In an earlier post about Planet Taco, I listed a quote that described the “underworld” in which U.S. Mexican Immigrants live:
Mexican migrant workers face an equally precarious situation in the United States. Congress simply does not allocate employment-based visas to satisfy the demand for manual labor in the U.S. economy. Moreover, the nations immigration enforcement system has long focused on workers rather than on the employers or consumers who benefit from their labor. As a result, migrants are forced into an underworld of illegality, where they earn significantly less than the minimum wage and have little recourse to the protections of occupational safety or child labor laws. (215)
In this post, I want to add some media and data that will help contextualize the information Pilcher eloquently gives in his passage. First, take a look at this chart, which illustrates how difficult the path to citizenship really is for an unskilled worker:
As one can see from the multiple, meandering questions and path steps, there are a lot of hoops to jump through to get here legally. If the above image is too small to read completely, check out the larger version at this link. According to Pilcher, “Congress simply does not allocate employment-based visas to satisfy the demand for manual labor in the U.S. economy.” This argument refutes the common “They take our jobs” mantra that many anti-immigrationists tout. An article on xpatnation.com goes a step further and argues that immigration, on the whole, actually enriches America and creates jobs, as many immigrants are entrepreneurs. They use this image to enhance their point:
In the case of Mexican immigrants, this entrepreneurial spirit can be clearly seen in the restaurant business. Local Mexican eateries from California to New York have skyrocketed in availability and popularity as Mexican immigration has grown in the U.S. And having those restaurants not only feeds American bellies, but also creates openings for employment.
But Pilcher doesn’t just subtly refute claims about job stealing. He goes further to assert that there is an underworld to which immigrants are subjected, one that does not support them financially, socially, or emotionally. The harsh reality of undocumented immigration is that those who come here without appropriate documentation also come here without any of the legal protections that should be guaranteed to all humans. That, unfortunately, opens the opportunity for underground abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. In the clip below, Aviva Chomsky, a professor, speaks to this exploitation:
This exploitation of Mexican workers also goes beyond the realm of the U.S. and extends into Mexico, where many U.S. corporations have outsourced their work. This is especially true of the food industry, which relies on Mexican labor to feed U.S. mouths. Vice created a great video that explains these near-enslaved conditions:
Pilcher’s quote brings a lot of interesting points to light, and investigating the underworld of Mexican labor is crucial to anyone looking deeper into immigration issues.
March 11, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Wow, this is a serious post, great job. The blogger voices is really coming on strong, I encourage you to keep one if you don’t already. It can also be the space where you archive your published work, in addition to your other projects you’ve worked on. Congrats on the WRD Spring gallery. I knew you were already a WordPress master.
Connected to what you point out with immigration, indeed, you’re on to exploring a topic that I research, and one that has particular political significance at the moment. There are groups of undocumented students here at UK and at U of L who are educating folks about this precarious situation, while also becoming activists who are undocumented and unafraid. In fact, I just met at this writing retreat an activist who intentionally turned herself in to authorities so she could organize undocumented folks in detention centers. These young folks give me hope, even with the nasty rhetoric that dehumanizes the people who make this nation great . . . because it already is, it doesn’t need to be great again.
*Btw, I have you down for all the blog and IG posts, this round, great job!
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