Summary: Undocumented Immigrant Workers

Undocumented families arrive in the United States expecting a better life. They come, not knowing what to expect from a foreign country that people speak, so great about. Once they arrive to the United States, their lives start to change. Problems begin to arise. Problems such as, money, language barrier, work, food, etc. Latino families live, day in and day out, trying to avoid the fact that life may become more difficult, than they expected. Everything started back in the 90’s, when families from Latin America began to settle in the United States for a better life. Many men and women from those families did not know how to do much, other than what a handyman was capable of doing. Handymen would like fixing and building things. Families from those foreign countries, had the idea of seeking

The United States of America is a nation of many immigrant people. People come from all over the world, leaving their homeland and sometimes leaving their loved ones to escape deep poverty and violence. When immigrants come to America, in their dreamland they face many problems such as language, education, employment, legal problems, housing, food, and health issues. Immigrants do all kinds of low-paying jobs. They clean houses for a living. Some immigrants come with very small businesses. Many immigrants contribute their skills, knowledge, and education to improve the U.S. economy.

The authors of “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “My life as an Undocumented Immigrant” both use rhetoric appeal in their letters to society. Jose Antonio Vargas uses it to tell his story of being an unwanted American. Martin Luther King Jr uses it to tell the leader of church to keep fighting for their equality just as the Declaration of Independencies states “all men are created equal”. Vargas and King both had task that they each handled differently and similar.

A common biased opinion on immigration is that immigrants coming to the United States are taking American jobs. According to the Immigration Policy Center, “research indicates there is little connection between immigrant labor and unemployment rates of native-born workers.” The jobs that immigrants are taking are the low-budget jobs that Americans do not want. They not only get less pay, but also less benefits in comparison to American workers. In fact, according to Forbes, “illegal immigrants actually raise wages for documented/native workers.” America is considered to be more productive when we have more trading partners, Undocumented workers with limited English skills allows more American workers

Throughout the various books that we have read, one of the many concepts that stood out for me was the well-being and healthcare of undocumented workers. Due to the current criminalization of immigration, most undocumented workers live in a constant state of fear and anxiety. This really made me think about the psychological and somatic outcomes of fear, stigma, trauma, and prejudice for undocumented workers. This brought into question the structural and symbolic violence that causes undocumented workers to suffer from mental and physical illnesses and how the treatment, if any, is administered.

Contrary to what most Americans believe, illegal immigrants are not causing our economy to weaken, in fact, they are causing just the opposite. Immigration enforcement has increased greatly in the past few years and undocumented immigrant workers are being deported much more frequently. America refuses to recognize the positive impact these illegal workers have on our economy. Without the surplus of illegal immigrant workers in the U.S. our country’s economy would suffer greatly. Illegal immigrant workers help our economy flourish and they positively influence the American workforce.

In the United States illegal immigration benefits the economy and growth, but also creates more problems such as inviting more immigrants. According to the article Undocumented Immigrants Should Receive Social Services by Melissa Marietta confirms “Immigrants to this country are not fighting for a student loan or access to a free clinic; they are fighting for the opportunities that they are denied in their native country” (Marietta). Most people look for a better future and head towards the opportunities illegal immigrants recognize United States as a land of opportunities. There are many working opportunities such as mining, railroad, lumbering, and construction in the United States. For example, a common job for illegal immigrants is the construction field. The

An issue that many undocumented immigrants face in the U.S. is unemployment and economical disparities. It is important to focus on the challenges Latino immigrants encounter in the workforce. Immigrants do not account for the majority of Latino workers in the United States. Since the recession the economy has not restored all the jobs that were lost. Jobs being added are hardly keeping ahead the other supply of workers. Most of the jobs recovered are being occupied by U.S. born workers. According to the article Latino Jobs Growth Driven By U.S. Born, Rakesh Kochhar states “ U.S.-born Hispanics gained 2.3 million jobs in the recovery, compared with a loss of 37,000 jobs in the recession. For Hispanic immigrants, the 453,000 jobs gained in

