IWA
Illegal Immigration and The H2A Program
Since the first human civilization, cheap, exploitable labor has been inherent to the economic system. This was illustrated in The Life of Peasants, one of the provided stimulus materials, in which it was accepted that providing for the upper classes was “the obligation of the servile class”. Ergo, the US can trace its history through the various exploited labor systems, starting with our dependance on indentured servants, to slavery, to our current reliance on undocumented workers.Unfortunately, the cultural progress indicated by the advancements of modern life, have not been paralleled by an alternate method of production. Worker exploitation, especially in agriculture, is conventional and commonplace. In the midst of the 2016 presidential primaries, with illegal immigration a hot topic among all candidates, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the people most often victimized by this system are mexican immigrants. “America’s immigration system is broken” - Hillary “The country has to be able to lock its doors” says Kasich. Trump suggests building a wall. Bernie advocates for comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship. Regardless of political leanings, our politician’s inciting statements whisper of truth. The immigration system is broken, and there is an overwhelming number of undocumented immigrants in America. An estimated 11.4 million of them (as of 2012 according to the department of homeland
The United States of America (USA) has been one of the traditional receiving countries of immigrants (Friedberg & Hunt, 1995), and they do not take in too lightly of allowing immigrants violate its law and entering illegally to settle in its country without consequences. To date, millions of people have violated its immigration policies. The USA is also the economic leader of the world. It has been the notion that illegal immigrants are devouring up the US economy and for that reason they should be ousted. However, illegal immigrations have rooted into society since far back in history, and realized now, it is that illegal immigrants are not damaging the US economy; they contribute to it and their services costs
As the population of Latin America and the Caribbean raised in 1995 with a 190 percent increase (Gonzalez 199), the job markets in Mexico are becoming scarce and competitive. The living conditions of residents in provincial towns like in Cheran, “whose timber-based economy is in tatters” (Martinez 9) are greatly affected. Mexican immigrant workers are forced to cross the border and find a greener pasture in the United States, because “in 1994, Mexico was crippled by a profound-and-prolonged-economic crisis” (Martinez 8). With the huge influx of Mexican immigrant workers coming to the States in search for better jobs, the US citizens are concerned about the economic impact: jobs, government and public services. However, the Americans’ concern that the immigrants are draining the nation’s resources, is a sweeping statement, it is based on a myth. There are many recent studies that the immigrant’s population living in the United States helps the economy. Similarly, the Mexican government and immigrant families are grateful for their immigrant workers for lifting the ailing economy and the status of immigrant families. Immigrant workers, legal or illegal, are positively reshaping the economy of sending and receiving countries through these major myths.
For thousands of years’ immigration to the United States has been considered one of the biggest problems and has been one of the topics most talked about, especially in this year, being one of the favorite topics to talk about in the presidential debates. Yet, due to speeches given by President Donald Trump little is known and talked about the problems immigrants, especially Latinos face day by day, socially and economically. By being a minority in the United States it has been very difficult for immigrant farm workers’ to get where they are now and have more opportunities than before the 1970s. Fortunately, there have been organizations and leaders that have helped immigrants through the years, one of these being Dolores Huerta.
They help to preserve the societal status quo by, firstly, legitimating the exploitation of immigrants, secondly, diverting workers’ attention from the true cause of their insecure position, thirdly, splitting the labor movement and weakening class consciousness” (Castles and Kosack, 460). The first function, in particular, is practiced within American society. For instance, Mexican immigrants are subject to work in inferior labor jobs that do not pay well. Illegal immigrants are treated almost inhumane having to do low paying jobs such a meat packing that causes injuries and disease among
Are illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrants beneficial to America’s economy? Most illegal immigrants have a positive impact on the United States (U.S.) economy. Illegal immigrants have a positive impact on the United States economy because they increase our tax revenue, they add to our social security, and they also increase our employment rates.” In 2000, statistics revealed 8.7 million illegal immigrants resided in the United States” (Knickerbocker pgs.11-12). “A study of illegal immigrants living in Texas showed a 420 million dollar increase in the states economy” (Strayhorn). Companies risk hiring illegal immigrants
Almost all farm workers are illegal immigrants and are day laborers, must chase crops to make a living. Farm workers are also constantly at the mercy of variable adversities like natural disasters and bad weather. On average illegal migrant workers spend half of the year working and quarter of the year looking for a job. In addition illegal immigrants are hard to find a place to stay because they are in not in legal status and are required proper documentation by law to rent an apartment. On the other hand Illegal immigrants keep move place to place to find a job and looking for shelter to stay. Most of the illegal immigrants live with fear in face all time because of lack of job security and insecure life. According to Schlosser’s article "In 1951 the President 's Commission on Migratory Labor condemned the abysmal living conditions of illegal immigrants employed as migrant farm workers in the United States. At the time, workers were found living in orchards and irrigation ditches. They
