Many U.S. Businesses Struggle to Find Mexican Workers
11/24/2016 10:35AMVideo/Photo: Jake Nicol/The Wall Street Journal
This video discusses the challenges facing Joe Hargrave, a restaurateur in the San Francisco area. Recently Hargrave has been unable to find workers. The video postulates this is due to the fact that fewer Mexicans are migrating to the United States. Unlike President Elect Trump Hargrave is more concerned with how to get immigrants into the United States than how to keep them out. "Mexican labor has been the backbone of US industries like hospitality, construction, and agriculture for decades." The author believes this decline is due to smaller families and higher education which allows Mexicans to find jobs at home. Smaller families also means fewer "potential migrants". Campaigns discouraging illegal immigration may also play a role in the decreased number of migrants. Smugglers are also charging more for the journey.
Around 6 in 10 undocumented immigrants work in low-level jobs like construction, service, and production, twice that of US born workers (Pew Research Center). Although, Trump argues there are too many illegal immigrants in the U.S. employers like Hargrave need workers for positions native born people are uninterested in filling. help their business succeed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that in May there were 700,000 vacant restaurant and hotel positions. Around 100,000 immigrants still cross the border annually but some immigrants are choosing to voluntarily return to Mexico. The video concludes with Hargrave saying he is going to hire a recruiter and develop an HR department to help his Taco business.
Personally, this video was interesting as it presented a side of immigration which I had never considered. Evidently immigration has been crucial for business owners like Hargrave in the past. It will be interesting to see what will occur in the future after Trump takes office. Although, the impacts of immigration are more difficult to see in Massachusetts they are nonetheless present. Perhaps Congress should consider the important roll immigrants have held in the past-especially in America's service, construction, and agricultural sectors. America's population is aging; it is evident that legal immigration reform is necessary and perhaps it would be wise to ease the laws surrounding immigration to support economic prosperity.
Thanks for reading; hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving break!
-Hattie
Hey Hattie!
ReplyDeleteI thought this was really interesting because I feel like this is a side of the immigration argument that we don't often hear about as much. As you cited, "Around 6 in 10 undocumented immigrants work in low-level jobs like construction, service, and production, twice that of US born workers", I think that this number is pretty high and I wonder if how many legal immigrants hold positions in these industries.
I don't think that we should close off our borders to immigrants, I think it is evident how much immigrants, including our ancestors that came to America, contribute to our society. I just think that we need to find way to decrease the amount of illegal immigrants in this country, or make these people legal citizens so they contribute to society through taxes. I wonder what trumps policies regarding immigration will look like as well.
Best,
Julia
Hi Hattie!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! I loved hearing about this other side of the undocumented immigrant argument, in which businesses want the immigrants to remain. U.S. citizens have become so specialized in the workforce that many of them have no need or desire to commit to those "lower" positioned jobs. Maybe if there was a pay incentive they would be, but there isn't, which is why they can be held my undocumented immigrants. They are keeping these businesses afloat so I believe it would be highly problematic if we deported them because then those businesses would fail and that is not good for the overall economy. I agree with Julia though, we do need to come up with a easier pathway to citizenship so that they can become a full contributing member to the U.S. economy. Then again, when that occurs, they will start looking for higher paying jobs too. The fact that these immigrants are undocumented is what forces them into the lower paying jobs, which sounds horrible because we are basically exploiting their work, but they are here undocumented and small businesses do need their low-wage labor. What do you think should be done in regards to undocumented immigrants in the US and the work they contribute to small businesses? Thanks!
Marissa Jordan
Hey Hattie!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think the people that are willing to fill the roles that many Americans do not want are of critical importance to our society. They are willing to do work that many people are not, but is absolutely necessary. What happens if no one does construction work, or if no ones work on a factory line? I think the consequences would be horrific, and for that reason, as well as basic human reasons of letting other come to the country legally, immigration is incredibly necessary.
Well done!
Ben