Baltimore became a global leader in shipbuilding early on in its history. It later became a major transportation hub with the addition of a railroad line connecting the east coast to the Midwest and beyond.<\/p>\n

The men who died in the collapse were filling potholes during an overnight shift. While police quickly stopped traffic after the ship sent a mayday signal, they didn\u2019t have time to alert the construction crew \u2014 a group of Latino immigrants in active pursuit of the American dream.<\/p>\n

Two survivors were rescued almost immediately and divers recovered two bodies the following day. The remaining four victims are still missing and presumed dead.<\/p>\n

Advocates say their deaths take on larger significance in the context of the myriad challenges facing immigrants in the U.S. The men were performing a physically grueling job for relatively low wages. They were laboring during nighttime hours to avoid inconveniencing Maryland commuters.<\/p>\n

It comes as little surprise that these already disenfranchised workers are the ones who ended up paying the ultimate price, said Krish O\u2019Mara Vignarajah, president of the Baltimore-based immigration services nonprofit Global Refuge. Immigrants will almost inevitably be involved in rebuilding the bridge as well, she added.<\/p>\n

The workers came to Maryland from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, seeking higher wages and better opportunities for themselves and their families.<\/p>\n

By settling in the Baltimore area, they added to a long history of immigration that has played a key role in shaping the city\u2019s culture and commerce. That history is inextricably linked to the port.<\/p>\n

Between the Civil War and World War I, Baltimore became one of the country\u2019s largest points of entry for European immigrants. In 1868, an immigration pier opened in south Baltimore not far from the historic battlefield that birthed the Star-Spangled Banner.<\/p>\n

Many immigrants passed through the city on their way to the Midwest, but others stayed and put down roots. Those without specialized skills or advanced education worked on the docks and in the railroad yards, often alongside African Americans who came north to escape slavery. Their contributions are memorialized in the Baltimore Immigration Museum, which occupies a historic building constructed in 1904 to house European immigrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaltimore became a real melting pot of cultures,\u201d said local historian Johns Hopkins, who directs the nonprofit Baltimore Heritage.<\/p>\n

In more recent decades, Latino immigrants have settled in and around Baltimore, though other cities have received larger influxes, likely because they\u2019re experiencing more job growth.<\/p>\n

CASA, an immigrant advocacy group based in Maryland, has been in contact with two of the families whose loved ones are among those still missing. Both men \u2014 Maynor Suazo Sandoval and Miguel Luna \u2014 were husbands and fathers who left their home countries over 15 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese construction workers are absolutely essential,\u201d said Gustavo Torres, the organization\u2019s executive director. \u201cIn a time when there is so much hatred against the immigrant community, we look to the quiet leadership of Maynor and Miguel and appreciate how they uphold our society so that Americans can live comfortably.\u201d<\/p>\n

A key thoroughfare<\/h2>\n

Many port workers and thousands of others used the Key Bridge on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

Along with their neighbors, they awoke Tuesday morning to news of its demise and quickly logged onto social media, still in disbelief. They watched video footage showing every detail of the catastrophic collapse, replaying the horrific sequence until it finally seemed real. <\/p>\n

Seeing a major piece of their city\u2019s infrastructure crumble like a toy left some Baltimoreans with an uneasy sense of shock, jolted by the realization that anything can happen. <\/p>\n

In the days that followed, many residents stopped at various vantage points near the collapse site to survey the wreckage and pay their respects. Some recalled watching the bridge take shape in the 1970s, arching majestically across the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was always there. It was a landmark,\u201d said Niki Putinski, who spent years living in a small residential neighborhood at the base of the bridge. \u201cI just didn\u2019t think something could bring it down like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The whole city is grieving, said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, whose father moved to Baltimore as a young man to work at the port. But there\u2019s a reason Baltimoreans are known for their grit and perseverance, Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t talk about Baltimore \u2014 past, present and future \u2014 without talking about the port,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd this will be the latest example of Baltimore bouncing back. That\u2019s really ingrained in us here. We don\u2019t give up, we ignore the noise and we keep that gritty chip on our shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/h2>\n

Associated Press video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report from Baltimore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BALTIMORE (AP) \u2014 Generations of Maryland workers \u2014 longshoremen, seafarers, steelworkers and crabbers whose livelihoods depend on Baltimore\u2019s port \u2014 watched in disbelief this week as an iconic symbol of their maritime culture crumbled into the Patapsco River. The deadly collapse of the historic Francis Scott Key Bridge has shaken Baltimore to its core. \u201cWhat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[1423,3075,3190,53,2003],"yoast_head":"\n