A debate that always seems to raise its ugly head when the issue of "foreign labor" is discussed concerns the types of jobs that immigrants take and whether they are actually taking these jobs away from American workers. I look at it as jobs they are "left with", not ones they are taking. The debate always shows an American family that has been displaced or lost their livelihood because they can no longer compete with cheaper labor. In reality the jobs that the immigrants get are the most undesirable, strenuous and dangerous ones. The only American workers that they compete with are the unskilled ones. I intend to explore if immigrants "taking" American jobs, if they are only taking the jobs that Americans don’t want or are they being forced to take certain jobs in specific industries.

As seen in Cooper’s article; The Heartland’s Raw Deal: How Meatpacking is Creating a New Immigrant Underclass, we see how companies have taken advantage and exploited the workers willing to work for less. These companies have tapped into the supply of labor that is willing to work for less than union wages. As a result of the de-unionization of the meat-packing industry, companies that were paying union wages as high as $30,000 a year were able to turn right around and hire all new workers for as little as $6. per hour. This is a big difference in pay for the same exact work. Sure, many American workers were willing to do the work, just not for the minimal wages. The meatpacking industry was able to increase profits at the expense of the American workers. The debate about whether the immigrants "took" those jobs from the American workers needs to be re-addressed to the companies that took advantage of the "cheap labor". Are the immigrants just willing to work for the lower wages or are these the only jobs they qualify for?

We see immigrants in the restaurant industry, not as chefs but as dishwashers and busboys. We see them in the agriculture sector as migrant workers doing literally backbreaking work of weeding and picking our fruits and vegetables so we can purchase them at low prices. We use immigrants as gardeners and groundskeepers and expect them to work outside, in Phoenix, in 100 plus degrees. I don’t think any of "us" could tolerate the conditions that they work under. They clean our schools, our offices and our stores. They get security jobs on the shifts that American workers don’t want, night watchmen. They take the construction jobs from companies that avoid paying union wages. These opportunities are presented by American companies that are only interested in their bottom line. The desire to hire immigrant workers, documented or undocumented, is out of the greed of profit-driven corporate America. The fact that Immigrant laborers are desperate for work is exploited by the very companies that promote lower prices for consumers, American consumers. An irony of sorts. We pay lower wages so we can have lower prices at the expense of the employment of others who were making more money doing the same job. Since these American workers are now being paid the lower wage or none at all, it helps that the prices for these items and services are lower. Otherwise how else could they afford them?

We see certain barriers that prevent immigrant workers from competing for the better paying jobs. Communication, language, reading and writing English are obviously the biggest. Racism, prejudice, stereotyping and cultural differences also get in the way. In the case of the Tongans that saw in Voyages: From Tongan Villages to American Suburbs by Cathy Small, we are shown men and women who were respected in their professions in Tonga, not able to obtain respectable employment in the United States. A woman who was a nurse in Tonga was only able to obtain a position of nurse’s aid, a position that is associated with all the undesirable tasks involved with providing health care. One person who was a teacher was reduced to working in a laundry; another teacher was working in a warehouse. And, probably the biggest gap in previous employment and what could be obtained in the United States was Atu who had headed a national credit union in Tonga was only offered a position to sweep floors. These disparities can have severe impacts on immigrant’s self–esteem. They may also experience a lower social class standing thn they had in their homelands. Being a nurse as opposed to being a nurse’s aid brings different assumptions about abilities and certainly worth. In looking at this issue it is almost hard to separate "immigrants" from minorities born here when we look at who is doing the undesirable work. Minorities have disproportionately occupied the fields that American White workers don’t want, at least not at those wages. Immigrants have it even harder because of their citizen status, they may be "illegal", they may not have the connections in society and they may be competing for the jobs that are available to minorities.

A distinction that I feel the reading; New Pioneers in the Heatland: Hmong Life in Wisconsin by Jo Ann Koltky, and our class guests from International Rescue Committee have shown is how much difference refugee status can make for an immigrant seeking or needing employment. Immigrants have desperately taken any jobs they could, no matter what the wage, they just needed a job. In the case of the Hmong because of their status as refugees they were given cash assistance, ESL classes, access to training programs, assess to schooling, and help in gaining citizenship. They can afford to wait until their English is good and wait until they have completed training in a field before seeking or accepting employment. This is a huge difference between the people labeled "immigrants" and "refugees" concerning the debate about whether jobs are being taken away from American workers. Refugees are often better equipped to "compete" for the positions requiring skilled labor but they still face the same prejudices and barriers as immigrants and minorities.

As the debate continues on whether or not immigrants and "foreigners" are crippling the American workforce, we must look at who is employing them and if American workers would actually work for the substandard wages. Does the success of corporate America depend on cheap labor to offer affordable products and services? Do we need the cheap labor to maintain our standard of living? Do we depend on it to get the jobs done that we won’t do ourselves? What would happen to the economy if the dirty jobs were paid at wages that only unions would accept? I do not think that immigrants have made American workers unemployed. I think their exploitation by corporations has pushed the American worker out of the market. Immigrants are taking the jobs that American workers don’t want at wages that no "self-respecting" American worker would take.