The following commentary is published with permission from Alan Bell, Franklin County Democratic Central Committee member:

There continues to be a lot of attention being paid to the illegal immigration problem in this country.  One aspect of this issue is continually overlooked.  Undocumented immigrants come to this country because they can find jobs so that they can better their lives. In order to do this, they make themselves available to all sorts of work. 

American citizens, businesses, and companies happily hire the illegal immigrants because they can pay them much lower wages than American workers. They don’t need to pay benefits such as healthcare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. Employers don’t have to pay undocumented residents for overtime, and they can be fired at any time and for any cause. 

Undocumented workers are money makers for their employers. 

If these individuals couldn’t find jobs they would not keep coming, and they wouldn’t stay.  As long as US employers keep giving them jobs, the problem will continue. 

Maybe the president and congress should focus on these major contributors of the problem.  That won’t happen because illegal immigrants are too good for the profit margin. 

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Editor’s Note: The following resources are helpful to learn more about immigration in Missouri: 

Immigrants in Missouri (American Immigration Council)

Profile of the Unauthorized Population: Missouri (Migration Policy Institute)

U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population by State, 2016 (Pew Research Center)

The Franklin County Democratic Central Committee meets the last Monday of each month. Due to COVID, meetings are currently being held via Zoom. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. 

Photo Credit: Nitish Meena on Unsplash