(Narration) Most people have a pre-formulated concept about the lives of migrant workers and illegal immigrants in the United States.
(Mari) So, __________, what kind of lives do you think that illegal immigrants lead?
(Three peer interviewees) _______________________________
In reality, migrant workers have had, for hundreds of years, lead lives of discrimination and difficulty. Many people may think of migrant workers as being solely mexican, but in reality, the history of immigrant labors stretches to many countries. Some early workers, from the 1800s, had roots in China and Japan, coming to California for a better life, but being met with poor conditions, low pay, and racism. Filipino workers, who came to the states in the 1890s after the Spanish occupation, were bound by unfair, discriminating laws that kept them in isolated, destitute conditions.
Latin American workers, which will be the main focus of our segment, started coming to the states during the Great Depression. Due to the ruined financial state of the country, their wages were often extremely low, and the labor was time-intensive and rough. Conditions were unforgiving and workers were rarely able to better their lives, having to keep working to barely escape bankruptcy.
In the last decade, the issue of illegal immigration has become more and more pressing, and more awareness has arisen towards the problems that occur with the increasing presence of a migrant labor force. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's March 2005 Current Population Survey," the U.S. is home to between 11.5 million and 12 million illegal immigrants, up sharply from 8.4 million in 2000. Unauthorized migrants accounted for 30% of all foreign-born people in the U.S. as of 2005. Most unauthorized migrants -- 6.2 million, or 56% of the illegal population -- come from Mexico. About 2.5 million, or 22% of the total, come from the rest of Latin America." In the same study it was established, "Approximately 19% of illegal workers were employed in construction jobs, 15% in production, installation and repair, and 4% in farming. The Pew report also shows that illegal immigrants comprise 24% of all workers in farming, 17% in cleaning, 14% in construction and 12% in food preparation. Within those categories, unauthorized migrants tend to be concentrated in specific jobs: They represent 36% of all insulation workers, 29% of all roofers and drywall installers, and 27% of all butchers and other food-processing workers."
We at ___news organization___ are going to discuss the problems that specifically affect those workers, such as housing, wages, and health issues.
Migrant farm workers as a whole do not have adequate housing, and the issue is often glossed over by the government.
According to the National Center for Farmworker Health, "The only national data on hired farmworker housing show that in 1980, available units could only house about 30 percent of the migrant farmworkers in need of housing". They also report that "Although some hired farmworkers live in well-kept housing, much of the housing available for them is deficient, crowded, and unsanitary. In addition, they often lack safe drinking water, bathing or laundry facilities, and even adequate sanitation."
Migrant workers are often underpaid as well. One example occured on January 27, 2006 when Georgia Pacific, International Paper, and Champion were sued for paying their workers unfair wages. The lawsuit alleged that "The workers got $100 to $200 a week for 60 or 70 hours of work and had to use part of that for transportation, housing and work tools", according to Reuters news association.
Here, we interview ___person___ on the subject of migrant workers.
(interview questions here)
