a moral person

The United States of America has millions of “illegal aliens” (between 6 and 13 million, depending on who you ask). This group of people are currently working in the lowest paying, mostly menial jobs that most American citizens or legal residents don’t want to perform. I hear people blaming them for being here. That’s funny. As if these people come here and force employers to give them jobs! If you are serious about illegal immigration, then it would be a crime to hire illegal aliens. If there is anyone to blame about this situation is the people that hire illegal immigrants, not them. Stop the hypocrisy, for God’s sake! These people are here mainly because we like the benefits of their cheap labor. We like paying as little as possible for our home, our food, the mowing of our lawn and our stay at hotels, etc. Companies like hiring them because it keeps their costs down and their profits up. And you are kidding yourself if you think that only companies are benefiting from this. Without illegal aliens working for less money, these companies would have to shift us -their costumers- the costs associated higher wages. This situation is not new. Throughout US history, immigrants have come here to work in the hardest, lowest-paying jobs. The deal was simple: you do all the shitty jobs and I give you an opportunity of a better future to your children. That promise was contained in the legality of their status in this country. If you had a job, you had that status. This would allow you eventually to advance in life. That was the story of Polish, Irish, Italians and countless others. It was know as “the American dream” and we felt proud of being part of it because it was a win-win arrangement. Not any more. The need for unskilled, low paid labor is still there. Like their predecessors, new immigrants are coming to the US to perform these jobs demanded by the US economy. By doing this, like before, they are contributing to keep the prices of goods and services low for the rest of us, just as we like it. They are also making possible the functioning and profitability of entire areas of the US economy in particular construction, agriculture and hospitality sectors. Higher profits please the stock market too. We like that. But the old legal immigrants (citizens or legal residents) have decided to cheat the newer immigrants on the deal of the “American Dream”. First your representatives crafted immigration laws that make it practically impossible for unskilled, un-educated immigrants to get “legal status” in the US. Then they decided not to enforce them. Why would they? They do not want to risk stopping the flow of cheap labor that reduces prices and make possible the functioning of large parts of our economy. That would be stupid. We like that side of the bargain. About the other side? You know, the one that made possible for your great-grandfathers to dream the American dream? Well, we have decided to cheat them on that. So, now we have created a sub-category of people, not even second class citizens but non existent for all legal purposes. For all matters -other than their work- they do not legally exist. We decided to cheat them out of the very deal that we, or our grandfathers were offered. For these new immigrants the American dream is more like a nightmare with abuse and deportation and the possibility of a life away from your family just around the corner. Maybe we don't like the color of their skin and this is just a racist position on our side. Maybe. The final result is the same: on the one hand we benefit from the work of illegal immigrants. On the other, we have decided not to recognize them as equal human beings. The principles of equal dignity and inalienable rights are pure "blah-blah" for us now. We prefer to blame the immigrants for being here illegally, ignoring our role and our responsibility (as well as our benefits) in this situation. As if they got their jobs against the will of those employing them. As if those employing them didn't know they are illegal. Give me a break. What hypocrisy! If we were serious about enforcing immigration laws, we would make a crime to HIRE illegal immigrants and strictly enforce this. I believe this situation to be immoral, and we (you and I, as well as the corporations and interest that benefit from it) to be guilty of not doing something to correct it. The way I see this situation, there are only two ways for Americans to resolve this problem in a moral manner: One alternative would be to enforce the immigration laws of this country by effectively closing our frontiers and deporting people living in the US illegally. For this we would first have to incur in the expense and trouble of getting and deporting all of them. All 6 to 13 millions of them. We should also fine or jail any employer that uses illegal immigration. Right now they have it easy: they can say “I didn’t know and it’s not my problem”. Well, we should then make it their problem and make the employment of illegal aliens illegal. Instead of blaming the aliens, we could share the blame with those employing them. We would also have to be decided to pay more for the goods and services we consume. More for our homes, more for our food, more for our hotel room. Also, if this has a catastrophic effect in the agriculture, construction and hospitality sectors (which will likely come to a halt) so be it. All this will make us stupid, but not hypocrites. The other alternative is clear: if the US economy demands unskilled jobs that its citizens and legal immigrants are not willing to perform for low wages, then we’ll need to find ways to “legalize” undocumented aliens that have or get jobs in this country. And we should provide for a mechanism for filling future job vacancies with new immigrants if the US economy demands it. Not doing so is treason to the fundamental principles and values of this country. Keeping the current situation is immoral.