After reading Aviva Chomsky’s book Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal, I realized that the way we react to the immigration system in the United States is completely hypocritical, as is the way we treat immigrants inside of our own country. This hypocrisy is largely due to the spread of misinformation on the issue, and the only way to fight it is with facts.
EMPLOYMENT AND LEGISLATION The classic complaint against the immigrant workforce is that they “take our jobs.” It’s a phrase we’ve all heard at least once or twice. To understand just how unjustified this claim is, we have to take a closer look at these working immigrants. What jobs are they really taking? The agriculture industry is built on the backbreaking labor of an immigrant …show more content…
They expect them to understand little about U.S. customs and the english language, traits that make it to easier exploit immigrants and their labor. From the very foundation of the United States, our workforce, and the agriculture industry especially, has benefitted immensely from workers that were easy to exploit. Slaves were completely responsible for the wealth of plantation owners, and even after the abolishment of slavery, black codes were put in place to keep them in a system of labor. These workers were taken advantage of and exploited even as the laws changed, in order to benefit those in power. The rules for the immigrant workforce mirrors …show more content…
Realizing how little we know about this topic, despite it being a huge talking point in our politics, blew me away. I think it’s extremely important that to be well-informed, but that’s just not the case with immigration. Why is it important to be informed about immigration? Because it’s affecting lives.Day after day people are risking thier lives by crossing the border facing starvation, dehyrdration and even gangs in the search of somtihng better for themselves. Families are being separated, and people 's jobs and livelihoods are at stake. Not to mention, immigration is the very foundation of our country. We are a nation born from European immigrants and yet we turn our back on immigrants
EMPLOYMENT AND LEGISLATION The classic complaint against the immigrant workforce is that they “take our jobs.” It’s a phrase we’ve all heard at least once or twice. To understand just how unjustified this claim is, we have to take a closer look at these working immigrants. What jobs are they really taking? The agriculture industry is built on the backbreaking labor of an immigrant …show more content…
They expect them to understand little about U.S. customs and the english language, traits that make it to easier exploit immigrants and their labor. From the very foundation of the United States, our workforce, and the agriculture industry especially, has benefitted immensely from workers that were easy to exploit. Slaves were completely responsible for the wealth of plantation owners, and even after the abolishment of slavery, black codes were put in place to keep them in a system of labor. These workers were taken advantage of and exploited even as the laws changed, in order to benefit those in power. The rules for the immigrant workforce mirrors …show more content…
Realizing how little we know about this topic, despite it being a huge talking point in our politics, blew me away. I think it’s extremely important that to be well-informed, but that’s just not the case with immigration. Why is it important to be informed about immigration? Because it’s affecting lives.Day after day people are risking thier lives by crossing the border facing starvation, dehyrdration and even gangs in the search of somtihng better for themselves. Families are being separated, and people 's jobs and livelihoods are at stake. Not to mention, immigration is the very foundation of our country. We are a nation born from European immigrants and yet we turn our back on immigrants