· More then twice the welfare dependency

· 60 percent more high school dropouts

· More then seven times as much crowded housing

“Since 1970, more than 30 million foreign citizens and their descendants have been added to the local communities and labor pools of the United States. It is a numerical equivalent of having relocated within our borders the entire present population of all Central American countries.” (Beck pg.15) We have always heard the term “ a nation of immigrants” associated with the United States. This is a very true, nostalgic statement since the origin of almost every American, at one time or another, was through immigration. But presently, difficult questions have risen that can no longer be avoided as the United States enters a fourth decade of unmatched high immigration and the increasingly difficult struggles that come along with it. Many problems have its origin in the high immigration numbers that America has been dealing with. One of these major problems is the lowering of wages across the United States, the loss of jobs for native-born American citizens and the slackening of working conditions. Storm Lake, Iowa proves to be an example and shows what is going on as a whole throughout the country. Meatpacking factories are the main source of jobs in this area of the state. In the 1980’s, most ever job in these factories was worked by a native born American. Soon after, the entirety of jobs were run by foreigners that commuted into the town every day. “ ‘This was a completely different town in 1980’, says Ted Kramer. The cars passing by are filled with Laotians, Mexicans, Thais, Vietnamese, Somalians, and Central Americans. Like kill plants across the country, this one here relies on immigrant labor.” (Beck pg.100) The reason these factories need immigrant labor is the fact that they have lowered their wages to the point where Americans will rarely volunteer to do the job. Companies can always find people who will do the job for less, with these people almost always being foreign immigrants. With the option of paying higher wages to skilled workers with training or paying out much lower wages to foreign workers with the ability of a high turn over rate, most choose the latter. This is bad for everyone but the factory. You now have Americans without jobs due to competition by desperate immigrant workers. You also have a lowering of work conditions and training due to the high turnover rate these factories can institute with the large number of foreign individuals competing for these jobs. “With the cushion of an unending stream of fresh immigrants, the industry slashed the pay, sped up the lines, and allowed safety conditions and training to deteriorate.” (Beck pg. 101)

In most areas of large settlement of immigrants, domestic tranquility and e

Some topics in this essay:
United America, Central Americans, Melting Pot, September” Beck, Washington” Lee, Central American, English” Ziegler, , United States’, Lake Iowa, american life, · twice, immigrants themselves, american society, quality public education, domestic tranquility, educational system, beck pg, conditions training, local communities, native-born americans,