Illegal Migrant Labor In The United States

3 Pages 751 Words

Illegal Migrant Labor in the United States

They stand on corners early in the morning waiting to be picked up. They’re not

prostitutes and they’re not criminals but rather the are ordinary people who come to this

country from all over the globe in search of work. They’re Mexican , Haitian,

Salvadoran, and various other ethnic groups who have left their countries for a variety of

reasons. Some are just looking to make some money while others have left in order to

escape poor and often times repressive conditions in their home countries. These people

see America as a land of opportunity but these opportunities are not easy to find and

when do find them they’re often times grueling tasks that no American is willing to

perform.


Through my extensive search I found two articles that caught my attention. The

first was from the November 10th New York Times Magazine. It covered different

aspects of illegal migrant labor including, working conditions and treatment from

employers as well as Americans in general. In the article was a lengthy description on the

plight of illegal Mexican laborers in Long Island. In one particular instance workers were

attacked by the local population primarily because of racial prejudice (most of the

workers are Latinos while the town is mostly white). There were also narratives of the

daunting tasks the workers perform for very little money.

The second article was from the front page of New York Times and talked about

the scandal at a Tyson Foods meat packing plant , which involved the smuggling of

workers from Mexico all the way to Kentucky to work at the plant. The plant managers

did this in order to save costs but their scheme was uncovered when one of the workers

notified the police.

The primary reason why people hire illegal migrant laborers is they’re a source of

cheap labor. Every year landscapers, far...