Back shortly after the Reagan era, when the Immigration and Reform Act of 1986 was signed in and fixed all the shortcomings of migrants just entering the US....within two or three years....Jose # 1 entered into the US via Mexico, from El Salvador, and became an illegal and undocumented worker in the US. He had a job, under the table, and worked for warehouse clean-up team....making $2 under the minimum wage.
A year or two passed, and Jose #2 arrived in the US....illegal and undocumented. He convinced the clean-up crew for the warehouse to hire him for $2.20 less than minimum wage, and Jose #1 was let go. Jose #1 went on and found another job....making less than minimum wage.
A year or two passed, and Jose #3 arrived in the US....illegal and undocumented. He convinced the clean-up crew for the warehouse to hire him for $2.25 less than minimum wage, and Jose #2 was let go. He went on to compete against Jose #1, and took his job. Jose #1, sought better work in Michigan.
A year or two passed, and Jose #4 arrived in the US....illegal and undocumented. He convinced the clean-up crew for the warehouse to hire him for $2.30 less than minimum wage, and Jose #3 was let go. He went to compete against Jose #2, who gave up and moved to NY City.
Year after year, a new Jose arrived. Year after year, that Jose displaced the old Jose. Altogether, these 10 to 15 million illegal and undocumented workers....make less than the minimum wage and save literally billions in the pockets of well-to-do Americans. Guys hire Jose to do work, that minority Americans won't do....for less than the minimum wage. Everytime that a threat comes up to lessen the Jose affect, you can depend on Congressmen and Senators to save the Jose, and his fellow-Joses.
But decade after decade, the Joses are now in such abundance, that they compete against the original Jose folks, and the second wave, and the third wave. So we now have plenty of Joses....to do minimum wage work, for half the price.
Are we really doing them a favor?
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