To the Editor:
Virginia Pitaresi has some great points regarding undocumented workers being compared to home burglars, or unwelcomed guests, perhaps. I, myself, have lived in Mexico, voluntarily, that is. The poverty is grossly exaggerated. True poverty exists in Africa, Haiti, and India.
Nevertheless, if she or I were making in equivalent of $4 (U.S.) a day there, why in God’s name would we remain when our earnings could be tripled or even quadrupled here in the U.S.? Would we suffer in Latin America with our pitiful earnings out of a sense of “decency” and remain? I think not! Maximizing one’s earning potential for familial obligation is in no way immoral.
Yet, these groups, usually lacking professional credentials, are simply not equipped to compete with Oriental, Egyptian, East and even West Indian immigrants, who are usually highly educated. The highly educated from Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, etc., are very rarely seen here, except perhaps in Manhattan, or, for the most part, in Miami.
Linguistic ethnocentrism is the result of feeling marginalized, not only by North Americans, but by the more affluent immigrant groups. I am fluent in Spanish, and if there is any way for these folks to impress me with their knowledge of English, they will do so, and often become defensive if I continue to use their language.
The solution, then, appears to be that they need to be granted work permits of some sort after being able to prove that they’ve been here five years or so. That way, welfare, food stamps, and Medicaid wouldn’t be options.
Currently, though, without these people, the price of fruit, construction, and a restaurant meal would be at least three times what it is already and our Social Security program (already in enough trouble) would collapse all the more quickly.
PETE A. deMATTEO