Running head: UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS
Citizenship for Undocumented Workers:
Resolving an Ethnically Distinct Underclass
Jason Bridger
Portland State University
UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS
Citizenship for Undocumented Workers:
Resolving an Ethnically Distinct Underclass
Immigration has been happening since the dawn of man and the regulation of this has
been a disputed topic since the idea of citizenship was established. Undocumented workers in the
United States play an important role in society. They are often targeted for labor that is
unappealing to most Americans. This labor, more often than not, is underpaid and for
unnecessarily long hours. The exploitation of their labor causes many undocumented workers to
stay below the poverty line and due to the majority of immigrants being Hispanic, 62% of all
immigrants since 2000, this poorest underclass are ethnically distinct (Baker, Hoefer, Rytina,
2011). Having a race of people be systematically targeted for abusive work practices causes
many issues from racism to economic, educational, and public health problems.
Undocumented workers tend not to seek out legal help with abuse in the workspace due
to fear that they will be prosecuted. If illegal immigration is inevitable then the government
should focus on the protection of their rights rather than the deportation of them. The failure of
the U.S. Government to give rights and recognition to immigrant workers, despite their
contributions to the economy, is a cause of their exploitation. Not recognizing immigrant and
migrant workers rights lead to issues like forced labor, child labor, union freedom, collective
bargaining, unpaid work, reasonable workday length, and adequate labor conditions (Compa,
2005).
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Since undocumented workers are in the country illegally, many employers abuse this
status to pay workers beneath any minimum wage. Hispanics are stereotypically targeted for
abusive working practices and this leads to regular racism and prejudice. This causes these
workers to stay in the lower class with limited possibility to rise up to a higher economic status.
The low wages and lack of support for undocumented workers perpetuate a systematic ethnic
working underclass (International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, 2001).
Due to these low wages undocumented workers dont have the financial possibility to
seek medical attention leading to medical complications, outbreaks of disease, and an overall
danger to public health. If an undocumented worker becomes ill then they are left to their
demise. There is not any programs or unions to protect these workers because of their status.
Another possibility would be the spread of preventable disease. If undocumented workers cannot
pay for vaccines or medicine for themselves or their families then a personal medical condition
becomes a public health issue with the possibility of spreading the disease to others or having
other spread to them.
Immigrants have played a vital role in the country and should not face deportation threats
or complications. Threats of deportation are attempts to keep many immigrants out of the
country along with more physical attempts like border guards and fences. These defences cut
down on immigration but also fuel an industry of smugglers to the United States (Orrenius,
2001). The introduction of Coyotes or Coyotaje, people smugglers, sets these immigrants into a
life of debt and crime. Many Coyotes request a payment of money only to increase the money
over time or immediately once they cross the border. This puts many families in debt and danger
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of these criminals. The easiest choice is not on granting a new system for over-all asylum to all
undocumented workers but to fix the current system.
In a report predicting the population of immigrants from 2010 to 2030. The amount of
immigration of Hispanics will increase and their settling in the country will be influenced by
economic opportunities throughout the country. Immigration of populations of childbearing ages
will increase thus an increase in child population are expected. These shifts in diversity will
almost certainly contribute to economic, cultural, and political changes (Martin et al, 2015).
One important issue with this increase in population would be lack of education for children that
have immigrated. Having an uneducated hispanic population leads to children going into lowskilled jobs and staying at this poverty level. Also a lack of education would lead many children
into the workforce at an illegally young age.
There has been an increase of undocumented immigrants in higher working positions
from the last few years. In 2012, management was up 3% while construction and production
dropped to 29% from 34% in 2007 (Passel & Cohn, 2015). These shifts have been very
important for immigrant populations trying to leave this lower class work. About 6 million
undocumented are workingrepresenting about 5 percent of U.S. workers in 2004 (Passel,
2004). Policies allowing these workers to rise up and prosper in society while trying to achieve
their citizenship.
Research
Research Process
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I began my research by focusing at the numbers of immigrants and the number of
possibilities for citizenship. After realizing that the quotas were too small I then began to
investigate the problems with being an undocumented worker. One paper stood out to me about
how it affected the community on an ethical level. That shifted my paper towards a more social
oriented research.
