The American Dream

Immigrant workers come to America in search of a better life. However, when

they arrive they are faced with many hardships: inability to speak English,
discrimination, and unfair wages in the worst jobs available. Due to earning low
wages, immigrants live in unacceptable housing conditions. Because of their
illegal status in the United States, immigrants are constantly taken advantage of.
In spite of all the pain and suffering, field workers still work very hard to pick the
fruits and vegetables American shoppers demand. The legal status of farm
laborers should not justify the unfair way they are treated; therefore, illegal
laborers should receive fair wages and better working conditions.

Most migrant field workers are undocumented people who come from other
countries illegally to work in the United States. The fact that they are
undocumented makes them more vulnerable to be exploited by employers. With
fear of deportation, farm laborers will not report abuse in the workplace. The fear
is so great that they will tolerate abuse such as violence, rape, and
underpayment. A way field laborers are taken advantage of in every way because
they work and they do not receive the benefits they deserve. Professor of
Economics in the University of Puerto Rico Maria Enchautegui reports that “the
unauthorized are less likely to have health insurance, paid vacations, and paid
sick days than any other immigrant group. They also have the highest portion
earnings below $6 per hour” (111). Laborers are under compensated, yet they
are harvesting the fields that feed American families. They have no rights
because they have no legal status in the United States. They are the unprotected
work force of the nation.

Many people are opposed to migrant workers coming to America because they
claim that they hurt the economy, but in reality immigrants contribute greatly to
the economy. Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz argues
that illegal workers are taxpayers as well as documented workers and they
contribute millions of dollars annually to public services“(127). Migrant workers
get money taken out of their paychecks to pay for the services but they are not
allowed to utilize the services. Gomberg-Muñoz also claims that illegal workers
“are barred from using almost all government services including Social Security,
Medicare, unemployment, federal housing programs, food stamps, Supplemental
Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, most Medicaid
Services, and the Earned Income Credit” (127). These people are paying for
services inaccessible to them.

Farmers, not wanting to deal with the growing cost of providing field workers with
better working conditions, argue that machinery will eventually replace workers in
the fields that way production cost will be even lower. I argue that replacing farm
laborers is not realistic because machinery will damage the produce and cost
farmers a loss of profit. Machinery will not do the delicate work laborers day to
day.

Anti-migrant workers also argue that immigrants take the jobs of American
citizens. Yes, they do take jobs but they take the jobs that Americas do not want
because the pay is too little and the work is too much.
Working conditions for migrant farm workers are inhumane. Field workers are
exposed to hot climates and are forced to work without breaks even though the
laws entitles workers to have ten minute breaks for every four hours worked.
Farmers take advantage of the fact the worker will not report the injustices for
fear of deportation. When discussing farm labor, photojournalist, author, political
activist and union organizer David Bacon emphasizes, “farm labor is very
dangerous, with one of the highest rates of occupational injury” (32). Because
farm labor is so dangerous, farmers must provide a safer environment for the
workers because they are human being and they deserve no less than that.
Farmers must give breaks that are more frequent when the weather is too hot.
They must provide field workers with proper equipment when spraying fields with
pesticides to avoid possible poisoning from exposure to harmful chemicals. The
United States Government must enforce stricter laws to inspect agricultural
businesses to make sure they are treating workers right. “Fair and humane
immigration reform must include a path toward legalization, a policy shift and
especially the immigrant rights movement. Without this employers will continue
to exploit and abuse with impunity” (Valenzuela 29). In order to cause change,
migrant workers must unite and rebel against the government. Farm workers
must follow the footsteps of the Latino community’s hero Cesar Chavez. They
must unite to demand fair working conditions for the undocumented population.
Illegal workers are not protected under the law to the right of joining a union.

Field workers will overcome adversities and demand fair wages through
education. They must learn the English language in order to fight back for the
injustices that farm owners put them through. Children of farm workers often
miss school because they have to work with their parents to help make money to
support the family. Situations like this must not happen because a child’s only
obligation should be school. It is very important that Children of farm laborers get
educated so they will break the cycle and strive for a better life. Patrick Belton,
former aide to House Assistant Minority Leader Rose DeLauro and graduate
student in International Relations at Yale, reports that “public education likely
represents the only chance these children will ever have to move out of migrant
life” (464). Nevertheless, educating parents on the importance of school for
children can change this. Illegal immigrants’ children are part of this country and
our future. We must get them educated.

Desperate to earn money to support their family, illegal migrant workers are
willing to work for almost any wage in any job available. Farmers are taking
advantage of because they realize that they will work for little money. The wages
that farm workers are paid is little for the work they perform. Working in the
fields requires strength and skill. Most of the work they perform requires carrying
heavy loads of produce and repetitive motions cutting the fruits and vegetables.
Such hard work should pay more as “The median family income is $13,000 for an
indigenous family. Migrants who have just arrived earn about $7.50 an hour, but
even workers with many years in the fields still often earn less than $9.00 (Bacon
32).

Since migrant workers have no right to public housing, they are forced to live in
inhumane living conditions. They often share homes with multiple families in
order to save money. These living conditions are not very safe. Some laborers
live in their vans because they cannot afford anything better. Others live in
shacks without running water, electricity, and bathrooms. No human should be
faced with the need to live in these types of conditions.

Discrimination is a hardship undocumented workers have to face day-to-day.

Illegal immigrants are not treated with respect because they were not born in this
country. They are constantly called ‘wetbacks’ and they are constantly told to go
back to Mexico and often times are physically abused. Everybody in this country
deserves respect regardless of his or her citizenship or occupation. Working in the
fields is not a job to be ashamed of on the contrary a fieldworker should feel
proud that because of their hard work the nation is being fed.
The fact that a person was not born in the United States and does not have legal
citizenship does not justify the unfair treatment undocumented workers receive.
The uneducated community accepts this kind of treatment because they do not
have a voice. Change must come for this community because they work hard and
have the right to public services they are paying for. This country attracts
immigrants because they believe they will have ‘a better life’, but the reality is
immigrants are at the bottom of population. Low wages, inhumane housing, and
bad working conditions do not allow these people to make better lives for
themselves and their families. Illegals migrant workers must have a fair chance of
trying to succeed in this country and the way they are treated is not fair.
Everybody has the right to the American dream, but these people are living the
American nightmare.