Day Laborers: Improving the Quality of Life for Laborers, Employers, and Neighbors

In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a 95 percent increase in the Hispanic population in Kansas City, Missouri. Some reports estimate that approximately 80,000 undocumented persons reside in the greater Kansas City area. For residents and business owners in Kansas City, Missouri, the issue was the criminal activity and disorder associated with the daily congregation of documented and undocumented Hispanic men seeking employment as day laborers near the inter section of Southwest Boulevard and Summit Street in the city’s Westside neighborhood.