This will probably be a shorter one, but I still have enough to say. Let's get into it.

In the U.S, you may be a citizen of the country. As a citizen, you have certain rights, like voting in elections, serving on juries, running for offices, the freedom to change jobs, welfare, and more. As a citizen of the country, you have these benefits, because "all men are created equal" and have "certain unalienable Rights." There shall be no taxation without representation, for that would be simply audacious.

Unless you're a resident, a member of the lower class. Unlike citizens, you can't vote in elections, run for office, change jobs, or receive many welfare benefits. You can even risk being deported for many reasons, and we'll touch on that. And 3.6 million people hold such a status according to FY 2024, with most being on student or worker visas.

Now obviously there are reasons for this system: it can help buy immigrants time to integrate into the country, provides an easing period for the country, gives the government time to spot any rotten apples before they could do real harm, and limits exploitation. We can accept that there are good-faith reasons why such a system might be needed before we get into the real harm.

There are various types of visas. Many of these visas, let's call them employment visas, allow for employers to hire workers from outside of the country, with the visa being tied to them. This includes certain visa types like H-1 visas, alongside others. Still, all of these visas function pretty much the same way, and if it quacks like a duck, well...

A key aspect of employment visas is that they're tied to a specific employer. The employer offers the job and agrees to sponsor the visa, filing the paperwork and getting it accepted. Once they do, the worker is beholden to that employer, their visa dependent on that employer. If the employer revokes the visa, they will need to quickly find another job that would sponsor them a visa, and such a thing is, let's say, very difficult.

This of course, can lead to a substantial imbalance. A study published in RTI International finds there are "extraordinary problems" with "visas that tie workers to a particular employer", as "workers have their bargaining power to negotiate for higher wages or better treatment completely undermined because it's either stay there and put up with it or leave the country." Workers fear that "reporting their workplace abuses will lead to their termination", and fear quitting "because they lack worth authorization" and "fear deportation." Employers can also "avoid paying benefits and securing measures" by hiring workers "who lack status."

Likewise, another study published in Loyola Law School finds that "recruiters used false promises of highly paid skilled engineering jobs" to recruit workers. When they arrived, though, "they were instead forced to work in warehouses and on automotive assembly lines." All respondents in the Loyola study had "experienced at least one major legal violation, including sexual harassment, threats of deportation, or seizure of identity documents." The process also "often leaves workers deeply indebted" with workers often having to pay "exorbitant fees" which are "usually illegal", with "contractual terms" often being "violated after arrival", such as "promises of hourly wages." Mike Rios said "the H-2A program is literally the purchase of humans to perform difficult work under terrible conditions, sometimes including subhuman living conditions."

What about the illegal immigrants that Trump has warned us time and time again about? In June of 2015, he describes how Mexico was sending us "people that have lots of problems", calling them "rapists" who were "bringing drugs" and "bringing crime." In June 2019, he described in a Tweet how ICE would "begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who illicitly found their way into the United States." In an August 2020 press briefing, he describes how "Joe Biden" allowed "rioters and looters and criminals and millions of illegal aliens to roam free in our country." Trump describes in his debate against Kamala how "she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison", then describing how illegal migrants in Springfield were "eating the dogs", "eating the cats", and "eating the pets of the people that live there." And just look at the word choice: illegal aliens. Aliens. As in, not human, as in dehumanizing. So, how threatening are these immigrants?

The study from RTI International mentioned above discusses illegal immigrants, citing from Hospitality Worker that "when you are illegal" and "your papers aren't right", you "have to put up with being humiliated" and the "limit everything." Illegal immigrants also "fear that reporting their workplaces abuses will lead to their deportation", a fear shared by experts. They also "may believe they have no labor rights." Employers "explicitly used this threat to prevent them from seeking help." Many of these immigrants are running from the disastrous violence, extortion and organized crime in parts of Mexico, which has seen rampant authoritarianism and gang violence. And these people, weak, impoverished and suffering, are easily manipulated by employers. The American Immigration Council reports that under "the guidance of illegal document brokers, some assume identities that hide their true age", "finding their way into the undocumented workforce of the United States." These teens "are doing rigorous, grueling work often meant for adults" by "unscrupulous employers", and "get trapped in this vast network of under-the-table labor." Most of the money goes back to the families and the smugglers who brought them to the United States. And these teens are not alone, the network described includes all sorts of illegal immigrants in so, so many industries.

With the Trump Administration's recent crackdown on immigration and violent, brutal strategy using I.C.E, these threats of deportation have only become more real. I.C.E has been using "unmarked vehicles" and "disguised vehicles" that "sometimes have no license plates" as "masked agents" snatched their loved ones, unidentifiable. The District Attorney also unsuccessfully attempted to introduce the "Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program" which would offer a $1,000 reward for every deportation a bounty hunter assisted with (like the Roman Proscriptions, dammit Trump.) So far, the DOJ has claimed to have directly removed "more than 527,000 illegal aliens under the leadership of President Donald Trump", and "1.6 million" "have voluntarily self-deported" according to the Department of Homeland Security. As nearly "two in five U.S workers said their sense of safety at work has been affected by an increase in activity by" I.C.E, it only makes sense this too would apply to the "illegal aliens" Trump has been so desperate to attack. Trump has also significantly attacked the visa programs and asylum programs that enable immigrants to safely enter the United States, making things even riskier. And given how terrible the state of things are where they come from is, aren't they right to be scared?

And given how connected the Trump administration is to the establishment, who's to say they won't turn a blind eye when they're paid to? Read: the exploitation is only going to get worse. Because in June this year, the Department of Labor "quietly suspended enforcement of its 2024 rule which strengthened protections for farmworkers recruited to work in the United States through the H-2A agricultural visa program", which "puts thousands of workers at higher risk of abuse and exploitation." And the Economy Policy Institute discusses how "many employers can violate workers' rights with near impunity" and will use "any means necessary, including legal and illegal forms of intimidation", made worse by the Trump Administration sending the message "that exercising your legal right to improve your working conditions can make you the target of a government that won't think twice about putting you in a cage and removing you from the country", creating a "chilling effect on the businesses that rely on immigrant labor" and with some workers "staying home out of fear" according to CNN. The undocumented immigrants specifically make up "4% to 5% of the total US workforce."

And even with these threats, these workers "can't afford to stay home." They have families to support, rent to pay, children to take to school. They don't want to go back, not after all they've sacrificed. The United States was a country built on the backbone of immigrants, with the American Dream itself being a symbol of how you too could make it if you come here. But the country seems to have made it clear that this dream is no more.

All that we can be sure of is one thing. Because of the Trump Administration's actions, the stick that employers have thrown to their undocumented and documented migrants alike has become significantly more firm, and workers will suffer for it. The threats have become sturdier, employers more emboldened, and workers more intimidated. Many more will suffer, and many who are deported will die for it. Instead of accepting these brave people who come to our country seeking a future, we reject our past.