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My German Landscapers laugh when they are told that only Hispanics do "back breaking" landscape work.
Oh yeah - construction work - no legals doing that work
Much of the work is indeed backbreaking. Other work... just unglamorous and low paying that Americans are not in the mood to do. Economists debate about the pros and cons that udocumented immigrants have on the economy, overall it is considered pretty much a wash. Some sectors and areas are helped more than others, some sectors and areas are hurt more than others.
No doubt they have been the mainstay of many industries for the past decade. Farmers in California and other areas attempted to raise wages to atract legal workers in their fields and their crops started to rot, as one example. This is why employers around the country are screaming for a legal guest worker type of program to be implemented.
Blaming all of our society problems on a defenseless subsector is the simple but intellectually lazy way out.
For the most part this is total nonsense. They end up doing the backbreaking, mind-numbing and dangerous work that the rest of us won't do unless we have a union that fights for premium wages (think garbage men). And I bet a dime that most of the folks whining about undocumented workers are anti-union too.
Back breaking and dangerous work for pennies? Absolutely. And that is a crime as well as a sin against humanity. Look at the kosher meat packing plant in Iowa. The illegals were making $5 an hour in a packing house that was declared unsafe by OSHA, hell - they even had a running meth lab in the damn place!
Yes, American citizens and legal immigrants are not going to work in places like that, especially for subpar wages. In this case, the employer had a win/win situation -- low wages and extremely low overhead. Until they were caught. Had this place been paying a fair wage with safe working conditions they would not have had a problem hiring enough people for the jobs.
The same holds true for construction work....employers are scamming the illegals by paying them far less then they would a legal worker, and yes...they are also working in unsafe conditions. About two years ago, an illegal immigrant working as a roofer died because he was working three stories high on an extremely windy day. Would a legal roofer do it? No, but an illegal worker would, did and died.
Anyway you look at it, allowing illegal immigrants free reign to work in the US is equelly wrong for them as well as for the US worker. The only person to profit would be the business.
Can we please not use the word "illegals" to refer to undocumented workers? Nobody is "illegal." Are you an "illegal" if you drive without your license, or if you are late turning in your tax return? People who are working here without papers are committing an equivalent bureaucratic violation. Don't demean them with a word that is loaded and meant to promote the far-right extremist agenda.
PS - Pay attention to the people who blast me for this post - they are the far-right extremists I mentioned (not that you really need any more evidence - you probably already know who they are).
I have to disagree with you on this one. "Undocumented workers" are in this country illegally. Hence, their status is illegal. I'm not "blasting" you, however. I just disagree with you. Many, many illegal immigrants are not here because they are starving in their home country. They are here simply because they want to be, and they don't care about our immigration laws. It's not fair to the people who wait YEARS to enter the U.S. legally. In fact, the assumption that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are victims is ridiculous. American liberals and leftists are so susceptible to being emotionally blackmailed, it's ridiculous. I grew up in Texas, and I have volunteered at Hispanic centers in three states to teach English to immigrants (illegal or not), and the conversations they have would infuriate you. Simply put: They are laughing their behinds off at how easy it is to guilt-trip American liberals. Don't be a patsy.
Much of the work is indeed backbreaking. Other work... just unglamorous and low paying that Americans are not in the mood to do. Economists debate about the pros and cons that udocumented immigrants have on the economy, overall it is considered pretty much a wash. Some sectors and areas are helped more than others, some sectors and areas are hurt more than others.
No doubt they have been the mainstay of many industries for the past decade. Farmers in California and other areas attempted to raise wages to atract legal workers in their fields and their crops started to rot, as one example. This is why employers around the country are screaming for a legal guest worker type of program to be implemented.
Blaming all of our society problems on a defenseless subsector is the simple but intellectually lazy way out.
Last I heard, only about 5% of illegal immigrants worked in agriculture.
"Criminals" is usually reserved for people who have been convicted - usually of felonies. Why not call them what they are: undocumented workers?
Because "undocumented" empties out the illegality of their presence in the U.S. They are not simply without papers; they are in the country illegally. And knowingly so.
Because "undocumented" empties out the illegality of their presence in the U.S. They are not simply without papers; they are in the country illegally. And knowingly so.
If this is your position, then I expect you to be regularly using the phrases "illegal drivers" (for people who speed or let their registrations lapse), "illegal homeowners" (for people who fail to get building permits for their kitchen remodels), "illegal listeners" (for people who download music without permission), and "illegal passengers" (for people who don't fasten their seatbelts).
If you can't stand to "empty out the illegality" in one case, then you have to use it in all cases.
Why do we only want to "highlight the illegality" when it comes to brown people?
That is very bigoted of you - or, do you think that Illegal Immigrant only come on one color?????
Heck - just a few days ago, Border Patrol picked up a bunch of Illegal Immigrants in Arizona - they were from ... CHINA!
Oh, come on! You're telling me that the "anti-illegal" crowd is not fixated on Hispanics, and Mexicans specifically? They demand a wall only on our Mexican border. They patrol only on the Mexican border. Watch any gathering of Minutemen. You know who they highlight.
I'm pointing out that everyone wants to use the word "illegal" only when it comes to this one bureaucratic violation. I'm saying that is degrading. And you want to make this point? Get real.
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