Reply #30: A history lesson...

[Texaroo]

It amazes me that in Texas, people forget how integrated our undocumented workforce actually IS. My family has consistently hired laborers for ranch help, handyman tasks, child care, and all sorts of work, going back at least 100 years. Most lived cheaply here, and sent every spare dime back home to care for their families. These folks taught me Spanish, among many other things.

Throughout my life, I have worked with many who didn't have the "necessary paperwork," but who contributed greatly as consumers, co-workers, and as employees. They are essential to the Texas economy.

However, there ARE problems that MUST be addressed. Unlike historical immigrant groups, there is no desire to learn the language, which imposes a sort of self-isolation. They often violate auto registration and insurance laws, and they crowd emergency rooms and cost health care dollars. I would argue that some of these are simply economic side effects of working at jobs that pay very little. However, I would point out that the beneficiaries of paying them so little are typically employers - their exploitation of these workers is also exploiting public health care and other publically funded institutions. I have even see employers coach employees injured on the job as to what to say in the emergency room - that way there is no worker's comp investigation.

Latinos helped liberate Texas from Mexico. Around San Antonio, there are Latino families who have lived in the same place since Spanish missions were established almost 300 years ago.

Immigration Reform is a similar argument to the environment - the truck should be with those who exploit, and legislation should be designed to address that.