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Forbidden Workers: Illegal Chinese Immigrants and American Labor
"A gripping expose" (Publishers Weekly) of the conditions faced by Chinese illegal aliens in the United States.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 14, 2017
Another book from my college days that I chose to read more thoroughly before I let it go. Well-researched with personal stories and local politics to illustrate the issue. I wonder if the landscape is still similar after 20 years, how technology has changed the game, and whether our world culture has more or less of an influence on migration now than before. People still want to come to the U.S., yes, but are there other countries that are seen in a better light than the U.S. at this day and age for settling in?
"Smuggling has now become a growth industry, to the point that anyone anxious to escape Fuzhou or Lagos or Crakow or Kabul can find smugglers right on his street to guide him to almost any destination around the world. North America and Australia are the most profitable trips for the smugglers to arrange, but they are also willing to move thousands of illegal migrants from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to Europe along routes that cross from Morocco to Spain, Albania to Italy, Turkey to Greece, the Czech Republic to Germany, and the Baltic states to Scandinavia. The collapse of the Soviet bloc has created many newly porous borders; with the rise of organized crime and the decline of civil authority, the former Warsaw Pact nations have turned into a smuggler's paradise. Russia acts as a holding pen for up to 200,000 Asian illegals awaiting transport to the West at any given time. Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania, three notably Stalinist states in the recent past, now have no visa requirements, and are therefore prime staging points for westward migration." pg. 70
"The oil-rich countries of the Middle East, too, are plagued by the problem: Sub-Saharan Africans try to enter Libya, Pakistanis aim for Saudi Arabia, and Filipinos for the United Arab Emirates. The main target for smugglers in Asia is Japan. It is awash in boat people mainly from China, Korea, Pakistan, and Bangladesh on a weekly basis. In the United States, up to 100,000 illegals each year are smuggled through the Central America-Mexico corridor and from the Caribbean basin through the Gulf states." pg. 70
"The huge profits in the smuggling business have attracted some of the most sophisticated operators in international organized crime, including many previously involved in the trans-border trafficking of heroin, stolen Mercedes, Stinger missiles, or counterfeit currencies. According to Jonas Widgren of the International Center for Migration Policy Development, smuggling rings reap profits up to $9.5 billion U.S. per year, earning more than many drug cartels." pg. 70
"Most smuggled aliens are not even residents of Fuzhou City. They come predominantly from four counties on its rural outskirts. Fuzhou has, therefore, produced a textbook example of a rural migration network based on kinship: once an individual arrives in a foreign place, others from his tight-knit village follow. City residents, on the other hand, do not tend to emigrate in large chains because their kinship ties are relatively weak." pg. 91
"Newcomers are made to think that working hard for someone else is just the starting point. Being a good worker teaches them the discipline and endurance that are necessary for entrepreneurship. They should focus solely on their work and not be distracted, for America is a very different country from China--there are a lot of bad people here. If one is du-si (nosy), one gets into trouble. The newcomers are warned not to trust anyone. Even when someone offers you a bundle of money, don't accept it, because it may be drug money being offered to get you arrested. If someone falls on the street, walk right on, for if you help and something happens, the Americans will turn around and sue you. Most of all, do not get involved in any form of politics--the consequences could be worse than in China." pg. 120
"Illegal immigrants, however, are not at the root of the problem of depressed wages, although the employers, who recruit them intentionally attempt to create precisely this impression. It is not that the illegals are doing the jobs that no Americans want to do--it is American employers who do not want to hire American workers, preferring the immigrants and the illegals. Richard M. Estrada, a commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, testified at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing that whenever employers claim that 'they are not able to find workers, they fail to complete the sentence. What they really mean is that they can't find workers at the extremely low wages and working conditions they offer.' In the same testimony Mr. Estrada used the example of California's agribusiness to show that employers 'do not want so much a stable supply of labor, but rather a dependable system of constantly disposable and replenishable labor. Foreign labor is best for their needs precisely because . . . such labor . . . illegal or legally admitted . . ."work hard and scared."'" pg. 208
