Change is American

The picture of a Hispanic man standing on a street corner looking for work is an over used caricature. The immigrant from Mexico or Latin America has been the topic of much discussion in our local communities. The image of a farm worker covered in the dirt from his labors, standing around in a gas station parking lot is familiar to most Americans. This has become the default image in many minds as to what Latino immigrants represent. It is not fair to ourselves, the immigrants or the truth of the issue to allow prejudice and stereotypes to become the first thought in our mind when approaching the issue of foreign workers. With the new pressures of a global and mobile economic world, immigration plays an important role in keeping America prosperous. These workers coming from the south are an indispensable part of Americas modern landscape.
The Hispanic worker cannot steal jobs from hardworking Americans and be a lazy drain on the economy simultaneously. There is too much growth in the economy of America for Latinos coming to this country to stand around for very long. Farm work, factory work, construction and service work still have vacancies of labor despite the supposed epidemic of immigrant labor coming across our borders. American business owners are hiring these people because they work hard for low wages. These low wages keep costs down for housing, food and services. No one would travel hundreds of miles to the north of their home to stand on a corner. They come here because the jobs are here. They are hired by local companies because these workers are willing and able to do them. The fact that the government can't keep up with the changing world and find ways to legalize these workers should be of little surprise. Can we resign these common workers to criminal status simply because the government is unable to regulate the workforce needs of the nation with efficiency? We rarely accuse the government of being efficient when doing anything else.
Much of the money immigrants make goes back to the local economy as they too must house, feed and entertain themselves. Again the stereotype immigrants taking from the community without giving anything back is absurd. Some of the money they receive goes back to the places they came from. Families left behind by these workers are sent what money they can give. To do this, many of these workers live frugal lives. Is this something they should be criticized for? Have we become so commercialized and materialistic as a culture, that we can't appreciate hard work and simple living for the sake of ones family? The Florida immigrant is more appreciated in North Carolina. Retirees buy summer homes and tracks of land. They vacation twice a year eating in restaurants and buying antiques. When it comes time to sell their property however, the money travels back to Florida with them. The growth of the local economy is a direct result of money flowing in from our southern neighbors. The ability for local communities to keep up with this growth is made possible by workers immigrating from the south as well. In order to maintain continued economic growth, we need to maintain both populations of immigrants. Americans are mobile people and our local communities have benefited from this mobility. Can we really expect the rest of the world to keep in its place and not cross borders in search of opportunities?
Immigrants suppress wages. They are willing to work more for less money. Everyone that works in construction makes less money because of workers willing to work for less. Everyone except the business owner of course. The local contractor makes more money on the houses he builds thanks to lower wages for workers. The buyer of the house saves money as well. More labor means more houses can be built faster as well. Thanks to cheap labor more people from Florida can buy summer homes here in the mountains. More Florida home owners means more money for the area.
When I worked for Rabun Apparel many of those that labored next to me were immigrants from Mexico. Did they suppress the wages I received for the job I did? Probably. However, the factory left this area and moved overseas because wages there were even less. Without the immigrants keeping wages in check how much sooner would those jobs have disappeared completely?
Life in the mountains is changing as rapidly as the rest of the country. The population is becoming more diverse and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The fact remains that our communities have a great deal of work that needs doing. Latino immigrants, legal or otherwise, are here to help fill the gap. Immigration law and the system that enforces it certainly needs reform. More importantly, what needs reforming more is our attitude towards the changing world. We can't plug our ears and close our eyes and hope that our communities go back to the way they once were.