America is Addicted to Low-Wage Migrant Workers


Unauthorized workers are about 15 percent of those employed in construction. Photo Credit: Jason Henry for The New York Times

It is the demand for a commodity that creates a supply. Why are drugs pouring into the United States from Mexico? American consumers crave them.

The same is true of Mexican workers coming to labor in the farm fields, construction, hotels, and restaurants of America.  American companies crave them. Most are undocumented. They are a part of the labor force. They work for low wages.  Business experts say that without them, the cost of goods and services would go up. They are the foundation of industries. The experts go further. Companies build their products and profits on the backs of these workers.

An expert stated what he believes would happen if there was a real cutoff in illegal immigration. The impact, he said, would fall not only on immigrants. The U.S. economy would contract. The work of immigrants creates jobs for higher paid workers.

He continued, “Some sectors, like construction, agriculture, housing, and personal services would be reduced. There would be companies closing and relocating. There would be jobs lost. There will be towns and cities that would see half their population disappear.”

He concluded, “It definitely could trigger a recession. We are talking about a lot of job loss.”

Are Americans waiting to fill these jobs? Today is a time of low unemployment in the U.S. “This would be the worst time to lose undocumented workers. There are no unemployed Americans ready to do their jobs.”

An observer says of the manual labor trades.  “There might be people who would take these jobs at much higher wages. But it is not clear those jobs would exist at much higher wages.”

The agriculture industry has begun to invest in automation and robotics. Picking lettuce by hand may soon be a thing of the past.

A spokesman for the nursery business said, “These workers are often long-tenured and skilled. “They are nothing short of vital to farms, businesses, and rural economies.”

Where do the current undocumented migrants work? They are about one-quarter of all workers in farming, fishing and forestry. They are 15 percent of those employed in construction. Construction is the industry that uses the most undocumented immigrant workers.

Nearly a quarter of restaurant workers in 2016 were foreign-born. A large share of them are undocumented.

President Donald Trump is hostile to undocumented workers. He has vowed to erect a wall to keep out undocumented immigrants.

Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. Photo Credit: Christopher Gregory for The New York Times

But, four workers at the Trump Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.  recently came forward as undocumented. These former employees at the golf club said they used counterfeit Social Security and green cards to get hired.

Many experts believe America needs undocumented workers. They say these workers are part of the labor force. Without them, the U.S. economy would suffer.

American companies do have a way of making sure workers are legal. It is the E-Verify system. But not all companies use the system. For example, Trump’s country club did not.

More legal or seasonal migration would help address the issue. But that is not the direction in which America is going.

Higher wages would help attract U.S. workers, but that is not the direction employers are going. U.S. employers are trying to move from manual labor workers to machines.

No matter how undocumented workers got here, America is addicted to using their labor.

Source: The New York Times December 11, 2018

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *