American Sentiments on Immigrant Workers
Published: August 19, 2007
That the callous killing of an immigrant worker — and routine accidental deaths of immigrants who work in often perilous conditions — receive hardly any attention from the government and public is a horrifying commentary on our attitude toward immigrant workers.
Your Aug. 12 editorial “An Abundance of Cruelties” came just two days after the Bush administration, in the face of failed Congressional reform, issued new “enforcement only” measures that will make a bad situation worse for immigrants and their families. The vast majority of undocumented immigrants are here for the same reasons as generations before them — to build a better life for themselves and their children. They contribute greatly to our economy.
Immigrant workers build our homes, pick our food and care for our elderly. But somehow we can’t find the will to fix the broken immigration system so people are treated with dignity, or even mourn the loss of a human life. For a country whose legacy is built on freedom, justice and human rights, Americans should all be ashamed that we’ve hit a new low.
Héctor Figueroa
New York
The writer is secretary-treasurer, Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ.