The Root of the Problem

Illegals. All of us heavily rely on undocumented immigrants directly or indirectly.  Undocumented immigrants stealthily tread around their inability to work legally. But how can a person hold a job without even showing a valid ID to a prospective employer? And I’m not talking about in-and-out cash jobs. I’m talking about jobs with established, well-known companies. The immigrant is not to blame when the demand for cheap, illegal labor is so high. The companies that hire these immigrants do so fully aware of this infringement and the potential consequences if they are caught (civil fines, criminal penalties, and debarment from government contracts).

Drugs. Whether you consume them or not, I can guarantee that a friend, neighbor, classmate, or co-worker does. They consume cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine, or even heroin. While there are operating clandestine labs where devious chemists craft these illegal drugs inside U.S. territory, the overwhelming majority of drugs in the streets are brought in from the outside. The war against drugs will never be over. At least not until the fierce demand decreases and addiction ceases. Unfortunately, these trends are going in the exact opposite direction.

Alex Samuels, a senior at UT for the Texas Tribune, writes a brief article about these two dilemmas. In this post I will cover the hiring of undocumented immigrants. 

Alex claims that “regardless of promises from politicians to crack down on hiring undocumented workers, legislative efforts have met fierce resistance from business interests”. This is by far the most serious point of this messy issue. Many Americans demand politicians to halt the influx of undocumented immigrants because they apparently usurp jobs from the hands of those who are unemployed. This narrative places the blame on the undocumented immigrant and characterizes him/her as a rapacious, greedy villain. So why doesn’t the media and the general population denounce the multi-million companies who are truly responsible for the hiring of undocumented immigrants? Instead of flushing our tax dollars down the gutter by building a wall across our southern border (because Mexico won’t pay for it), why not invest those dollars more prudently by exposing those companies, holding them accountable, and establishing a mandatory system such as E-verify? If Americans are so bothered by the menial jobs that undocumented immigrants pick up, then why aren’t we zealously fighting to take back these awesome jobs? Let’s be real, Americans don’t want to fight for those jobs that most often pay below living wage, include no benefits, and are mostly temporary. The weed must be clipped at the root. Undocumented immigrants taking up jobs is just a collateral effect of this broken system.  Unless these companies refuse to hire undocumented immigrants, illegal immigration will continue indefinitely.