I have my own personal “tale of woe” to tell about how our nation’s flawed immigration policies have negatively impacted my life. I want people to really understand the mentality of most of these migrants from a personal interaction perspective. I spent the better part of my life working in construction, side by side with migrants from all different countries; I can tell you first hand some facts that may elude most folks.
Most of the immigrants that I encountered were here illegally. People need to understand that for the most part, these immigrants come from extreme poverty. Yes! Extreme poverty! The American ghetto looks like paradise compared to this kind of poverty. In most of these Central American countries, for a few pesos one can buy a live chicken and some dried beans or rice, enough for the one or two main meals during the week. These people come from countries where the law is taken into one’s own hands for the most part. The police are mostly pawns for the drug and other illicit trades. Sexual assaults, muggings, robbery, murders, drug overdoses, and homelessness, are simply the normal way of life and a direct result of the dysfunction of how these Dictatorship governed countries operate.
Now back to my original point – when I worked on job sites and had conversations with those who knew enough English, they came here and worked, with the sole intention to bring the rest of their family here. As much of their paycheck as possible was sent back home to be saved up to be able to pay the coyotes to bring their family here. As more and more of these migrants entered the construction field, the price paid out for jobs dropped. As a drywall subcontractor, paid by the square foot, and making decent money, in just a few years, it became impossible for me to afford to have a new vehicle and a mortgage payment. The main companies that I subcontracted work from figured out that it was way more profitable to bring in illegal workers, house them, train them with the skills necessary, in house and pay them less than half of what it cost the company to sub out the jobs. These immigrants came from such poor conditions that to be crammed eight or so people into a small apartment and getting a paycheck of any kind was like a gift from God to them. I have to laugh out loud, when these politicians make general comparison of economic strife of these immigrants to our way of life here in America, and use these skewed guidelines to form the concepts of immigration laws.
This is a story that millions of American workers could tell, if anyone ever had the wherewithal to research it. Every single subcontractor that I was associated with experienced this, and this was back in the early nineties. I can only imagine what has become of the industry now. All this type of labor is probably being done now by first generation immigrants. I guess that’s what President Obama meant when he and other Democrats said “they are doing jobs no Americans want to do”. What they mean is the jobs that no Americans can afford to do anymore. Fortunately, for myself I was able, with some continued education, a sharp wit, a few lucky breaks, and hard work to change careers. May of my colleagues lost all they had worked for years to accomplish. That is the true immigration crisis in America, not the bleeding heart propaganda about how hard it has been for these people that struggle to reach our border.