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by loveyourmother 3000 days ago
<I'm not even convinced that illegal immigration necessarily harms low-skilled domestic workers.

These jobs used to pay a man enough to support a family. Where has the money gone? What happens if an illegal gets hurt? Do they get workmen's compensation? I'm sure they get a small settlement, the cut fixed, and sent home. All the people are complicit. It is all about growth and more profit. You can have a sustainable business and employees that get decent pay with benefits.

1 comments

> These jobs used to pay a man enough to support a family.

$20/hour is enough to do exactly that in most places that don't start with "San" and end with "Francisco". I know full well that not every illegal-immigrant-hiring industry pays that well, but it's my understanding that agriculture does, and that's one industry that seems to be disproportionately affected by the lack of undocumented workers.

> What happens if an illegal gets hurt? Do they get workmen's compensation?

In California at least, as far as workmen's compensation is concerned, illegal immigrants qualify as "employees"[1], so if a legal immigrant (or natural citizen) is entitled to it, then so is an illegal immigrant.

Of course, this varies from state to state.

[1]: http://law.onecle.com/california/labor/3351.html