Even the ways we defend undocumented immigrants are dehumanizing.
“They take the jobs Americans don’t want.”
“They contribute billions to the economy.”
“They work hard and stay out of trouble.”
These talking points may be factually accurate, but they reduce people to their productivity. They frame undocumented immigrants not as human beings with dignity, but as disposable tools whose worth is measured in sweat and service.
Undocumented people are not valuable because they are useful. They are valuable because they are human.
They are our neighbors. Our classmates. Our coworkers. They raise their children alongside ours, volunteer at school events, and sit next to us in church. They are already part of our communities, regardless of paperwork.
And yet the US immigration system continues to treat them as a threat to be contained, a burden to be managed, or a workforce to be exploited and discarded.
What Exploitation Looks Like
Undocumented workers are often forced into silence, fear, and survival-mode. The ways they are exploited are not hidden. They are systemic and widespread.
- Wage theft: Employers withhold pay, refuse overtime, or offer sub-minimum wages.
- Unsafe working conditions: They labor in construction zones, agricultural fields, and restaurant kitchens without proper safety protections.
- Excessive hours and no rest: Long shifts without breaks are standard, not exceptional.
- Harassment and abuse: Many experience verbal, physical, and psychological abuse, with no avenue for protection.
- Threats of retaliation: Any attempt to speak out is met with threats of deportation.
- No benefits or protections: Healthcare, workers’ comp, and sick leave are denied or dangled like carrots.
Why It Happens
This is not random. Several forces allow, and even encourage this exploitation:
- Fear of deportation keeps workers silent.
- Lack of legal status makes them disposable in the eyes of employers.
- Limited legal recourse means even when laws exist, justice is inaccessible.
- Employer impunity allows companies to profit off abuse.
- Inadequate immigration policy prioritizes punishment over pathways.
The Industries Built on Exploitation
The most essential sectors of the U.S. economy are upheld by undocumented labor:
- Agriculture: Undocumented farmworkers endure extreme conditions to put food on American tables.
- Construction: Dangerous work, long hours, and little recognition.
- Domestic labor: Housekeepers, nannies, caregivers are especially vulnerable to wage and emotional abuse.
- Hospitality and food service: From dishwashers to hotel cleaners, many undocumented workers are foundational to these industries.
These workers aren’t “taking jobs.” They’re doing the jobs the U.S. economy depends on. But without rights, without safety, and without respect.
Yes, They Contribute. But That’s Not the Point.
The numbers are staggering:
- In 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $59.4 billion in federal taxes and $13.6 billion in state and local taxes.
- In 2023, they had $299 billion in spending power, supporting local economies across the country.
- They start businesses, create jobs, and support industries most Americans take for granted.
But let’s be honest, if you only defend someone’s right to exist because of their tax contributions, you’re missing the point.
Undocumented people don’t need to prove their economic worth to deserve basic human dignity.
No One Is Illegal. But Exploitation Is.
We cannot keep pretending that the exploitation of undocumented workers is accidental. It’s not. It’s a feature of the system. Not a flaw.
The US reaps the benefits of their labor while denying them safety, rights, and recognition. We criminalize their presence, but not the employers who hire them. We surveil their movements, but not the corporations that profit off their backs. We build walls to keep them out, while our fields, kitchens, and construction sites collapse without them.
This is not about the economy.
It’s about power.
And it’s about who we believe is worthy of protection.
Undocumented people already belong here. Not because of what they produce, but because they are human. Because they are part of our lives, our communities, our stories, our country.
And if we continue to treat them as expendable, if we continue to ignore the theft of their wages, the abuse of their bodies, and the erasure of their humanity, then we are not only complicit in a broken system.
We are endorsing it.
So the next time you hear someone talk about “illegals,” ask yourself:
What do they really mean?
Because no human is illegal.
But wage theft is.
Abuse is.
And if you’re not angry yet — you’re not paying attention.
Want to Do Something? Start Here.
Read and share:
- The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches From the Border by Francisco Cantú
- Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal by Aviva Chomsky
- Separated: Inside an American Tragedy by Jacob Soboroff
Support immigrant-led organizations:
Speak out. Vote. Organize. Defend.
Because silence has always been the accomplice of oppression.