There are more than 10 million illegal immigrants living in the United Sates, and each day that number is increasing by 1,400 illegal aliens. An illegal immigrant is a foreigner who either illegally crossed an international political border, whether it was by land, sea or air, or whether it be a foreigner who legally entered a country but nevertheless overstayed their visa in order to live and/or work there. The two focal attractions that the illegal immigrants perceive in the U.S are superior job opportunities, and better living for their families. Several businesses in our Nation are eager to hire cheap, submissive manual labor from overseas. Such businesses are hardly ever penalized due to
Third World immigration into the U.S. has not produced a highly skilled labor force, as the above statistics show. Instead, the U.S. labor pool has become flooded with low level, menial laborers, whose desperation for work of any sort has undercut the wages paid at the lower end of the labor market, which in turn made it more difficult for native born American citizens to escape poverty. An estimated 1,880,000 American workers are displaced from their jobs every year by immigration. The cost for providing welfare and assistance to these Americans is over $15 billion a year. (Associated Press, 1997)
Holmes’ purpose in conducting his fieldwork with the migrant workers (specifically the Triqui of Mexico) of California and Washington fruit agriculture was to gain understanding from a perspective many do not consider and that has not been assessed in this way before. Similarly, the goal of this book was to pass that understanding to the common reader, the average American, those who are affected directly and those who are believe they are unaffected by the migrants of American agriculture—and to distinguish that they are not unaffected. Doing so creates the potential for change, even if by only a small factor like
As cheap labor forces are removed, firms and suppliers that utilized this cheap work should theoretically move towards other workers. Yet, what many economists have failed to recognize is that these immigrants typically work menial tasks that can easily be accomplished through technological development and investment into machinery. As Appelbaum mentions, when the federal government banned the use of farm workers from Mexico… tomato growers did not enlist Americans...they replaced the lost workers with tomato-picking machines.” (Appelbaum) This example relays what actually
The agricultural industry in the United States accounts for 4% of the economy. Without the illegal immigrants, there wouldn’t be any industrial crop trade, which means people wouldn’t be able to purchase vegetables at supermarkets. In terms of overall numbers, The Department of Labor reports that of the 2.5 million farm workers in the U.S., over half (53 percent) are illegal immigrants. Growers and labor unions put this figure at 70 percent. Research by UCLA Professor Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda shows that legalizing our nation’s undocumented immigrant population and reforming our legal immigration system would add a cumulative $1.5 trillion to U.S. GDP over a decade. Undocumented immigrants also pay taxes, although they pay 37% less than the average American citizen, they contribute to the US
Employers are able to make money because production is fast and cheap for them. The Pew Hispanic Center concluded in 2001 classified an estimated 5.3 million workers in the U.S. as unauthorized workers in the labor force. These jobs include 700,000 restaurant workers, 250,000 household workers, and 620,000 construction workers (Murphy). This is a whole lot of cheap labor, and without it the U.S. would suffer. If 620,000 construction workers were gone, home improvement projects across the nation would quickly be hard to find. With a large number of these immigrants also earning wages working on farms, Americans would find much of their produce rotting in fields due to the lack of workers (Murphy 2). The positive effect of these immigrants on the nation’s labor force is well supported by Americans; however, the opinion of those rejecting these workers is accepted and taken into account as well.
The most avidly debated effects of immigration involve the United States’ economy and labor force. It is estimated that there are 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States today, and their impact on the economy can be perceived as positive as well as negative. The overall effect is unclear, and this essay will present both sides of the debate.
The United States is well known as the land of opportunity. Many immigrants come here to work and live a better life. For immigrants that cannot enter the country legally, the end result is to enter the country illegally. The majority of undocumented immigrants “do often take some of the country’s least attractive job, such as agriculture” (Davidson).
The United States of America has always been a refuge where poor and oppressed people from the far corners of the world can come to begin a new life. Much of the nation’s allure to prospective immigrants is in its promise of equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, or color. But the pressures of rising unemployment rates, congested cities, a crippled healthcare system, and national debt skyrocketing out of control have caused America to defend her borders against the influx of immigrants that threaten her already ailing economy. Still, despite all the heightened security measures incorporated in recent decades, a steady stream of immigrants continue to enter the country illegally. The Washington Times reports that there are