I was moved to tears watching a discussion on television about the six immigrant workers who lost their lives filling potholes on the Key Bridge in Baltimore when that giant container ship lost power and knocked the bridge down. I thought of the loss of crucial bread-winning family members. I was impressed that all of these men were immigrants specifically from Central America and Mexico. I was impressed that they were deep in the fabric of American society many having been here for 18 yeas or more, yet, at the same time, they were regularly sending money back to “the old country,” just as countless European immigrants did in the 19th century.
I also was very pleased to note that at least at first, the media did not tell us whether these men were undocumented or not. Come to find out, some were, but the media was also quick to tell us details about them as individuals. They clearly were the salt of the earth.
My next emotion was raw anger when I recalled that these are the people that Donald Trump and his cult followers say are poisoning the blood of America. Anyone with half a brain could see that on the contrary, these are the people who are building America.
Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Inquirer said it perfectly:
"Migrants from the neighboring countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico — were filling potholes on the region’s major span on a raw March night. They were doing a backbreaking job at a wretched hour, one many other Americans simply can’t or won’t do ― all so their neighbors could drive safely to their warm, comfortable office cubicles in the dawn’s early light … These six workers who perished were not ‘poisoning the blood of our country,’ they were replenishing it. This is a moment of clarity when we need to reject the national disease of xenophobia and restore our faith in the United States as a beacon for the best people …. They may have been born all over the continent, but when these men plunged into our waters on Tuesday, they died as Americans.”
[The entire column is available here. ]
Or check out this piece from CNN.com about two of the victims: Holly Yan, Maria Santana, Melissa Alonso and Allison Gordon, “An international tragedy: A father of 3 and a budding entrepreneur are among 6 victims of the Baltimore bridge collapse, “ (March 30, 2024) available here.]
My emotions were enhanced because while watching TV coverage related to these men, I happened to read a review of a book that describes the history of the US involvement in Central America.
[The book is entitled Everyone Who is Gone is Here: the United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis. It is written by Jonathan Blitzer and published by Penguin Press. The review was published in the New York Review of Books for April 18, 2024 by Hector Tobar under the title “The Truths of Our American Empire” (43 – 46)]
Now I know a lot about the history of US interventions in Mexico and Central America --- especially the disgusting intervention into Guatemala in 1954 which ushered in decades of military dictatorship which degenerated into virtual genocide of indigenous communities under the dictatorship of Rios Montt in 1982 (a man praised profusely by President Ronald Reagan).
[For Guatemala, 1954, see Schlesinger, Stephen and Kinzer Stephen Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. (Harvard U. Press, 1999). For the genocide, see the obituary for Rios Montt whose crimes were so dramatic he was actually convicted of genocide and ended his life in prison. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/01/obituaries/efrain-rios-montt-guatemala-dead.html]
Meanwhile, the military dictatorship of El Salvador was given carte blanche by the Reagan Administration in its fight against leftist guerrillas during the 1980s. This launched a decades long civil war during which US aid helped the army continue its repressive tactics.
[For one such report, see Belisaria Betancur, Reinaldo Figueredo Planchart and Thomas Buerenthal, “From Madness to Hope: the 12-year war in El Salvador: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador,” United States Institute for Peace, available here.]
But this new book focuses on the current situation in many Central American countries that have operated to “push” more people into making the dangerous trek through Mexico to the United States --- many attempting to seek asylum. Many are fleeing gang violence or government repression particularly in El Salvador and Guatemala.
(I did a brief on line search which in no way was exhaustive but I learned that in recent years, immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala constitute the largest percentage of individuals presenting at the border in search of asylum. Interestingly enough, the main exception to this rule is (and has always been) Costa Rica which somehow has escaped army repression and civil war to provide its citizens with a decent society. Not that it’s rich but it is not wracked by extreme forms of repression and civil war. One reason is that in 1948, it abolished its standing army. Thus, there were no generals interested in seizing power.)
So the sadness at the loss of such good hard-working men whose lives completely refute the vicious image of immigrants that Donald Trump tries to imprint on our brains is joined to the shame that my country --- OUR COUNTRY --- has been the source of such damage to the well-being of many Central American nations --- (with Costa Rica again the exception.). Reading the review at the same time I was watching the report on the six hard-working men lost when the bridge was knocked down deepened my sadness and anger.
There is a very valuable organization called “America’s Voice” which speaks loudly and clearly for immigrant rights. On March 29, 2024, they released a piece entitled “Baltimore Bridge Tragedy Offers a Chance to Redefine Immigration Conversation,” [It is available here.]
Here is one of the statements in the piece from Douglas Rivlin, the organization’s Director of Communication:
“Immigrants have poured their heart, soul and yes, their lives into building America. The recent tragedy in Baltimore once again reminds us that we are a nation of immigrants and a land of hope, opportunity and pursuit of the American dream. The news that these men were migrants doing a dangerous job in the hope of providing a better life for their families makes this a uniquely American story. Despite the narratives being pushed by those with anti-immigration agendas, immigrants build this country up. We’ve seen an outpouring of support for the essential work of migrant men and women in every facet of our society. Immigration is set to dominate much of the conversation around the 2024 election, and this tragedy should remind us of the positives of having a robust immigration system that benefits the American people.”
They also quoted this comment by a Washington Post columnist:
“Does America need a more searing visual image than eight men working for their piece of the America dream — filling potholes on a terrifying bridge in 1 a.m. darkness — to understand that our nation was built by immigrants, runs on immigrant labor and needs immigrants? … The fact is, the kind of men who were on that bridge are doing this every day across the nation — the work that needs to be done. Dangerous work … While our nation’s immigrants are senators, doctors, lawyers and professors, many more start their American lives in jobs that literally build the nation.”
Now I know that there are too many people in this country who couldn’t care less that these were hard-working good men just pursuing the American dream as all of our European immigrant ancestors did when they came here --- whether in the early or late 1800s or in the previous century as did my father’s (Abel Meeropol’s) family. To them, I want to give a mini-lesson in economics.
THE UNITED STATES IS FACING A LONG-TERM LABOR SHORTAGE. This is not me talking. This is the US Chamber of Commerce and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Economic growth depends on two things: Increase in the supply of labor (which depends on population growth and labor force participation) and increase in the productivity of labor. (Yes, capital investment is important but if you don’t have workers to hire, you’re not going to build a new factory or warehouse.). According to the BLS:
“Decreasing rates of labor force and employment growth will limit GDP growth over the next decade. From 2022 to 2032, GDP is projected to grow 1.9 percent annually, with that growth stemming mostly from annual productivity gains of 1.9 percent over the same period.” More here.]
If it were not for immigration, our growth would be even more constrained. That’s a fact. According to the US Chamber of Commerce “If every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have nearly 2.4 million open jobs.”
[see “Understanding America’s Labor Shortage” available here.]
YES, there is a labor shortage in the US and it is constraining economic growth. Our economic growth could actually be faster if we fixed our immigration system, created a fast track to citizenship for those here who are undocumented, and followed the reasonable proposal by former NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg that every asylum seeker be given a work permit while their cases are adjudicated.
Unfortunately, the absurd and dishonest attacks on immigrants perpetrated by Trump and his cult followers --- and enabled by the disgusting policies of Governors Abbott of Texas and DeSantis of Florida stand in the way.
But the basic fact is clear: We need these immigrants. We should welcome them with open arms.
Michael Meeropol is professor emeritus of Economics at Western New England University. He is the author with Howard and Paul Sherman of the recently published second edition of Principles of Macroeconomics: Activist vs. Austerity Policies.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.