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iknowyouright t1_j6xyf39 wrote

Downvote all you people want, but we had no real immigration policy until the Chinese exclusion act, which was based on racism, and then the country-specific immigration quotas, which targeted undesirable populations (notably, those countries just happened to be where the majority of Jews had immigrated from, almost completely halting Jewish immigration to the states).

If your ancestors came before the 1880s they were almost guaranteed to be "economic migrants" but there was no law stopping them from coming. So now in 2023 we look with disdain on people coming for the exact same reasons because....reasons.

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Grass8989 t1_j6y00c3 wrote

They also weren’t provided with housing in hotels, medical care, and three meals a day in 1880.

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iknowyouright t1_j6y0e7q wrote

How dare we become more humane as the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world.

The last time these "economic migrants" stopped coming our produce was rotting in the fields. Be grateful you don't have to do the backbreaking, underpaid labor that keeps this country running and instead get to look down on the people that do.

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spicytoastaficionado t1_j6y3zju wrote

>The last time these "economic migrants" stopped coming our produce was rotting in the fields. Be grateful you don't have to do the backbreaking, underpaid labor that keeps this country running and instead get to look down on the people that do.

You do realize this is a terrible justification for mass migration, right?

I remember Kelly Osbourne made the same argument about how illegal immigrants are needed in this country to clean toilets.

It is also a de facto endorsement of specifically illegal immigration, since that underpaid labor you support them doing is underpaid because the people performing the jobs can't legally work.

Viewing the value of migrants in this country as solely a source of cheap, often illegal labor, is pretty racist.

It is 2023.

Be better.

Be an anti-racist.

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throws_rocks_at_cars t1_j6y6xu8 wrote

Always cracks me up when liberal/progressives end up advocating for slavery

>”we need illegals to do illegal labor (that also harms unions) in unregulated labor markets where they can be treated illegally because they’re not able to obtain help through the system and the employers know that.”

Illegal immigrant manual labor is the closest thing to slavery that we still have

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iknowyouright t1_j6y5sye wrote

You’re just shoving words in my mouth and calling me a racist.

Plenty of LEGAL immigrants work in almost every labor-intensive industry in this country. That’s our history and current economic reality and pretending it’s not isn’t anti-racist.. If you think I mean illegal immigrants being disposable labor, you can fuck right off. My family is comprised of migrants who came to this country to make a better life for themselves.

You’re also skating the point that US-borne citizens look down on the migrants keeping this country running. Entire industries in this country depend on immigration (not just illegal immigration). And there’s plenty of ways legal migrants get fucked over - looking at the entire HB1 visa program.

So what? You want to send all these people packing instead of letting them come here and build a better life? That’s your idea of being anti-racist? Deport them?

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spicytoastaficionado t1_j6yhgte wrote

Be better.

Xenophobia and advocating workplace exploitation will not solve the migrant crisis.

Your racism is heartbreaking and disturbing on multiple levels. These are human beings; not just disposable sources of cheap labor!

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iknowyouright t1_j6yjvwt wrote

Just go ahead and ignore everything I wrote and ignore actual reality. I’m assuming you’ve never worked manual labor jobs like I have with actual real migrants, annd with my own family, and your exposure to this entire situation is through the internet. Have a good day.

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Solagnas t1_j71yqgv wrote

"140 years later and things are different"

Yeah no shit.

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