United States would ‘grind to a standstill’ without immigrants, says Texas bishop

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso is encouraging the US Congress to create more avenues to legal employment authorisation for those with pending asylum claims, arguing that communities across the United States would “grind to a standstill” without the labour of undocumented immigrants.

“Without their contributions, American communities would grind to a standstill,” Seitz said in a 15 April statement. “Not only are they working in some of the most arduous conditions but frequently with limited legal protections, and they are more susceptible to human trafficking and other forms of exploitation.”

The Texas bishop also noted the risks many undocumented workers take at work, noting that the six workers who died in the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse were immigrant workers.

Seitz, who is the chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, highlighted that not only do undocumented workers have limited legal protections, but they are also more susceptible to human trafficking and other forms of exploitation.

There are at least 8.8 million undocumented immigrants currently in the US labour force, according to data presented in a federal testimony on 13 September 2023, by Steven Camarota, the director of research at the Center for Migration Studies.

Many of the top ten occupations where illegal immigrants are the largest share are manual labor jobs, such as plasterers, dry wall and ceiling tile installers, roofers, construction workers, according to testimony data. The top ten occupations with the largest number of illegal immigrants, meanwhile, includes maids and housekeepers, cooks, construction labourers, agricultural workers and grounds maintenance workers, the data shows.

Seitz also sent a letter to Congress last week expressing support for further access to legal employment authorisation for those with pending asylum claims – a number that the federal government estimates is more than two million people and growing given the backlogs that exist.

In the letter, Seitz noted the fiscal impact undocumented workers have on society in the US. A recent report from the US Department of Health and Human Services found that refugees and asylum seekers have made a net fiscal impact of $123.8 billion to the US economy at both the federal and state levels over a fifteen-year period.

In the statement, Seitz said the Church remains committed to securing rights for undocumented workers and made the case that society as a whole should be as well.

Due to the border it shares with Mexico – and which the city of El Paso straddles – Texas has become a focal point of tensions over migration issues in the US, especially between the federal government and the state governor, with the latter accusing the former of not adequately facing up to and controlling the issue, especially illegal migration.

“As a society, we judge ourselves – and will be judged – by our treatment of those who are least empowered to advocate for themselves because of social, economic, and political obstacles,” Seitz said.

“The Church remains committed to securing rights and justice for those who labor humbly in the shadows, and we urge leaders to undertake much-needed reforms that recognise their essential contributions.”

Photo: Baltimore workers and relatives attend a press conference to honour the families and victims of the 26 March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a container ship, Baltimore, Maryland, 29 March 2024. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images.)

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