The fate of several homeless day laborers, arrested by a police operation for which no department has taken responsibility, has still not been determined or solved.

Both U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the NYPD deny any involvement in the unsubstantiated arrests, which took place under a bridge between 72nd and 74th Streets along 44th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens. Nonetheless, Yonel Letellier, from the office of Assemblyman José Peralta, claims to have knowledge that the police operation was performed by officers of the 110th Precinct.

"During the past weeks, we have gotten a great many complaints from area residents about an increase in the number of homeless people, and of trucks selling food without a license along Roosevelt Avenue," Letellier stated. "This operation could well have been in response to pressure from the community," he added.

According to witnesses from the area, the raid occurred on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.

Víctor, a taxi driver of Mexican origin, sternly stated that this was not the first time he had witnessed "harassment" of the homeless day laborers by the police. "They pick them up and run them in, leave them there for a while, and then they turn them loose. They give them a ticket, and that's it," he said.

According to Víctor, the laborers who have been living under the bridge come mainly from Ecuador, Mexico and Central America.

According to Pablo Calle, of the National Secretariat for Migrants, people dealing with these kinds of situations have recourse to different city agencies that provide assistance to the needy; as well, they can seek help at La Casa Ecuatoriana.

Mario Cuevas, Consul for Protection of Mexicans at the Mexican Consulate in New York, informed us that they have programs to help their fellow countrymen, but the person must apply in person in order to obtain help.