Dr. Yosef Ben Levi :
In agriculture, immigrants — particularly from Latin America — make up the overwhelming majority of the workforce, picking fruits, vegetables, and crops in brutal heat for poverty-level wages. In meat and poultry processing, they work in physically dangerous, notoriously low-paying slaughterhouses that run almost entirely on their labor. In construction, they have built American roads, bridges, buildings, and homes, often in hazardous conditions for wages domestic workers routinely turn down. Immigrant women disproportionately fill domestic work and childcare roles as nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers — keeping American households running and professional careers afloat. The back kitchens of American restaurants — the dishwashers, prep cooks, and line workers — are powered largely by immigrant labor.
Landscaping and groundskeeping in extreme weather conditions for minimal pay is almost entirely carried by immigrant workers. In healthcare, immigrants fill critical gaps as doctors, nurses, and medical researchers, particularly in underserved rural communities that American-born professionals consistently avoid. In technology and innovation, a significant portion of Silicon Valley’s engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs are immigrants or first-generation Americans — Google, Yahoo, eBay, and Tesla all had immigrant co-founders. Textile mills, garment factories, and assembly plants have historically been built on immigrant labor, from the Irish and Italians in the 19th century to Asian and Latin American workers today. And the grueling, underpaid work of caring for America’s aging population in nursing homes and elder care facilities falls overwhelmingly on immigrant shoulders.
Immigrants do not take jobs Americans want. They fill the jobs Americans leave empty — at wages Americans reject — while paying taxes, building communities, and driving economic growth. The American economy as it currently functions could not sustain itself without them. So before you open your mouth to demean immigrants, make sure you understand who actually keeps this country running — because the record is clear.
2026-07-01 13:13:30