Reply #22: Hey Cally [View All]

:hi:

Living in San Francisco, I have a long history with the plight of immigrants, both documented and undocumented.

In the 60s, it was worker's right with Chavez -- many of the migrant field workers were here without visas. Back in the 70s, we were flooded with refugees from the American-backed wars down in central America -- San Francisco was an official safe haven for refugees and our police were told not to arrest Latinos they ran across who were undocumented. Now our biggest immigrant groups (both documented and undocumented) tend to be from China and Mexico.

Right now I work with three gentlemen from Mexico who are here without papers. They are all great, hard working guys who were sent here by their families to act as the breadwinners. Every extra dollar is sent back home to Mexico to take care of their family. Two of them have already been deported once and came back. They each have green cards, social security cards and CA drivers licenses. They pay into Social Security and Medicare, pay local, federal and state taxes. Each year, the owner gets a notice from the Social Security Administration that the SS# for these guys is not right. Each year they come up with new numbers that will keep then working for another year. This has been going on for seven years.

These men work at jobs that pay $15 dollars an hour and they have full medical and dental benefits. In other words they work at jobs many resident would like to work at.

And that is part of the quandry.

What do you tell hardworking, good people who are here illegally but only want to work and take care of their families? Is it our country's job to accommidate them? Are we heartless bastards if we say we want you here but through a legal process? What do we say to the folks who have been here without documentation for years and years, with children who have been born and raised here? Do we say I don't care if you are here illegally so long as you do the work cheaply and without complaint?

For me, this is an incredibly complicated issue. I work with undocumented workers, I socialize with them, I patronize their businesses, and I personally benefit from their labor.

I am a big believer in our country being made better and stronger through immigrants from all over our world coming to our shores. With that said, I must acknowledge a few things. Do undocumented workers (of all nationalities) work in jobs that residents might be able to work at? Yes, undoubtedly. Do undocumented workers add to the costs of our local health services? Yes, they do. Are businesses who chose to hire undocumented workers (for a variety of reasons) the real cause of the influx of undocumented workers? Absolutely.

I want every immigrant, regardless of where they come from or their reason from coming, to our country to go through some sort of legal process -- something that will give the workers LEGAL STATUS and PROTECTIONS, which will benefit the workers and which may take away some of the reasons unscrupulous business owners may be hiring undocumented workers. If businesses are forced to provide proper wages, protections such as OSHA, and can be held accountable for what happens to their documented workers, then part of the incentive for hiring the undocumented is moot. And then enforce the rules on hiring undocumented workers. Basic human compassion requires some sort of amnesty is in order for the folks with families who are already here.

As I have said, it is complicated. I think there are genuine issues on all sides of the argument that need to be addressed.