November 9th was a very unusual day in Los Angeles (California). The faces of the citizens of this democratic state were painted with disbelief. There was fear in the eyes of the thousands of undocumented immigrants after Donald Trump’s seemingly implausible victory. A couple of months before, I had begun my project of collecting undocumented immigrants’ stories, and now my research had taken an unexpected twist.
According to the Pew Research Center, there are more than a million undocumented immigrants living in California -the second highest figure after the state of New York- and more than 71% of them are of Mexican origin. Many of them live in sanctuary citiessuch as Los Angeles, where the local authorities do not cooperate with the federal authorities for matters such as migration (migration agents are not allowed to arrest anyone without a court order). Therefore, irregular migrants living in these cities are somewhat protected by the law.
However, were they going to be safe from Trump’s finger-pointing (and his Twitter rants)? The purpose of my research was to ascertain insights on the working conditions of undocumented workers, as well as to understand the desires and aspirations that took them to the United States in the first place. I could then form a critical opinion about this phenomenon which affects such an important sector of the population. It is a fact that companies benefit from the constant flow of immigrants.
It has been noted that undocumented immigrants have a characteristic work ethic due to them working long hours for small salaries, and usually doing jobs that many Americans do not wish to do. Nevertheless, it is all too common for many companies to take advantage of the lack of rights that these immigrants are afforded, and even threaten to call the Immigration Crime Engagement Department (ICE) if they complain.
“Illegal” workers in the spotlight
One of Donald Trump’s main tools to win the presidency was his rhetoric about undocumented immigrants. During his presidential campaign, at a speech in Phoenix on August 31st, he said:
“While there are many illegal immigrants in our country who are good people, this doesn’t change the fact that most illegal immigrants are lower-skilled workers with less education who compete directly against vulnerable American workers, and that these illegal workers draw much more out from the system than they will ever pay in.”
These claims, as well as others by President Trump in which he specifically labeled Mexican undocumented immigrants as “rapists and criminals” generated much discontent among the migrant population of southern California, a demographic that generally works in the most demanding, monotonous and poorly paid jobs in the United States.
These undocumented immigrants see this speech by Donald Trump as “essentially permitting” the mistreatment and the precarious conditions in which they find themselves. Salary theft is disturbingly common among this population, as well as verbal and physical abuse. However, many are afraid of reporting their experiences to the authorities since the fear of being deported and having their families separated is common among the undocumented immigrants in the region. When asked if they feel that they are stealing jobs from American workers, the answer is “no”, as they are the ones working in the most demanding jobs at a salary that Americans would not work for.
Undocumented immigrants who continue to work in a wide variety of undervalued jobs (domestic workers, cleaners, gardeners, construction workers, etc.) now have to live in an atmosphere of persecution that has ben promoted by President Trump’s rhetoric. These are people who could previously go out and do their day jobs freely. Now, they have to look through their windows before leaving their home to walk in the streets that they helped to build.
The fear of losing what they have or have not achieved in the United States can lead to tragic situations. On February 22nd, Guadalupe Olivas Valencia, a Mexican immigrant, decided to take his own life just minutes after being deported. This attracted mass media attention from all over the world, as a clear sign of the consequences that these people face when they lose everything after years of sacrifice.
Are businesses responsible for migration?
There is still a lot to be done regarding those immigrants who leave everything behind in search of better opportunities across the border. Given that meaningful migration reform is highly unlikely under the current president’s administration, it is extremely important for both the Mexican Government and businesses to create more opportunities for those seeking work. This would ideally reduce emigration and give more opportunities to those who have been deported or who have decided to return to the country voluntarily.
Most recently, the Mexican Government has taken the following action:
- Education initiatives to ensure that young people who have been deported encounter few obstacles when enrolling in Mexican institutions.
- The “Somos Mexicanos” (We are Mexicans) program which facilitates the social and economic reinsertion of those returning to the country.
- The creation of a telephone hotline to help with any inquiries that migrants in the United States may have.
- Free legal services in Mexican Consulates.
- Psychological support for those Mexicans who are suffering from a trauma or crisis.
Nevertheless, it is critical that both the government and private sector develop initiatives to protect our returning fellow citizens. We must also consider that not only a reform of the employment infrastructure is needed, but also of the housing, education and healthcare infrastructure. To achieve adequate social reinsertion, we need the government and businesses to work together.
The challenge for businesses in the United States is just as big, as they must check the status of the people they hire using the e-verify system. Nonetheless, it is down to these large businesses to pressure the government on the issuing of work permits. This means that immigrant workers would no longer find themselves in vulnerable situations while having to work with false documents.
One of the people I interviewed summed up the complex situation in which many find themselves: “Here they don’t want me, and there they’ve already forgotten me”. These migrants, who fight day-in-day-out for a better future, need to know that we have not forgotten them.
