this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2025
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
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And how do you propose the solution?
I would stop normalizing the theory that immigrants are here only to do badly paid jobs.
I've hear too many times "without immigrants who would work in insert miserable badly paid job?".
Immigrants are not here to do the most miserable jobs without getting properly paid for it.
I think progressive forces should stop with that discourse. I find it a little dehumanizing. If you don't want to do that shitty job I don't know why anyone would think that a person, only because they are an immigrant, want to do it for you.
But that's a response to "they took our jorbs!". It's a reframing for immigrants targeted at the reactionaries. But it is the reality - immigrants, particularly undocumented or agricultural visa recipients, are the bedrock of our society
It's terrible that they are in such unethical conditions. It's terrible that they have a carve out for child labor for seasonal farm workers. The entire power dynamic is akin to indentured servitude at best
But what we have to do is give them legal status and protections first.
They are not working the worst jobs because that's what we tell them they can be, they're working the worst jobs because they're extra exploitable
You make a good point.
I would say make sure people have a clear way of becoming legal immigrants. If they are legal, make sure the labor laws are enforced. So no paying under minimum wage, make sure the workplace is a safe place, etc.
Right now there are legal paths to immigration, and that's who ICE is deporting- people trying to do things 'the right way'.
We should make sure the labor laws are enforced for everybody regardless of their immigration status, that would go a long way towards addressing the issue you are talking about. It's not the fault of people desperate enough to accept being exploited, it's the fault of companies doing the exploiting, they are what needs to be fixed.
You realize that there are other countries...
I do realize that. What does that have to do with my comment?
Your comment for me reads as every legal immigrant is getting deported by ICE, not some but all and as the US isn't the only country that has immigrantants, it reads as false but maybe I just can't read which wouldn't be surprising.
It's a significant number of them so far and I see no signs of it slowing down. Perhaps the goal is to deport every legal immigrant? At any rate it's enough of them to expose the lie that MAGAts have been spouting for the last decade that they "have no problem with immigrants, they have a problem with illegal immigrants." Clearly that isn't the case.
Besides even deporting just one LEGAL immigrant is one too many. Especially when they aren't just being deported, but being thrown in foreign prisons/ possible death camps.
I'm still not sure what you are getting at, what does other countries having immigrants have to do with how we treat immigrants in the U.S.? Other countries also have authoritarian dictatorships, that doesn't mean we should have one here.
Seize the means of production?
Lobby the government to stop doing that. In the meantime, teach them their rights, how to unionize, help them with food security and finding a place to live, so that they aren't in such a precarious position that makes exploitation so profitable.
I think a very important step is to start holding businesses responsible for employing undocumented migrants and immigrants. Stop punishing the employees and punish the ones breaking the law by employing them. They'd lobby so hard to make the path to citizenship easier.
We definitely see a gross incentive where companies don't want people to become citizens because it allows their labor to be cheaper.
I think back in Trump's first term, he had one policy that I genuinely agreed with - that the H1B Visa program should have a very high minimum salary to it, returning it to its intended purpose of being used for rare, high-talent specialized positions. As it stands, HR will just invent overly specific criteria so that they can deny local citizens jobs, claim they can't find anyone, and then hire cheap H1Bs - and threaten them with deportation anytime they complain.
Needless to say, because it was a good idea and anti-corp, Trump dropped it almost immediately.
Yeah but good luck holding a sign that says "Don't shop here, they hire immigrants".
That's not my point. I'm saying that law enforcement is being targeted at the wrong people.