Immigrant Status

by Randy Garbin

A protest rally took place in Philadelphia on Valentine's Day in 2006 in demonstration against a proposed anti-immigration law now before Congress. What made the event noteworthy was that most of the participants were the targets of the legislation, and that these protesters mostly worked in area restaurants. As a follower of the diner industry, this issue hits close to home, since I see an increasing number of these "illegal immigrants" working in the diners I visit.

The Northeast metropolis draw thousands of people -- mostly Hispanics -- who end up washing dishes, busing tables, and flipping pancakes in restaurants from Boston to D.C. In the past few months, I've spoken with diner owners who both take full advantage of this pool of labor, and as expected, they have some distinct opinions on the subject. Two of them operate restaurants in affluent communities, where the traditional labor pool for such work either doesn't exist or has little work ethic. Teenagers, a traditional source of labor, don't need the jobs. "Those kids won't work in my kitchen for any amount of money I can pay them," one owner tells me. "Either they don't need the money, or they just won't do the work." Another operator says to me, "You have to have under-the-table workers. You'd never survive otherwise."

According to these operators, the perception that they can hire laborers imbued with the good old American work ethic or eager students working for mad money or saving for college belies the reality, at least in their communities. In other words, these "illegals" see the hard work as an opportunity and happily accept the wages offered. To me, this sounds a lot like the stories our grandparents told about their coming to America. Sometimes, things don't change.

No American reading this doesn't have some immigrant history in their backgrounds. My paternal grandparents came from Italy by way of Ellis Island, settling in Springfield, Massachusetts. My grandfather led a productive life working for the same employer until his retirement. His life tells a rather unremarkable story except that it can only be told in the United States.

It seems we've tightened the immigration spigot with little regard for how much the economic lawn needs watering. People crash our borders looking for work because they know it's there. While our politicians argue with each other looking for a "solution" to the problem, these workers take their places in restaurants, in households, and on the farms of this country taking on back-breaking work actual citizens avoid.

I might sympathize with the argument that these workers depress wages, but our country gave the world Wal-Mart, the undisputed leader in real wage depression. Face it: Americans right now won't pay the higher price for something just because it's American made. Since four out of five American households buy at Wal-Mart, I think we know where most people stand on the whole cost versus principles debate. How much extra will you pay to insure only Americans take on "American jobs?"

We readily complain about jobs going overseas or domestic work done by illegal immigrants, but we've proven repeatedly that when we lay our own money on the line, we choose the bargain. If given the choice of having your house painted by an outfit like College Pro for X dollars or by illegals with references for two-thirds X dollars, ask yourself who you'd hire. In my case, the difference would save me well over $1,000 and my house would look just as good.

I don't see further immigration restrictions or larger fines on employers as a real solution to this "problem." For the most part, these people take jobs you or I consider not worth our time. In many cases, we wouldn't want our children to do that work. Maybe I scrubbed toilets between semesters at college, but I'll be damned before I see my daughter do that work.

Like much of the panic-mongering the media spreads to attract audience, I suspect that this issue has little actual impact to the lives of the majority of Americans. Immigration only hurts us when we fail to properly assimilate these people. To continue to regard them as "illegals" or burdens just creates yet another underclass in our society where the resulting isolation and hostility breeds future discontent and instability. After a long, sorry history of slavery, the Native American genocide, Jim Crow, and urban renewal, I would think we would have learned our lesson by now.

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