Identification and Critique of Competing Perspectives In contrast to the acceptance of these migrant workers in our country, there are those who believe they should be scouted out and deported. The main reason behind this opinion is the fact that they do work jobs. Although the economy is in a better place than the recent past, there is still many unemployed people who are looking for work. However, most Americans would not be willing to work up to twelve hour days in the sun picking produce. As an expert in the topic, Vanda Felbab-Brow, stated, “the impact of immigrant labor on the wages of native-born workers is low… However, undocumented workers often work the unpleasant, back-breaking jobs that native-born workers are not willing to do”. …show more content…
As previously stated, most everyday American citizens are not willing to perform these jobs, causing a labor shortage. With millions invested into farmland, the loss of potential harvesters scares these farmers that they may lose the returns on their investments. A fourth-generation farmer was quoted as saying, “If we sent all these people back, it would be a total disaster”. (Dickerson and Medina) It is clear to see that the people who rely on the migrant workers understand the brevity of what a mass deportation could be and through this understanding see the need to speak on behalf of …show more content…
It is clear to see that these migrant workers do not bear a burden to the economy, but rather help to fuel it with a specific focus on the agricultural sector. We have relied on their labor for so long, there would most likely be a giant drop in US production if we completely removed these individuals from the equation. The findings show that neither the farmers nor the unemployed are pushing heavily for the deportation of these agricultural workers and they are the two outside parties in which this issue centers around. Yet even if a mass deportation did not come to fruition, President Trump has done his share to denote and devalue the worth of these hard-working people. Immigrant Christian Hernandez recalled, “The minute he decided to say we’re all criminals and rapists, it was like a bucket of cold water being thrown at you”. (Castillo) These men and women who have kept low profiles and made an honest living still face the harsh criticism as if they were actively trying to ruin the USA economy. To forcefully relocate these people back to a country they felt unsafe in, or possibly have np memory of seems highly unnecessary when they are actively contributing members to the
In the U. S today, the approximated population of undocumented immigrants stands at averagely 11 million. Therefore, this has created a hot debate in Congress about the action to take over the undocumented immigrants. Those opposed to illegal immigrants suggest that, their stay in the United States effects U.S citizens on the job market negatively . In addition, illegal immigrants are viewed in certain quarters as takers in the sense that illegal immigrants benefit more from public resources than the american-born citizens of the U.S. However, the reality is that immigrants contribute positively to the U.S economy and pay significantly into the system compared to what they send back home.
The critics argue that significant numbers of illegal immigrants harm the economy by displacing low-skilled natives, and depressing the wages but in reality, who works in farming occupations? Who works in cleaning occupations? Who works in food preparation occupations? Last but not least, who works on constructions and countless other heavy and dangerous jobs? The immigrants do. If one is truthful and honest, he/she will agree with one on that. The majority of the native Americans do not like to work on these jobs. As for some of the companies, it will be tough for them to sustain without illegal immigrants. According to Peter Katel in his article “Illegal Immigration,” it states that, “Indeed, some sectors of the economy might have a hard time functioning without illegal workers,” which supports Pilardi’s stance.
“I do not believe that many American citizens . . . really wanted to create such immense human suffering . . . in the name of battling illegal immigration” (Carr 70). For hundreds of years, there has been illegal immigration starting from slavery, voluntary taking others from different countries to work in different parts of the world, to one of the most popular- Mexican immigration to the United States. Mexican immigration has been said to be one of the most common immigration acts in the world. Although the high demand to keep immigrants away from crossing the border, Mexicans that have immigrated to the U.S have made an impact on the American culture because of their self sacrifices on the aspiration to cross over. Then conditions
In Marcelo M. Suarez- Orozco and Carola Suarez- Orozco’s article “How Immigrants became “other” Marcelo and Carola reference the hardships and struggles of undocumented immigrants while at the same time argue that no human being should be discriminated as an immigrant. There are millions of undocumented people that risk their lives by coming to the United States all to try and make a better life for themselves. These immigrants are categorized and thought upon as terrorist, rapists, and overall a threat to Americans. When in reality they are just as hard working as American citizens. This article presents different cases in which immigrants have struggled to try and improve their life in America. It overall reflects on the things that immigrants go through. Immigrants come to the United States with a purpose and that is to escape poverty. It’s not simply crossing the border and suddenly having a great life. These people lose their families and go years without seeing them all to try and provide for them. They risk getting caught and not surviving trying to make it to the other side. Those that make it often don’t know where to go as they are unfamiliar. They all struggle and every story is different, but to them it’s worth the risk. To work the miserable jobs that Americans won’t. “I did not come to steal from anyone. I put my all in the jobs I take. And I don’t see any of the Americans wanting to do this work” (668). These
The United States cannot afford to lose the economic gains that come from immigrant labor. The economy would be suffering a greater loss if it weren’t for immigrants and their labor contributions, especially during the 2008 U.S. recession. The U.S. economy would most likely worsen if it weren’t for the strong labor force immigrants have provided this country. Despite the mostly negative views native-born Americans have towards immigrants and the economy, their strong representation in the labor forces continues today. Immigrants aren’t taking “American” jobs, they are taking the jobs that Americans don’t want (Delener & Ventilato, 2008). Immigrants contribute to various aspects of the economy, including brining valuable skills to their jobs, contributing to the cost of living through taxes, and the lacked use of welfare, healthcare, and social security when compared to native-born Americans, showing that the United States cannot afford to lose the contribution immigrants bring into the economy.
