ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates how the liminal space of a day labor hiring site becomes a tool for reifying notions of immigrant illegality. Many day laborers in the United States are men from Latin America who are unable to participate in the formal economy because they may lack local educational degrees, facility with English, or a work permit. Men at informal hiring sites must attract the attention of potential employers, which may include soliciting work off the street, while simultaneously limiting their exposure to others in the community by reducing noise and limiting behavior that could be seen as disruptive. Lamont and Molnar define symbolic boundaries as "conceptual distinctions made by social actors to categorize objects, people, practices, and even time and space". Huntington Station is a mixed-income community that hosts many immigrants, including day laborers. The stigma surrounding Huntington's day labor hiring site, shaped the interactions between employers and workers at the hiring site.
