Undocumented: Taken Advantage of No More

Throughout the process of writing my blog, I have tried to bring to the forefront some of the dilemmas Latinos are forced to cope with in the United States. This post will be no different. The issue of immigration alone is a highly contested subject; when you add a sinking economy to the mix, it becomes more than just a Monday morning conversation around the water cooler. Due to our economic downturn, people’s patience and rationality have seemed to lesson. As a result, socieites mentality has evolved into “us against them.” Immigrants are viewed as the “other,” and sometimes even seen as insignificant. Citizens already face financial burdens that they can’t possibly meet with the current state of the job market, and things don't seem to be getting better with the currrent state of things. Americans seem to have the notion that immigrants (legal and illegal) are here to not only steal their jobs, but to also lower wages for everyone involved. Somehow, “illegals” are to blame for everything that is wrong with America, including crime and our current economic troubles. This debate is heated, and while advocates are pushing for legislation that protects civil rights for everyone including immigrants, opponents instead argue that America needs to take care of their own. Here I have commented on two posts, “Immigrant Worker’s win Back Pay” by Susan Ferriss of the Sacramento Bee and “Trade off on Immigration Reform” by the news report staff from New America Media. Both posts involve undocumented immigrants and legislation that could be useful in reducing obstacles that they face. New laws are needed to increase the assurance that civil rights are not being withheld simply because of someone’s citizenship status. These posts argue for immigration reform from slightly different standpoints, nevertheless they are both effective arguments. My comments in response can be read either by clicking on the links to the actual websites or by viewing them below.

“Immigrant Worker’s Win Back Pay”
Comment

Thank you for your eye opening post on the situation that thousands of immigrant Latino construction workers were dealing with along the Central Coast, Central Valley, and here in Southern California. I am appalled at the fact that laborers attempted to earn an honest day’s work, while employers decided to treat them as slaves, withholding their pay and at the same time committing labor violations that in turn violated their civil rights. The fact that workers initiated the whole investigation into the wrongdoing by their employers speaks volumes to the will and determination that these people had. Because of them, 3100 workers (see right) will benefit from over 8.5 million dollars in back pay. Gladys Limon of the Mexican American Legal defense and Educational Fund’s office in Los Angeles stated, “We hope that this sends a strong message that all workers have rights”. Although this may have been one of the single biggest class-action law suits in California’s history, it by no means is the first and probably not the last. Another law suit that has brought attention to the ordeal that immigrants face was the decision handed down by a Superior Court judge, awarding nearly 1.28 million dollars in settlement money for dairy workers in Central Valley. Personally, I am glad that the law is being enforced regardless of legal status of the person. This sentiment was repeated by an unlikely source, from Minuteman Project leader Jim Gilchrist who said, “The Lawyers are doing the right thing going after these slave-trading employers”. Even though he feels adamant about the deportation of illegal immigrants, he stills sees the need to uphold the law. Although laws do exist that protect the civil rights of all workers, many are rendered helpless. They fear deportation more than the violations that they endure. Employers have this knowledge and use it to their advantage; they keep exploiting the workers and often use their illegal status against them. They are constantly threatened with being reported to the authorities and the eventual deportation. You have a wonderful blog that has current information regarding immigration issues, while having vital links that can inform the public on what to do in order to get involved. I have only one question, what do you think is the solution to this problem? Do we continue try and chase down the perpetrators, or do we allow more immigrants legal status to curtail the exploitation by employers?

“Trade-Off” on Immigration Reform
Comment

Thank you for your informative post regarding the proposed legalization of millions of undocumented workers (see left). The proposal seems easy enough, set in motion a path to make it more attainable for immigrants to become citizens. This initiative would reduce the number of temporary foreign workers and allow more undocumented workers to remain in the United States as nationalized citizens. In this “trade-off” organized labor wins, but businesses that depend on temporary labor would suffer. This is would not be the only problem; you would also be alienating the American worker. If you bring in millions of undocumented people and make them citizens, they are now competing for the same number of jobs with twice the amount of people. The economy is bad and unemployment is on the rise, which are factors as to why legislation like this just stalls in congress. Despite the before mentioned, there is hope. The fact of the matter is that the Democrats now have more power in Washington and this could be a sign of good things to come. Along with renewed enthusiasm, advocates are hopeful that they will now be able to win support from the AFL-CIO (initially opposed such legislation), and get this put on a ballot and passed. Ali Noorani, director of the new national Immigration Forum, was quoted as saying, “Last time the coalition was not quite as solid as we would have hoped”, and he believes that this was the reason for the defeat the first time around. Things have now changed, and he believes that it is a whole new ballgame, Ana Avendano shares his optimism, she sees a “sea change” on the horizon and attributes it to the economy and the Democrats’ numbers in the white house. Although president Obama had promised to promote immigration reform, he has yet to act on it. Advocates for this proposition plan to use 18 million dollars to promote their cause and at the same time remind Democrats that the Latino population helped elect a Democratic president in 2008. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez said it best when, “And our communities expect you (the president) to take time out for our issues”. I have a couple of questions for you: Do you think it is fair to put laborers on the “fast track” to citizenship when some people have been waiting for a number of years? Do you believe that legislation calling for the immediate naturalization of millions of immigrants will pass?