The number of undocumented workers in the United States has increased since the rise of our economy. An undocumented worker is a person in a country, like the United States, without the right documents to be proven to be allowed in the country. Many reasons are blamed for the increase of these undocumented workers. Undocumented workers increased because the change in law of the United States made it impossible for foreign workers to go to the country (Zoltan). These laws made a chain of problems that the United States is still suffering today. One example of a problem is the decrease of American jobs. The problems of the United States caused by undocumented workers can be solved by supporting Mexico and other countries to make more jobs

Illegal immigration has caused a lot of controversy within the United States. The media has influenced our society to make us believe that illegal immigrants are horrible people. One thing that I have learned throughout life is, “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains (Rousseau 4).” This sums up how society dictates our lives and limits us to what the media wants to us to believe. Whether it is legal or illegal, everybody should be treated equally. Illegal immigrants might always end up with the short end of the stick, but they heavily support the US economy. They contribute by paying taxes every year. In addition, they adopt difficult low wage jobs that are not of interest to the average American.

“The United States has been built primarily by immigrants, most seeking a better life for themselves and their families though some type of industrious behavior” (Sanders 58). When many people think of illegal immigrants, they think of those people that are only here to steal Americans’ jobs. They do not think about the struggle that illegal immigrants go through to get to this country and stay in the country as well. Being illegal in this country closes many doors, but there are a few that remain open. It is hard to know what they exactly go through if no one has ever walked their path. They are here for a reason, to find something better for themselves and their families. Undocumented immigrants do not come to the United States to purposely steal other people’s jobs, they come here for a better living and not the social services that they could receive (Marietta 61). These people are not seeking to actually be helped but if help is offered they will take it. Undocumented immigrants leave their homes because they want to live the American dream. If they come to America and have a better job with a decent salary then their lives will improve. It will be easier for them to support their families. Although many people believe illegal immigrants are only in the U.S to take away Americans’ jobs, they should receive social services because they are a part of our community, need help establishing a better life and contribute to our workforce.

There are many that disagree with undocumented immigrants being in the United States because they think that most immigrants are either drug dealers, or gang members, but most of these immigrants are just here to live the “American Dream.” They are here to be able to be more than they could be in their own country. They want to be something and be able to accomplish what many of their family members could not.

We see immigrants in the restaurant industry, not as chefs but as dishwashers and busboys. We see them in the agriculture sector as migrant workers doing literally backbreaking work of weeding and picking our fruits and vegetables so we can purchase them at low prices. We use immigrants as gardeners and groundskeepers and expect them to work outside, in Phoenix, in 100 plus degrees. I don’t think any of "us" could tolerate the conditions that they work under. They clean our schools, our offices and our stores. They get security jobs on the shifts that American workers don’t want, night watchmen. They take the construction jobs from companies that avoid paying union wages. These opportunities are presented by American companies that are only interested in their bottom line. The desire to hire immigrant workers, documented or undocumented, is out of the greed of profit-driven corporate America. The fact that Immigrant laborers are desperate for work is exploited by the very companies that promote lower prices for consumers, American consumers. An irony of sorts. We pay lower wages so we can have lower prices at the expense of the employment of others who were making more money doing the same job. Since these American workers are now being paid the lower wage or none at all, it helps that the prices for these items and services are lower. Otherwise how else could they afford them?

Immigration is a serious case, that most people interpret in all the wrong ways. People who come into the US illegally do not intent to harm anyone; their only purpose is to find a better life for themselves and for their family. These people sacrifice themselves crossing the border, riding dangerous trains, and leaving everything behind to have fresh start. Regardless of all of this, they still have the motivation to come into an unknown country to work minimum wage and support their family. Migrant workers play a very important role in the US economy, they should not be treated as undeserving individuals just for the sole fact that they are immigrants. Most of them are qualified workers who pay taxes and contribute to America’s well-being.

Many people argue that illegal immigration is acceptable. They encourage it because it can benefit the economy. Some individuals can be oblivious to this matter, because they don’t notice the effects. Basically, illegals undercut the labor market’s mandated floor, pulling the rug out from American workers. (Morrison 2017) Undocumented workers do not compete with skilled laborers, but have the ability to allow them to have other opportunities that are less tedious. Some illegal immigrants are willing to accept jobs that are difficult, providing