To what extent does the US economy depend on undocumented workers being undocumented? (See details).

Asked by sadiesayit (1655

) January 23rd, 2021

From what I understand, undocumented workers in the US are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by employers, such as being underpaid, or being put in hazardous conditions without adequate safeguards/protections… and the exploitation makes for cheaper labor.

To what extent does the US economy depend on this particular kind of exploitation? Economically speaking, would would happen if undocumented workers were all provided documentation (assuming, for the sake of the question, that worker documentation would force these jobs to better follow worker’s rights laws)? ... and if it does depend on it, what does that say?

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5 Answers

To a large extent.

What it says, is that our system is corrupt and exploitative, and fragile. Not to mention grossly unfair and abusive.

Zaku (30571

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Illegal immigrants working in the US number between 7 and 8 million, and make up almost 5% of the total labor force. Together they contribute over $1 trillion to the national GDP each year.

JLoon (8583

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@JLoon: Which says they should be treated as the valuable assets they are instead of targets to be vilified by certain politicians for personal gain.

cookieman (41845

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Bingo. This is what it’s all about.

hello321 (4435

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I have a good friend who is undocumented. He’s been in the US for 20 years or so. He came on a tourist visa, found some good paying work (compared to what he could make at home), and sent some money back. His visa had expired and he was about to return to his home country when he found out he had a daughter. Baby-mama was the sort who could barely keep it together for herself, let alone raising a child, so he stayed here and as a single dad, raised his daughter. He’s one of the hardest working people I know. He pays taxes regularly, has no Social Security account, and works for about 75% (or less) of what they would normally pay.

Strauss (23829

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