There are over twelve million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Many came to America to work, go to school, or be reunited with family members who are already residing here. Most migrants want to work and pursue the “American dream”. There are many barriers for residents to achieving success at the work and life balance. The immigrants fall back on public assistance to support them.
As people immigrated to the United States, legally and illegally, particularly Hispanic workers, they began to look for jobs to provide for their families. They took jobs that Americans did not want: they accepted the low-paying, physically-demanding, and temporal agriculture jobs. Since many did not speak English and were uneducated, some even illiterate, they were easy targets for farm owners to exploit. Immigrant workers were often not paid, had low wages, and because of such conditions, some even died. In addition, they also lived and worked in appalling conditions, some workplaces did not even have suitab...
Recently, the U.S. government has been cracking down on illegal aliens and employers are in danger of raids and lawsuits for hiring illegal immigrants. Many employers either do not require any documentation or accept copies of documents (Rousmaniere 24-25), regarding legalization. Immigrants are desired employees and companies continue to hire them even with the risks. By working for lower wages, they keep the costs of goods and services down; the illegal alien work force helps improve the U.S. economy (Nadadur 1037-1052). However, illegal immigrants can have a negative effect when they encroach on American job opportunities (Carter 8). Some economists argue that illegal aliens actually help the host-country’s economy by adding to the labor force. However, other economists state that too many illegal...
Those who support immigrants being protected by the law believe that immigrants help the economy by creating lower wages which enables companies to make better profits. According to Becky Akers and Donald J. Boudreaux, immigrants “should be allowed to contribute to the United States economy in the Constitutional and legal precepts that guarantee all immigrants the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness in the United States” (22). If immigrants were not here in the United States, the jobs they do might not even get done by anyone else (Isidore 103). Immigrants fill up the jobs that many Americans do not want. “Specialization deepens. Workers’ productivity soars, forcing employers to compete for their time by offering higher pay” (Akers and Boudreaux 25). As researcher Ethan Lewis said, “Economics professor, Patricia Cortes, studied the way immigrants impact prices in 25 large United States metropolitan areas. She discovered that a 10-percent increase in immigration lowered the price...
Immigration has been a problem for so many years. This issue began in the 19th century and yet is still a major problem in the U.S. Illegal immigrants don't have many rights living in the U.S. They have a hard life because they don't have the same opportunities as a u.s citizen has. Many of these people get treated unfairly simply because of the fact that they are illegal. There is cases where they have been treated aggressively by the authority. Everyone needs equality no matter where they are from. Most of these immigrants are latinos that come from central america. People from the united states are allowed to go and have a nice vacation in these places but yet those there have to cross a border and put their life at risk just to have a better life. Why do these people have to risk their lives in look for something better. The united states promises equality and this is what attracts others and its sad that they can’t come in legally without having to risk their lives. The ones that are here are working hard and most of them do no harm. Deportation should not be used on illegal immigrants.
Considering the ideas that both authors have brought to the table, I have concluded that in order to make progress in solving the problem of undocumented immigrants, we as a country must decide what’s best for our country. We either look at undocumented immigrants as an asset or a parasite. America is the ‘land of opportunity’ where millions of people want to live there and pursue the ‘American Dream’. We should not let people stop from achieving their dreams. But on the other hand, a quantity of immigrants leave their country because it does not have “stable democracies and free markets” that “ensure economic growth, rising standards of living and thus, lots of jobs”, because the countries of these immigrants “birth rates and native populations fall”.
The lack of enforcement of immigration policies will cause the greatest impact on America’s economy. One of the most controversial topics is how immigrants affect jobs and wages. Many argue that immigrants help the economy by working for the people that will not, but in reality they are taking Americans jobs and legal immigrants that have earned their rights. The main issue is wages: illegal immigrants are desperate for jobs and will do anything. Businessmen will take advantage of this and pay them significantly lower wages. Cheap labor negatively affects other workers. Studies show that immigrants push down wages and may cause other workers to leave a certain industry.
Some citizens believe that illegal immigrants should not be able to work in the United States for any reason, while others believe illegal immigrants are helpful to our economy. People against illegal immigration think jobs are being lost and this group has a growing voice in politics. The opposition against illegal workers feels it is eliminating opportunities for those who are already citizens. By permitting illegal immigrants to infiltrate this country, ignoring all of the procedures and systems that are in place to regulate, it is indeed committing an unfair and biased way of dealing with immigrants.(West 428)
... to exist in our days, needs to be changed more if we ever want to achieve a true progression in our economy and society where not only the rich get the biggest piece of the pie. After researching a little and analyzing numbers and statistics from the past and present, fifty-one years have done two basic things to the harvesters of shame, their wages have improved a little bit and the ethnicity of the workers has changed from poor whites and blacks to poor Hispanics, bringing new factors into play such as the pros and cons that hiring immigrant workers bring to companies. Even though, these potential improvements appear to be substantial and beneficial shifting the views many workers and farmers had in the past, not all people receive the same treatments and benefits some companies share, thousands of immigrant workers have become the new mute slaves of America.
For years undocumented immigration has been attacked and been stigmatized as being a burden to our economy. Fighting for survival and existence does not come from one’s own ideology, but ones experiences. The experiences of the undocumented community has spurred a movement to break the preferred readings set upon them by society as being, job stealers, a burden to the economy, criminals, and so many more. The performance by Denice Froham at the Mitu Town hall is just one of many texts that are oppositional readings that are trying to break stigmas. The main point of this performance is to highlight the struggles of undocumented people in the United States.