This year, the worldwide observance of May Day, International Worker’s Day, had a special focus in the United States, as it coincided with “A Day Without Immigrants,” designed to draw attention to the impact of immigrant workers on our economy. That’s as it should be, as the issue of illegal immigration is largely the story of workers who made the decision to leave their home countries in order to work in the United States, with or without documentation. Regardless of your views about illegal immigration, the impact of undocumented workers on the U.S. economy is significant, and no feasible solution can fail to address the plight of immigrant workers and the employers who alternatively rely on them and exploit them.
So much has been written, and written well, about this issue, that we feel the most productive thing that we can do is to present some of the most interesting and compelling viewpoints, rather than to add but a tiny voice to the din crying for meaningful and non-punitive reform. Below are some of the best, in no particular order. The more we all know, the more we can push our leaders to react thoughtfully instead of punitively.
