When breakfast is served every day, Americans face the consequences of immigrant workers. Without immigrant workers, breakfast menus would be too expensive to eat on a daily basis, and cars would be lined up at the nearest drive-thru fast food restaurant if they didn’t have time. If you’re on the block, you’ll end up charging an arm and a leg for a simple egg, cheese and sausage sandwich. Without immigrant workers, costs would rise beyond the reach of many Americans. And thankfully, illegal immigration is safer for Americans than in neighboring countries.
“An NIJ-funded study that examined data from the Texas Department of Public Safety estimated the rate at which undocumented immigrants were arrested for committing crimes. It was found that less than half (1/2) of native-born U.S. citizens commit property crimes, and one-quarter (1/4) of native-born U.S. citizens commit crimes.” (National Institute of Justice, September 12, 2024)
“Substantial research has assessed the relationship between immigration and crime. Many studies show that immigration is not linked to higher levels of crime, but rather the opposite.” (Debunking the “Immigrant Crime Wave” Myth, Brennan Center for Justice, May 29, 2024)
In this regard, there was a discussion initiated by Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez about the 13,000 immigrants convicted of murder. “A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the data sent to Mr. Gonzalez was misinterpreted and dates back 40 years, long before the Biden administration.” (Source: 13,000 people convicted of murder More immigrants are living outdoors
Immigration Detention in the U.S. ICE Speaks, NBC News, September 28, 2024)
Immigrant workers get their hands dirty when no one else will. They are absolutely essential to the food supply chain, and according to the Migration Policy Institute, for example, they make up 30% of the nation’s agricultural production workers. In some cases, their numbers can determine the survival of basic food industries. Some food production companies would not be able to function without migrant workers. For example, 64% of Nebraska’s meat processing workers are immigrants. No immigrants, no steak.
“Approximately 68% of the labor force on U.S. hog farms is foreign workers. Immigrants make up a significant portion of pork production, and because local labor is difficult to find, many producers rely on foreign workers.” ” (Source: Immigrants in the Pork Industry: Employment of Foreign-Born Workers, Pork Information Gateway). In addition, immigrants make up 40% of all meat processing workers. No immigrants, no pork.
California supplies 33% of America’s vegetables and 75% of its fruits and nuts through a workforce made up of 65% immigrants. They are at the core of the food supply chain to the United States. Additionally, California is the fourth largest beef producer in the United States, and the state is also a leader in American dairy farming. Immigrants provide two-thirds of California’s agricultural labor and feed America’s vital food chain. Without immigrants, the cost of breakfast would rise beyond the reach of ordinary Americans. Food inflation will eat America alive.
Iowa is one of America’s leading producers of pork and corn. A recent article in Bleeding Heartland, an independent website about Iowa politics, titled “Anti-immigrant plan could have unintended consequences for Iowa AG” August 29, 2024: Sioux County A major cattle producer claims: If there is a workforce left tomorrow, there will be big problems. …We don’t have the people to replace them. ”Furthermore, according to the article, “it’s not just a matter of replacing immigrants.”
Working with U.S.-born workers. It’s hard to find people willing to do the back-breaking work of digging up manure, delivering bedding for animals, and transporting thousands of pounds of feed each day. ” No immigrants, no beef.
The Bleeding Heartland article followed the repeal of the mean and sleazy law: , among the most sweeping immigration laws ever passed in Iowa. “Unfortunately, copycat laws and proposed measures continue to exist, including in Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma, that will cause irreparable harm to immigrant families,” said Emma Winger, deputy general counsel for the American Immigration Council. These kinds of laws create absolute chaos and human suffering and have no place in our legal system.” (Source: Iowa Stops Hateful Anti-Immigration Laws. U.S. Immigration Council, June 17, 2024)
And beyond the basic necessities of food supply, industry is increasingly reliant on migrant workers. For example, Ohio: Unions, companies look to immigrants to close Ohio’s labor gap Reuters, May 2, 2024: “Help access immigrant communities to find workers to hire” “This is one of the top three requests submitted by local residents to the Columbus Chamber of Commerce,” said Kelly Fuller, the chamber’s vice president of talent and workforce development. “Business growth has been significant in recent years.” said.
In the United States, the expansion of the labor force through immigration has helped maintain economic growth and increased consumer spending without further increasing inflation. “This is a huge shift in economic growth,” said Tara Watson, an economist at the Brookings Institution. “Immigrants are strengthening the U.S. workforce, which was supposed to shrink as baby boomers retire. And in some sectors in particular, there are long-term structural needs that Americans just aren’t going to meet.” said Watson, pointing to a lack of home health assistance and other direct support.
Care Workers” ditto.
“We operate 26 production lines for sandwiches, dinners and breakfast bowls,” claims David Barb of Fourth Street Foods in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Of the 1,000 employees, 700 are immigrants working on the assembly line. “The hours are long and monotonous, Barbe says, and there are few local applicants.” (Source: Charleroi, Pennsylvania, managers say immigrant population is doing jobs Americans don’t want) , CBS News, September 18, 2024)
Pennsylvania is thriving with new immigrants. “The importance of entrepreneurship cannot be overstated, as new businesses are the main driver of U.S. employment growth.Immigration plays a particularly important role in this regard, far more than the U.S. population as a whole. Today, millions of American workers are employed in immigrant-founded or immigrant-owned businesses.”Pennsylvania has 70,200 immigrant entrepreneurs. It claims to pay $13 billion in taxes, $4.4 billion in Social Security, and has a total of 650,200 immigrant workers in its workforce. (Source: Pennsylvania Immigration, American Immigration Council)
Immigration may be an easy political football to throw around, but ironically, the biggest risk of America becoming a third world country is the loss of immigrant labor, resulting in increasingly crowded grocery store shelves. restaurants are being emptied, paper plates and plastic forks are being used in lieu of immigrant help, and local farmers’ markets are experiencing vicious and sometimes deadly attacks by locals over scarce and precious food items. A street battle is taking place. America’s economic growth depends on immigration “Since 2019, 88% of America’s workforce growth has come from immigrant workers.” (Source: Immigration will be the only source of America’s workforce growth, Forbes, October 16, 2024)
A growing workforce is critical to economic growth and improves the standard of living for all citizens. According to the Dallas Fed, “Technological advances and investment incentives will contribute to increased productivity, but immigration will be essential to supporting labor force growth…Without immigration and immigration, the U.S. “Children who would not have experienced labor force growth in the past five years.” “Between 2018 and 2024, the number of workers with American parents decreased by 1.3 million, but the number of immigrants and children of immigrants in the U.S. workforce increased by 5.4 million.” states.
American colleges and universities hold a special place in the eyes of the world. “Immigrant-origin students are the fastest growing student group in higher education, driving more than 90% of domestic enrollment growth at U.S. colleges and universities from 2000 to 2022.” (Source: Immigrant Origin Students in U.S. Higher Education – September 2024, Higher Education Immigration Portal, October 1, 2024)
Immigration has never been more important to America’s growth and future. Immigrant workers are the backbone of America’s food chain and industry’s assembly lines, doing back-breaking work that ordinary Americans reject. They do the hard work in a quiet and unassuming manner. They are irreplaceable and the most important factor in America’s future economic growth, but without their resourcefulness and hard work, growth would stagnate.
