Did you know that half the farmworkers who grow and pick America’s fruits and vegetables are undocumented? Did you know a fourth of workers who process meat, fish and poultry are also? Did you know that 350,000 immigrant caregivers in our country look after the elderly, children, sick and disabled? And another 160,000 clean and do laundry in health environments? Did you know that 10% of construction workers are unauthorized immigrants and 32% of roofers are also? The construction industry is already facing a labor shortage of 500,000 workers, and the immigrant labor force is critical to solving the housing crisis. Did you know that during the COVID-19 pandemic, three-fourths of the “essential” workforce, who could not stay safe at home, were unauthorized immigrants – garbage collectors, food processors, hospital cleaning staff, caregivers, etc.?
And did you know that these unauthorized workers pay $13 billion a year permanently into the Social Security system even though they can never use these benefits? And that undocumented families in 2022 paid $35.1 billion in taxes to help support our country? That was $21.5 billion in federal taxes and $13.6 in state and local taxes. I recently learned of these amazing statistics.
So can you tell me why Mr. Trump (not yet president) wants to throw them all out of our country?
Perplexed and dismayed,
Connie Durand
Durango