"Smuggling has now become a growth industry, to the point that anyone anxious to escape Fuzhou or Lagos or Crakow or Kabul can find smugglers right on his street to guide him to almost any destination around the world. North America and Australia are the most profitable trips for the smugglers to arrange, but they are also willing to move thousands of illegal migrants from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to Europe along routes that cross from Morocco to Spain, Albania to Italy, Turkey to Greece, the Czech Republic to Germany, and the Baltic states to Scandinavia. The collapse of the Soviet bloc has created many newly porous borders; with the rise of organized crime and the decline of civil authority, the former Warsaw Pact nations have turned into a smuggler's paradise. Russia acts as a holding pen for up to 200,000 Asian illegals awaiting transport to the West at any given time. Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania, three notably Stalinist states in the recent past, now have no visa requirements, and are therefore prime staging points for westward migration." pg. 70
"The oil-rich countries of the Middle East, too, are plagued by the problem: Sub-Saharan Africans try to enter Libya, Pakistanis aim for Saudi Arabia, and Filipinos for the United Arab Emirates. The main target for smugglers in Asia is Japan. It is awash in boat people mainly from China, Korea, Pakistan, and Bangladesh on a weekly basis. In the United States, up to 100,000 illegals each year are smuggled through the Central America-Mexico corridor and from the Caribbean basin through the Gulf states." pg. 70
"The huge profits in the smuggling business have attracted some of the most sophisticated operators in international organized crime, including many previously involved in the trans-border trafficking of heroin, stolen Mercedes, Stinger missiles, or counterfeit currencies. According to Jonas Widgren of the International Center for Migration Policy Development, smuggling rings reap profits up to $9.5 billion U.S. per year, earning more than many drug cartels." pg. 70
"Most smuggled aliens are not even residents of Fuzhou City. They come predominantly from four counties on its rural outskirts. Fuzhou has, therefore, produced a textbook example of a rural migration network based on kinship: once an individual arrives in a foreign place, others from his tight-knit village follow. City residents, on the other hand, do not tend to emigrate in large chains because their kinship ties are relatively weak." pg. 91
"Newcomers are made to think that working hard for someone else is just the starting point. Being a good worker teaches them the discipline and endurance that are necessary for entrepreneurship. They should focus solely on their work and not be distracted, for America is a very different country from China--there are a lot of bad people here. If one is du-si (nosy), one gets into trouble. The newcomers are warned not to trust anyone. Even when someone offers you a bundle of money, don't accept it, because it may be drug money being offered to get you arrested. If someone falls on the street, walk right on, for if you help and something happens, the Americans will turn around and sue you. Most of all, do not get involved in any form of politics--the consequences could be worse than in China." pg. 120
"Illegal immigrants, however, are not at the root of the problem of depressed wages, although the employers, who recruit them intentionally attempt to create precisely this impression. It is not that the illegals are doing the jobs that no Americans want to do--it is American employers who do not want to hire American workers, preferring the immigrants and the illegals. Richard M. Estrada, a commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, testified at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing that whenever employers claim that 'they are not able to find workers, they fail to complete the sentence. What they really mean is that they can't find workers at the extremely low wages and working conditions they offer.' In the same testimony Mr. Estrada used the example of California's agribusiness to show that employers 'do not want so much a stable supply of labor, but rather a dependable system of constantly disposable and replenishable labor. Foreign labor is best for their needs precisely because . . . such labor . . . illegal or legally admitted . . ."work hard and scared."'" pg. 208
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2011
This is a brilliant but easily readable examination of the undocumented Chinese immigrant community in New York City's Chinatown. It's incredible that the sweatshops of the five points are still alive and well, we've just replaced Irish and Jewish immigrants with Chinese.
April 6, 2009
THE BEST! Inside documentary features horrid experiences - I am buddies with this author. Peter K. is the BEST in what he does for the Chinese community.
October 3, 2012
Interesting read. Very well written and definitely showed me what it was like through the eyes of a Chinese immigrant.
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September 20, 2017331.6 KWO
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews