To stop undocumented workers, stop employers from hiring them

American employers face almost no risk when hiring undocumented workers and pocket higher profits when they do. If people are angry at undocumented workers, that anger is misdirected. Undocumented workers would not be here if they did not have a job! The anger should be directed at those who hire them, fueling the illegal migration of cut-price labor by cutthroat, anti-labor conglomerates.

If the explosion of undocumented workers needs to be stopped, stop employers from hiring them. There is no need for a wall! If there was a law that treated these employers the same as drug dealers there would be no undocumented workers in the U.S. Put the offending employers in jail for a substantial period and confiscate their businesses. We need to stop rewarding practices that hurt all Americans.

Migrant workers are people, too. They are used as slave labor in a slave economy. They have no enforceable rights, living conditions are often deplorable, and employers can intimidate them without repercussion, forcing them to work in unsafe conditions. As humans with innate dignity, they deserve the chance to work for an honest wage and the opportunity to prove their merit, but jobs need to be offered to American citizens first. Establish minimum federally enforced wages for the skill, trade, experience, and environment appropriately. Stronger worker safety, workers' rights, and employment standards need to be strengthened, implemented, and enforced.

Everyone should play by the rules, not just the American worker. Those who cheat should be brought to justice.

Joel Wells

Iowa City