In this series of three radio programs that aired on National Radio Project's Making Contact June 6, 13, and 20, 2007, Tena Rubio delves into the community of migrant workers who came to New Orleans from hundreds of miles away, betting their lives on the promise of work. Too often, the work was there but the pay was not.

In Part 1, we hear from a business owner, immigrants, and the people on the ground trying to help them: Arthur Robinson, business owner; Israel Lopez, Senor Jose Castillo, Lorenzo Alvarado Duran, Rafael Sanchez and Manuel, immigrant laborers; Marco Amador, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice field worker and National Day Laborer Organizing Network member; Jose, Mobil Taco Truck owner; and Saket Soni, founder, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice.

In Part 2, we hear more from the people on the ground making a difference in the lives of these workers and from the workers themselves: Father Joe Benson, pastor, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Church; Eva San Martin, Hispanic Apostolate outreach worker; Francisco, migrant worker, Israel Lopez, Manuel, Lorenzo Alvarado Duran, and Rafael Sanchez, immigrant laborers; Luz Molina, director and founder of the Workplace Justice Project and Loyola Law School professor; Saket Soni, founder and organizer, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice.

Part 3 focuses on migrant/immigrant health care, demonstrating how the vision, drive, and big hearts of two individuals went a long way toward treating people who otherwise would be forgotten: Jennifer Whitney, Latino Health Outreach Project co-founder and coordinator; and Dr. Ravi Vadlamudi, Common Ground Health Clinic medical director & Tulane University's Uptown Square Clinic doctor.

As part of this story, photographer Blair Wells documented these migrant and immigrant laborers. To view more images, visit the National Radio Project website: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Copyright © 2007 by Tena Rubio / National Radio Project / PRX. Reproduced with permission.