monge, one of the workers standing outside The Home Depot. Monge’s been a painter since arriving in the U.S. from El Salvador in 1981. «A lot of workers here have damaged their lungs, including me.»

Employers are required to provide protective equipment at job sites, but Monge says they rarely do. Even in a pandemic, he says day laborers often go without PPE because workers can’t afford the expense.

Employers don’t offer health insurance, and day laborers don’t have access to sick pay. There’s pressure to show up to work, even if an individual is overcome by symptoms of COVID-19, like Ramos experienced. And like many day laborers at this parking lot, Ramos was undocumented.

Mario Guerra, a welder waiting on the corner, says he wonders if he’ll suffer the same fate as his friend. «I don’t know if I’ll ever go home to El Salvador or if I’ll die here,» he says. «I want to see my mom and my daughter but — that’s life.»

Paulino Ramos dreamed of returning home, too. Last week, his remains were sent back to his family in Mexico.