Blind Liberty: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in America

 

Back in the day, before the industrial revolution arose in Europe, most people were self-efficient; meaning that they produced their own material possessions. If you needed a shirt, you would grow and gather your own cotton, produce yarn, and sew it all until you have essentially crafted your desired product. 

Look around you. Every product you see. We are now in the age of the post industrialization period; massive amounts of products are now available for purchase.  One of the most significant changes in the developed world, was the remarkable transition from self-efficiency to a service-based economy.  America seem to need migrant workers to replace menial undesired yet still equally important jobs.  They are still essential towards the functionality of a society.  You need someone to clean the dishes. You need someone to clean the public restrooms. You need someone to wipe off cow manure every day. But who’s going to accept those low waged jobs? Certainly not the “white Americans” as they are too “privileged” to perform such a degrading task, but rather passing it on towards migrant workers; the strangers in a strange land. 

Throughout Alexander Saxton’s “Mines and Railroads”,  he discusses the two social views of the migrant and American mixed community during the Gold Rush in California. "There had been, however, a tacit acceptance of Chinese as menial or unskilled laborers, and as purchasers of second-hand surface claims...They preformed their traditional functions as cooks, house servants, washer-men; and most important of all, perhaps, they fetched in firewood."  The Chinese migrant workers were seen as mere disposable objects used by "Americans" to preform tedious, and often perilous, kinds of toil that no one else wanted to do. 

In addition, with labour markets expanding due to booming technologies, joblessness was fairly common especially at the low end of the business-cycle which was, most of the time, quite volatile and selective towards applicants.  In the world of growing Capitalism, companies and firms are interested in one thing; profit. They would do anything to increase it and at times would even disregard ethical means and breaking the law. In order to circumvent immigration laws, some companies today secretly hire undocumented migrant workers or "illegal aliens", as a form of cheap labour which increases that factor of production resulting in an increase in profit, which is ultimately why immigration continues to be a problem today. 

These migrant workers are so essential towards American society. They are the tiny nuts and bolts that make up an unsinkable sea-liner, or the individual nails that are used to build a towering skyscraper. Though you cannot see them, they do in fact exist in great numbers, each with a great purpose. Their constant hard work through ceaseless exploitation should not be gone unseen by Lady Liberty; hence the picture above. They are there with a simple job, but without them, big dreams cannot become reality. And after all, is this not the land of immigrants?