In Defense of Mexican Immigrants
I have had it up to here with Americans’ outraged over the gall of Mexicans and other illegal immigrants entering our country; as if illegal immigrants truly had a choice. Take the case of Mexico, for example, the birthplace of the majority of illegal immigrants in this country. The minimum wage is $4.50 A DAY, which according to statistics is not enough money to buy sufficient food for one person to survive, let alone their children. At least a third of all Mexicans try to survive on wages within $2.00 per day of the minimum wage. Labor laws in Mexico are a joke and unpaid overtime, shoddy conditions, and uncompensated injuries are the norm. Any reasonable person, faced with the same circumstances as these Mexicans, would do anything to escape their situation, including flee to a neighboring country, with a minimum wage 14 times higher than their own, to be able to work with dignity and put bread on the table for their children. How can we have such little empathy for their plight?
Moreover, where is the righteous outrage at the Mexican government for starving its people and dumping them on us? Mexico is the 13th richest country in the world, richer than Spain and Australia. The world richest man is from Mexico, and Mexico has more billionaires per capita than any country besides Hong Kong. It is outrageous and obscene that with so much money, Mexico chooses not to provide for its own people.
Instead of confronting Mexico over its lack of responsibility, our government policies encourage Mexican labor practices. NAFTA and other trade pacts, reward the Mexican government for keeping wages untenably low and ignoring labor laws, not to mention moving American jobs south of the border. As Mexico's largest trading partner, we could influence it to raise its minimum wage tomorrow, and for every cent it does, that is one less illegal immigrant in our country.
It is time to stop blaming illegal immigration, on its biggest victim, the immigrant himself, starved in his own country, demonized and marginalized in ours, and start blaming the true villains: the Mexican government and its American enablers.
Moreover, where is the righteous outrage at the Mexican government for starving its people and dumping them on us? Mexico is the 13th richest country in the world, richer than Spain and Australia. The world richest man is from Mexico, and Mexico has more billionaires per capita than any country besides Hong Kong. It is outrageous and obscene that with so much money, Mexico chooses not to provide for its own people.
Instead of confronting Mexico over its lack of responsibility, our government policies encourage Mexican labor practices. NAFTA and other trade pacts, reward the Mexican government for keeping wages untenably low and ignoring labor laws, not to mention moving American jobs south of the border. As Mexico's largest trading partner, we could influence it to raise its minimum wage tomorrow, and for every cent it does, that is one less illegal immigrant in our country.
It is time to stop blaming illegal immigration, on its biggest victim, the immigrant himself, starved in his own country, demonized and marginalized in ours, and start blaming the true villains: the Mexican government and its American enablers.