Editor:
Dave Uphoff
Western fruit and vegetable growers are grumbling that they cannot get enough migrant workers to pick their crops. The growers blame the government's crackdown on the border as the reason for the lack of workers this season. Well ain't that just too bad! Maybe we should all pitch in and take up a collection for those poor farmers out west to compensate them for the crops rotting in the ground. Hey! I have an even better idea. Why don't those growers pay a decent wage for the back breaking work that the migrants do and maybe Americans might decide to do the work. Sure we will have to pay more for our food but isn't that better than having the government compensate the growers with subsidies in which case we will pay anyhow. Americans already pay less for their food than any country in the world.Some analysts say that Americans won't do the work that the migrants do even if the pay is higher. How do they know? Has anyone ever tried to pay a decent wage to people who handpick our fruits and vegetables? In addition, other analysts say the reason the growers are having a hard time getting workers to pick their crops is because the migrant workers are working at better paying jobs in construction and other industries, not because of the crackdown on the border. It is time for the government to control immigration to some degree. Those employers who knowlingly employ illegal immigrants are not only breaking the law and making illegal profits, their actions also result in a lower standard of living for the American worker by keeping the cost of labor artificially low. The level of wages in this country must be based on an economy governed by laws, not by those who break the law. Most of the immigrants who pick the crops in the western part of the country.
usually take their money back across the border where the cost of living and the standard of living is much lower. It is the same as outsourcing jobs except that in this case it could be called insourcing since the workers come to the jobs rather than the jobs going to the workers.
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There is nothing wrong with allowing workers to come into this country legally, whether under a guest worker program or with intentions of becoming an American citizen. An excellent point was made by an immigrant from Jamaica on a television show last week. This Jamaican native decided to come to America years ago because he admired the freedom and opportunities in this country. He immigrated to America and studied to become a doctor. It took him six years to go through the process of becoming a naturalized citizen. He said by granting citizenship to illegal immigrants already here it cheapens the spirit and the meaning of what it means to become an American citizen. If we grant amnesty or citizenship to illegal immigrants, it suggests a shortcut or an illegal manuever to become a citizen. Will citizens granted citizenship under these conditions have the same reverence for our country and respect for our laws as those who became citizens through normal means? The number of immigrants we have is less important than the quality of immigrants we have. By enforcing our immigration laws and cracking down on employers employing illegal aliens, we will not only have a better quality immigrant we will have fewer of them.
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