Margarita Rosales Alarcon is a junior at Venture Academy in Minneapolis.
This story was published in Sahan Journal on November 4, 2024.
By Margarita Rosales Alarcon
It’s election season, and some U.S. citizens are fixated on jobs being “taken” from them; the reality is that immigrants often do the jobs citizens don’t want.
Undocumented immigrants are a benefit to our communities and economy.
I have the privilege of being a U.S. citizen and a daughter of immigrants. I can see both sides of the issue in my community and outside of it. My father is Mexican. He works in roofing for up to 15 hours, seven days a week, sometimes skipping his meals to get his work done.
Immigrant workers are the only ones willing to endure the heat while carrying many shingles throughout the day. From my father’s view, the pay for roofing can be good but because the work is physically demanding, there is a worker shortage.
My father works long hours outside in the heat with the sun on his back. He faces racism and microaggressions all to put food on our table. He could benefit from more workers and so could the rest of the state.
Minnesota is going through a labor shortage. More immigrants in Minnesota could help address this “tight labor market” over the next decade, says the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Some of these workers are already here. Almost every day there’s a gathering of day laborers on Lake Street waiting for any job offer coming their way. They could help ease agriculture and food processing job shortages if we make it easier for them to get those jobs.
Minnesota has already taken a step forward by allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain their drivers’ licenses. My relatives benefited from this and had another weight taken off their shoulders. Now they’re not breaking the law by simply driving to work. This goes to prove that the people former President Donald Trump called “criminals” want to follow the law but often cannot due to eligibility or other challenges that leave them out.
The fight is ongoing. Recently in Minneapolis, asylum seekers from Ecuador have tried to make a living by selling food on the streets. Yet many have been fined by Minneapolis Police Department and city staff. Food vendors fear going out to sell and being treated as criminals when they’ve vocalized the current license requirements do not fit the various vendors’ needs. Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez put it best, “It’s not wrong to be able to try to make a living,”
Undocumented immigrants are often misrepresented by media, but the reality is that most immigrants work hard for their families and communities. My neighbors and I are always there for each other when one of us is going through a tough time. Even if we are not family, we treat each other as if we were. Everyone comes together to raise money for family members in need, such as when someone passes or requires medical treatment back in Mexico. My downstairs neighbors are always looking out for me and occasionally bring my family food and fruits. What’s so good about this? For me, it is important to have people around you to lean on and trust in a community. We are all equal after all.
Why have we normalized such xenophobic comments when it comes to undocumented immigrants? Citizens might not think these comments cause harm but in fact, they do. The comments cause racism and discrimination to happen even when going about in our daily lives.
How can we combat xenophobia? You can start by supporting your immigrant neighbors and connecting with organizations. Anyone can reach out to an organization like Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha (CTUL) to volunteer or donate. They are a worker-led organization in Minneapolis where workers fight for each other’s voice in their workplaces and communities.
Margarita worked with Minnesota Reformer Reporter Madison McVan and Sahan Journal Reporter Alfonzo Galvan to complete her story. This story was produced as part of ThreeSixty Journalism’s 2024 Op-Ed Workshop for high school youth in partnership with Sahan Journal and the Minnesota Star Tribune.
