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 Editorials | Opinions | April 2006 
Mexican Migrants Aren't Stealing Anybody's Job
 Isabella Martinez
My name is Isabella Martinez. I go to McNary High School, I am 15 years old and, of course, Mexican.
I am a legal Mexican and so are my both my parents and sister. And I am on the side for illegal immigrants to get residency in America so they can have a right to come and go without having to cross the border illegally.
The reason I am writing is because at school recently I heard some comments that Mexicans should go back to Mexico because they are taking the white people's jobs. I disagree with those comments because I thought about my family and how hard they work to stay here to provide a living for their families.
The comment went a little something like this: "I don't think we should let illegal immigrants in America stay because they have no right being here. The only thing they are doing is taking our jobs and leaving us none."
Yes, those comments were made by white girls.
And when I thought about my family and how they make a living, I thought about where they worked.
For instance, my dad. He works at nursery called Schreiner's Iris Gardens. And so do a lot of my uncles and aunts.
Then in the winter they work harvesting Christmas trees and in the beginning of June, they begin picking produce. They work in the fields doing the dirty jobs. Tell me what white person would want to work there at minimum wage. That's what I thought -- none!
Mexicans are not taking anyone's job. The jobs Mexicans get around here in America are working in the fields, busboys, maids, butlers and other jobs like that. Those are the leftover jobs.
Now think. Do white people want those jobs? No, they don't. They want high-class jobs that they can show off about.
So don't go complaining that we are taking "your" jobs. We are just trying to make a living like every other American here.
Take my dad, for instance. He was an illegal immigrant when he first came here in 1977 and was looking for work right away.
That was the reason he came to America in the first place. His first job here was picking produce in the fields.
Later on he started working at Schreiner's Iris Gardens. Well, to this day he still works there and is now a supervisor.
And I bet you are wondering how he learned to read, write and speak English. On his own! He even managed to get his GED. My dad even helps me with my homework. And is now legal.
That just goes to show that not all Mexicans are here to mess around and stuff. They are here to get serious.
I'm not trying to say some don't mess around and don't look for jobs. But that's not how we all are.
A lot of us are here to be serious and provide our families with a good environment.
That's why we came here in the first place.
And if, after you read my opinion and still think illegal immigrants should go back, then I guess you didn't get the point of all this.
Isabella Eustolia Martinez of Salem, OR, is a freshman at McNary High School. She enjoys playing softball, drawing and playing the guitar.
Without Mexican Labor, Crops Would Rot
Aaron Duhon
Emilio Hernandez, a native of Hidalgo, Mexico, is one of 24 migrant workers picking strawberries here at the farm of Rhonda Poche, who grows 16 acres of strawberries at the farm her grandfather started in 1926. Emilio's employment was secured under the H2A program, a temporary guest worker initiative that farmers like Poche have come to rely upon to get their crops out of the fields.
Like his 23 co-workers, Hernandez works in the United States but lives in Mexico. And he and other migrant workers all across the country are now caught in a federal crossfire that could tighten restrictions on who can work and live in the United States.
The issue of immigration reform has prompted protests by Hispanic groups across the country. Law enforcement officials said making illegal immigration a felony would tax their resources beyond limits.
But the fact remains that illegal aliens, mostly from Mexico, are entering this country in droves. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told a Senate hearing last week that an estimated 2.8 million Mexicans crossed illegally into the United States last year.
Despite how Americans in general might feel about workers from Mexico, farmers, especially those in Louisiana, know exactly what their attitudes are toward those who come here from south of the border looking for work.
"They are essential to our operation," Poche said. "We advertise for several weeks in the newspapers to be able to get local people to come in and help us. We don't even get applications."
Poche has worked for years within the guidelines of the H2A program. It allows guest worker visas to be issued to her employees that stipulate they can work in the U.S. for 10 months and must then return home.
"We would love to have local people come pick our strawberries," Poche said. "We pay $7.80 per hour. But if we don't hire workers from Mexico, our strawberries would just rot in the field."
Aaron Duhon is president of the Lafayette Parish Farm Bureau. |
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