I failed to also address this comment in the piece:
"By denying legal status to immigrants and keeping them at the bottom rung of the wage scale, we have created a class of silent and docile people who live in a constant state of anxiety and isolation."
We have not denied them legal status - their individual actions did so. There is a long established process, followed by thousands every year, of legal entry into and residency in the US. The mere fact that they are here does not warrant waiving the legal requirements for them and telling everyone who waited and obeyed the laws and rules that they were foolish for doing so.
Your tenants may otherwise be fine people; however whether they are or not, the fact remains that they have thumbed their noses at US laws and sovereignty. The choice of who comes to America is ours, not theirs. And until such time as they are in compliance with the laws which the US and every other country in the world is free (and wise) to adopt, including Mexico, with immigration laws far stricter than ours, the presence of your tenants is rightfully illegal.
Mexico is blessed with all of the natural resources and industrious people it needs to lift itself up from the mess they are in. It is not our job to fix Mexico. I don't deny that many, likely including your tenants, want a "better life" however one defines that. Again, though, Mexico needs to fix itself first.
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"By denying legal status to immigrants and keeping them at the bottom rung of the wage scale, we have created a class of silent and docile people who live in a constant state of anxiety and isolation."
We have not denied them legal status - their individual actions did so. There is a long established process, followed by thousands every year, of legal entry into and residency in the US. The mere fact that they are here does not warrant waiving the legal requirements for them and telling everyone who waited and obeyed the laws and rules that they were foolish for doing so.
Mexico is blessed with all of the natural resources and industrious people it needs to lift itself up from the mess they are in. It is not our job to fix Mexico. I don't deny that many, likely including your tenants, want a "better life" however one defines that. Again, though, Mexico needs to fix itself first.