It is so ironic. It was illegal immigrants who came to the America in the Mayflower from England over two hundred years ago. History never recorded them having visas or passports. This group of ex-prisoners came, captured lands, liquidated the Native Americans, and thus began America.

Today, there is an estimated 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants residing in this country. Today’s illegal immigrants are here – whether they came by plane, boat or simply walked across the border – for one solitary reason, to seek a better life for themselves and their families.

jost of them, in order to realize their objectives, have been willing to work for extremely low wages, and often, in very poor working conditions, without benefits. But work they do. They do work that legal Americans would never think of doing at sub-minimum wages. But work they do, and constitute a very important economic system – “cheap labor.”

Many businesses in this country would not have been profitable were it not for this “cheap labor.” All America realize this, especially the business class and the politicians. “Cheap labor” is pivotal to both groups.

Now, as the debate for reforming immigration heats up with the U.S. Senate expecting to make a decision soon, several senators are making the case for keeping illegal immigrants here by stressing how important this “cheap labor” is to the economy. This argument comes up time and time again.

Although it is a fact that immigrants do provide cheap labor this argument is becoming disgusting. It is reminiscent of the system of indentured labor that replaced the sickening system of slavery. Slavery was abolished but one could get cheap labor from another type of slavery – indentured labor.

We would have loved to hear more about the humane factors affecting illegal immigrants in these debates, more about the potential negative consequences on the families created in America by the illegal immigrant, the children they fathered, the investments they made, the social contribution they made to various communities. Instead we hear of the potential loss to the economy if America loses its primary source of cheap labor.

And what if the reforms to be made allow illegal immigrants who have been working and living in America and have not committed any crimes, to get work permits so that they can continue working? Surely, the now legal workers can no longer work for lower than normal income. With work permits they will be able to negotiate better salaries, especially since many illegal immigrants took the opportunity to improve their skill and education levels despite being in America illegally. So, reform immigration and stem the supply of cheap labor. Isn’t this interesting?

While we do not condone illegal immigration, we would prefer the arguments for immigration reform be based upon the humane factors that are applicable to immigrants who have made America home for years. If they have been working for years, and have developed ties to the U.S., give them the permission to work here, even if they do pay a penalty fee. However, they cannot be expected to continue to provide cheap labor if they are offered permission to work here.

It does seem that the lawmakers in favor of deporting all illegal immigrants are aware of our line of reasoning. If they send them back home, they would have preserved cheap labor. As soon as these people leave, other illegal immigrants, including some of those who were forced to leave, will rush in to fill the cheap labor pools. So, we assume these lawmakers are asking: “Why bother to seek reforms? We must preserve “cheap labor.”

What America needs to do is to have a national external worker system, like that which prevails for farm and hotel workers. A system should be developed that gives quotas to foreign workers to come to America to work in jobs where there is a high demand for labor, not being met by Americans. This system should enforce that these foreign workers are not paid below the minimum wage.

This way, people coming here from foreign countries can legally earn incomes to pull themselves out of their personal financial malaise. Of course, many will want to stay longer than these permits allow, but at least it would be a better compromise on America’s behalf, and one that seeks to erase this cursed system of “cheap labor.”

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