The Alternative to Slavery

Is immigration in the United States the new form of slavery although perhaps a much cheaper alternative? I am afraid it is so.
In the past, it was a transaction between the people who kidnapped those who became slaves and those who bought them. In the present day, migration (to the United States) is not longer a sole individually driven enterprise. It has become an economic transaction between the sending and the receiving country as a result of which both countries are benefited at different levels. Since not all companies are able to either off-shore or outsource their production or services, workers, otherwise known as immigrants are imported. In this particular case cheap labor comes to the source of work which is not done by American citizens as opposed to said job been sent overseas. Immigrants are simply another tool to increase profits; and, as long as the drive for those profits exists within any sector of the economy where immigrants can take jobs, immigration will continue to be the alternative to slavery.
There is a famous phrase which claims that the reason immigrants are hired is because there are jobs that Americans simply will not do. However, Americans are willing to take some of the most dangerous jobs in world yet the argument still stands that Americans will not pick fruits and vegetables. The reason why Americans are not willing to take those agriculture jobs is because the wages farmers offer are to low and not because the job is too difficult. Immigrants become the tool to keep prices low and profits high.
Illegal immigrants are the perfect alternative for slavery. Not only are they paid low wages, but since they are undocumented, they do not claim workers’ compensation, or sue the employers for any age, race or sex discrimination. At the same time, immigrants do not claim health insurance nor do they have the support of unions to demand higher wages or vacations. All of this, of course, comes in handy to employers because it facilitates their job and increases their profits. In the same way, immigrants do not know that they still have rights regardless of their legal status; and, since employers also threaten them with calling the INS, immigrants are forced to comply.
Americans will not engage in picking fruits and vegetables if there are immigrants to do the job and keep prices low. Thus, wage differentials play a big role in the demand for immigrants. The demand for labor in the United States has always been high and the supply seems to never be high enough to reach equilibrium. That is a direct result of the fact that the demand for labor in certain industries is a demand for (illegal) immigrants who will do the work for a lower wage and who will cause less problems to the employer.
Immigrants are at the lower level of the labor pyramid. They are a scarce resource that is precious to many employers because they will decrease production costs and increase their profits. Present day immigration is a way for businesses that remain in this country to acquire what those sending their manufacturing abroad obtain at their new location. Immigrants are willing to do jobs that others are not willing to do only because they do not have a better prospect at home; and, those who could do the those jobs here choose not to because there are immigrants to do them.
Equilibrium in the market will not be reached until immigrants are not longer treated as slaves. They need to be accepted, if not appreciated, for what they are: human beings. They pay taxes but are not allowed to receive any benefits from it. Immigrants are law abiding citizens the same way Americans are. Likewise, they also make mistakes, but it does not mean that they should be treated as simple tools that function as robots to increase profits and do not have any needs.
On a little note, slaves were forced to forgo their cultures, and so are immigrants with the theory of the melting pot. Immigrants won’t melt.
When a debate on immigration arises, time should be taken to consider the situation in which immigrants find themselves. It is true that a lot of them do not cross the border through legal means. But such events do not mean they should suffer the consequences forever when after crossing the border, they abide to the rules to the best of their abilities.


xoxo,
Poison Drops


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