Labor Day is a celebration meant to honor those who contribute to our workforce and economy. However, this holiday is not inclusive of one of the largest segments of the U.S. workforce: undocumented immigrants.
Undocumented workers often work in low-paying jobs without wage protection and under unsafe work conditions. Their work ethic and economic contributions are deserving of being recognized, but too often they’re forgotten. Still, they show up, day in and day out, until the job is done.
This issue hits very close to home for me ― even though I’m a United States citizen, my father is not.
Like many undocumented immigrants, my dad worked in manual labor ― he was a hardwood flooring specialist who hustled from job to job, but no matter how hard he worked, his dreams were always just out of reach. He did it all from installing the floor for the beloved Texas Longhorns’ indoor practice facility (affectionately known as “the bubble”), to installing hardwood floor in the homes of Texas families.
Because of his immigration status, my dad struggled to find stable employment, and, as a result, he settled for completing assignments without a contract from a range of construction companies. He ended up taking jobs where he could to put food on our table, like any good parent, but even when he finished a job it was never certain a paycheck was coming his way.
I remember the exploitation vividly. One day, when I was 12 years old, my dad asked me to come with him to a meeting with a client to help translate because his pay check was missing two weeks’ worth of work.
In my most professional and proper manner I asked the clients, “My dad wanted to check in because he noticed that there is a significant amount missing from his check, and wanted to know if the client didn’t like the job, if there is something he should do better, or if the rest is coming in a separate check?” The client, a middle-aged man, looked at me with a huge grin and said, “Sweetheart, tell your dad that when he can ask me himself in fluent English, without an accent, I’ll write him a check for whatever is missing.” Everyone in the room broke out in laughter. I could not believe people could be that cruel. I felt so helpless and sick to my stomach with what I had to translate to my dad, who was my hero, my everything.
This was not the last time that I would witness a client tell my father that they didn’t have to pay him because of his legal status. But each time this happened, it broke my heart anew, and it made it more difficult for my parents to support me and my siblings. What’s worse is that my story, my dad’s story, our family’s story is not unique.
Undocumented immigrants make up a significant portion of the U.S. labor force and make massive contributions to our economy. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, there are nearly 8.1 million undocumented workers in U.S, more than 1 million of whom work in construction. In my home state of Texas, one in every two construction workers are undocumented. Removing undocumented workers from the U.S. would create massive job shortages in industries such as construction and agriculture (industries that are already struggling to fill positions).
In addition, undocumented workers make important contributions to U.S. economy. For example, the economist Giovanni Peri found undocumented immigrants increased the wages of Americans in complementary professions by up to 10 percent, from 1990-2007. Additionally, undocumented immigrants contribute an estimated $11.64 billion annually in state and local taxes. Again looking at my home state of Texas, the economic impact of undocumented immigrants has helped generate 3.3 million new jobs.
We can address unfair labor practices and further unlock the economic potential of the undocumented community by updating our badly broken immigration system. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that if undocumented immigrants were legalized, they could pay an additional $2.1 billion annually in state and local taxes. This would raise undocumented immigrants’ effective tax rate (the share of their incomes that would go towards taxes to 8.6%. To put that in perspective, the richest one percent of Americans have a 5% effective tax rate. The alternative to legal status - mass deportation of undocumented immigrants - would cause widespread labor shortages in key industries and separate roughly 4.5 million U.S.-born American citizen children from their undocumented parents at a cost of $400 billion in new government spending.
A fellow Texan once told me,“you cannot understand the economic prosperity of Dallas, Houston, and Austin without recognizing, and acknowledging the contribution of undocumented immigrant labor.” This is true across the country. I have witnessed this firsthand, as the proud daughter of a man who, literally on his hands and knees, built the foundations for American institutions and families. On this Labor Day, I encourage Texans to celebrate the undocumented individuals in our communities who are often exploited, but who nonetheless continue to work to achieve the American Dream.
Author Bio: Zaira Garcia is a native Texan and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She currently works as the Texas Chapter Associate for FWD.us, a non-profit that promotes policies to keep the American Dream achievable in the 21st century.