Research Methods
My main method of research was through the Google Scholar website to find legitimate
research papers and government articles. Finding a general topic allowed me to go further into
their references to find more specific topics that I could draw from.
Literature Review
The majority of the articles I read was pro-immigration. Many talked about an openborder policies and how the country can benefit from this policies. Many of these statistics are
estimates because of the issue with recording immigration numbers. Because of undocumented
workers fearing government officials and not becoming public about being in the country
illegally the numbers become skewed.
Discussion and Analysis
Globalization
Immigration of people bring their cultures and political views unto their new homes. If
undocumented immigrants were registered to vote than their political views would also shape the
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United States. This change in overall opinion on topics is important for an improved
representative government. Immigration also leads to family and cultural ties to other countries
improving trade or deteriorate foreign relations.
Relation to debate
The debate is about allowing undocumented workers to become citizens of the United
States. This paper is completely relatable to this topic due to it addressing the social impacts on
these populations. Granting citizenship would allow these workers to be paid a minimum wage
and have the opportunities to fight for their wages. This may not pull out this community from
poverty but it will improve their chances and benefit them individually.
Changed Thoughts
Originally I never thought of the reaction to low-wage work on an ethic level. After
reading the article from the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population my
thoughts opened up to an idea of a race of people being in the lower class. I drew similarities
with African Americans being forced into low pay jobs in the history of the United States and
how the effects on the black community are still prevalent today.
Advocating Policy Change
One particular policy that should be considered to change are the annual quotas and
backlogs that accompany granting citizenship. For a worker or skilled worker the backlog is 18
months. Individuals from China (mainland), India, Mexico and the Philippines are subject to
UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS
per-country quotas... and the waiting time may take longer (additional 520 years). (Department
of State & Department of Homeland Security, 2013). These quotas dont reflect the current
number of immigrants in the country. The number of unauthorized immigrants living in the
United States in January 2010 was 10.8 million down from 11.8 million in January 2007
(Department of Homeland Security, 2011) while the 2013 annual quota for skilled and unskilled
workers is 41,455.
The high number of backlogged applications is also due to "the humanitarian situation on
the southern border ... and the recent influx of migrants attempting to cross into the United States
unlawfully. along with the crisis in Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine (Morrison, 2015). This time
constraint, along with an overall fear of the system, has deterred many applicants. This leads to
many issues with law enforcement, crime, and public health. Having these workers go through
the citizenship process correctly is vital to avoid deportation.
Due to bureaucratic delays and limits of only 10,000 asylum seekers per year can be
granted permanent residence. In 2006, many asylum seekers must wait as long as 12 years for
their applications to be processed. Some reforms required applicants to wait to work until their
asylum application was approved or 150 days after immigration officials received their
application. Issues like lack of knowledge, language barriers, difficulty accessing the legal
system, and challenges with integrating into a new culture prevent the asylum seekers to submit
their applications before the one year deadline (Loucky, 2006).
Another policy change that would be beneficial to the safety of undocumented workers
would be the change of approaching the deportation of immigrants. Instead of having an
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offensive and threatening style of deportation having a immigration process that would benefit
the individual focusing on guidance, support, and safety. Allowing undocumented workers to
approach government officials and medical attention would allow them to solve many legal and
medical issues. Undocumented workers can feel uneasy around the government because of this
deportation. The United States government should attempt to move towards protection of all
people not just those with documentation.
Conclusion
Particularly in the United States immigration has played a huge part in our history.
Colonization of from the English and Dutch, Spanish and French colonies, immigration of
lebanese and syrians in the late 19th century, and many other countries throughout history were
major immigration events in the United States. During all this time immigrants have turned
around and tried to stop anymore immigration. This was prevalent in the opposition of Irish and
German immigrants, the prevention of Asians to immigrate in the Asian Exclusion Act, more
specifically the Chinese in the Chinese Exclusion Act, low-skilled workers with the literacy
requirements in 1917, and many countries during their times of wars (Library of Congress). I
feel this topic is open to discussion on how to help this community and the impacts on those
plans. I hope either through my suggestions or another alternative that this issue of poverty,
wages, and racism is resolved.
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References
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