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Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

On a hot summer work day, Teodoro Gutierrez and his crew were out in the fields picking grapes. After several hours of hard work, it was finally time for a break. The foreman provided his workers with some water, but, to Gutierrez’ dismay, in the glass are brown flakes of dirt. So he asked the foreman for more suitable drinking water. Rather than provide cleaner water, the foreman threw away the dirty water and left the workers with no water for the rest of the sweltering day.

According to United Farm Workers of America (UFWA) website, this treatment isn’t unusual for many of the migrant workers who take part in the United States Guest Worker Program. In fact, according to the organization, abuse is commonplace.

Many U.S. citizens are angered by illegal immigrants who are able to find work when U.S. citizens face an unemployment rate of more than 8.8 percent. According to the U.S. Department of State website, around 44 percent of Mexico’s population lives below the poverty line. Thus for many Mexican families, taking advantage of the Guest Worker Program is their only option.

Despite popular opinion, The Guest Worker Program is beneficial for both Mexican and American citizens.

The fact is, the Guest Worker Program allows Mexican citizens to fill low-paying positions that are difficult to fill, such as crop picking, yard work and construction. Illegal immigrants typically earn significantly less than minimum wage.

In an article written by the Center for Immigration Studies, illegal immigrants, on average, bring in a total of $18,952 per year. That is less than half the U.S. citizen’s average salary per year.

Although this is not an ideal situation for the immigrants, the business that employs them can take the money saved from the immigrant’s low pay and expand their business. An expansion of business could lead to more exporting of the business’ goods, resulting in a boost in economy.

Another way Americans benefit from the work of illegal immigrants is through the price of goods. Since immigrant workers are paid less than American citizens, the employers of the immigrants can charge less for their products and still make a profit.

In 1962, Cesar Chavez founded the UFWA, now the largest farm workers union in the nation. Last year they launched the Take Our Jobs campaign. The campaign offered and continues to offer the jobs that illegal immigrants have to U.S. citizens. According to Arturo Rodriguez, union president of the UFWA, the campaign was designed to prove that immigrants are not actually taking jobs that Americans would want.

"Only a few dozen have really followed through with the [application] process," Rodriguez told Aaron Smith of CNN. Rodriguez added most applicants lose interest when they realize the working conditions and low wages.

Illegal immigrants should be admired for their work ethic. To support their family they work long hours for little pay. This is the kind of determination that should inspire people to do their best to support their own family. In addition, Americans should not take their own job or financial situation for granted.

Opponents say immigrants drain our health care system. The Kaiser foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on major health care issues in the United States, released a fact sheet in 2003 about immigrants and health care. In the fact sheet, it states: “Even though non-citizens are more likely to be without a usual source of care…they are less likely to go to emergency rooms than citizens.”

People should start welcoming the immigrants into our country. They are bigger part of our lives than we realize. Americans should be thankful for the opportunities that are at our disposal.

Between 13 and 17 percent of United States citizens live below the poverty line. Mexico has twice the number of people below the poverty line, and these people have fewer chances to improve their status than we do.

When Mexico’s citizens are given the opportunity to come to America to earn money for their family, who may be worse off than we are, we get angry at them for taking our jobs.

But, should we really be angry with the immigrants that are here to make money, or the employers who exploit them?

Contact Andrew Rose at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

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