Immigration Debate

It saddens me to see some people displaying so much hatred and rage about undocumented workers. There’s no question that there are serious issues that need to be addressed, but many people are also not acknowledging the positive impact of so many people from Mexico and Central America working in our country. Calling all of these people hard-core criminals is an appalling appeal to all of our worst fears.

Millions of undocumented workers pay income taxes. They are issued special identification numbers from the IRS. They also pay into the Social Security system. One article I read said that contributions from these workers are helping keep the Social Security system afloat in the next few decades as more and more people retire. They also pay local taxes, including sales taxes on almost everything they purchase. The vast majority work hard and contribute to our community and our economy.

Many of these workers are performing jobs that companies can’t find anyone else to do, which is why their wages increased 30 percent from 1994 to 2000. A lack of supply of workers increased demand and increased their wages. As baby boomers retire, the supply of workers in this country will only shrink, and we’ll need more workers.

It is estimated that Mexican workers in the Unites States send $20 billion back to their home country each year. This has a positive impact because it makes Mexico more stable and less likely to descend into chaos and become a haven for terrorists. In effect, the money these undocumented workers earn and send home replaces funding the government has to spend on foreign aid.

In our area, these undocumented workers are responsible for most of the population growth in the past decade. Many areas of Iowa are dying because more people are moving out than moving in. We have avoided that fate so far. With population growth comes more federal and state aid because some of it is based on how many people live here. Conversely, if all of these workers left, we would lose countless dollars in tax income and governmental aid.

What to do about this wave of undocumented workers coming to our country is not an easy question. There are issues that need to be addressed. Corporations recruiting them for cheap labor need to be held accountable. Border security is too lax. Raising the minimum wage to make work pay better for all unskilled laborers would help. Finding ways to encourage Mexico to raise labor standards and create more good jobs should be part of any solution. (A quick aside: Mexico is now creating more engineers each year than we are.)

But whatever we do, we need to remember the good side of immigration, not just the bad. And while I don’t believe everyone who wants to address these issues of immigration is racist, you don’t have to scratch too hard to unveil racist undertones, ugly stereotypes and unfathomable hatred in this discussion. Would so many people be this outraged if these immigrants were from Europe, instead of Mexico? Would we even notice?