Exploitation in the Eye of the Beholder

I often wonder about people who talk about how illegal immigrants are being "exploited." If immigrants who come here just end up exploited, why do they come here in the first place? Why do they stay? Why don't they just go back to wherever they came from?

Having been personally acquainted with one, I can tell you what I know about this. I knew a man who was an illegal immigrant from France--yes, France. He was originally from Laos, went to France as a refugee after the Communist takeover there, and then tried to go to the U.S. as a refugee... AFTER having been naturalized in France. Of course, it didn't work. So he and his family spent many years here as an illegal immigrant

A good part of the reason he came is because he desired economic independence... something you just don't get in France. Sure, they had a living wage (sufficient that his wife could stay home with the kids), medical care, excellent schools, and so on. However, he came from a place where people took care of themselves, and so he came to the U.S. After years of hardship (the exploitation to which many refer) (for both himself and his family) he succeeded in starting his own business. Their material position was far lower than they enjoyed in France. Apparently, he valued the pride of self-employment over the material benefits of living in a "socialist paradise."

It's a simple fact. For all the stories about "exploitation," apparently, many prefer life here as an exploited illegal immigrant to life as a full citizen in another country (be it Mexico, China, or even the rare illegal immigrant from Europe).

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- Daryl Sawyer
http://weeklyramble.blogspot.com