Stop saying “immigrants are doing the jobs Americans don’t want to do.”

The collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six immigrant workers, sparked the kind of collective empathy that usually follows a tragic event. President Joe Biden was among the many who offered prayers. In news reports, the men have been described as “kind-hearted,” “humble,” and “heroes.”

We should ask ourselves, is it only because of tragedy that they are given such a label? This outpouring of praise seems like a metaphor, as there has always been a disparaging view of immigrants in the United States.

Even when politicians, managers, and analysts say they are well-meaning, we don’t give immigrants the credit they deserve because they do jobs that Americans don’t want (and for low wages). Everyday I hear people say that we should be more open to accepting what we deserve. location in our country.

Let me be clear: it’s not a medal of honor.

Framing conversations about immigrant workers around their essential sacrifices only marginalizes already vulnerable members of our communities.

Immigration remains a top issue. A recent Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found that it ranks second to voters after the economy. As voting day approaches, we should not glorify the fact that immigrants are taking jobs no one wants.

Instead, we should be talking more about the lack of security in those jobs.

The Baltimore tragedy highlights that construction is one of the deadliest industries in the U.S. As focus shifts to rebuilding bridges, Latinos make up 31% of construction workers. reportedly consider it too dangerous. Other industries that rely on foreign-born workers are at risk as well. The Department of Labor reports that poultry and meat processing plant workers are exposed to antibiotic-resistant diseases and are at increased risk of developing lung cancer.

Immigrant workers make up more than 37% of the workforce supporting this critical part of the food supply, according to an analysis of federal data by the Economic Policy Institute.

However, if you stop there, you will be careless. American-born workers not only build homes, repair roofs and fill holes on night shifts, they also work hard in poultry and meat processing plants. We need to focus on finding ways to make all jobs as safe as possible for everyone. While all the attention is now on Latinos, this country’s disregard for the welfare of immigrant workers goes back centuries. Think of the Chinese who dug tunnels, laid railroad tracks, and cut across the Sierra Nevada for less money while working in worse conditions than whites. What are their rewards? Decades of restrictive policies designed to keep them away.

History shows that somehow immigrants of color are left behind despite the message that these jobs are a down payment on becoming part of our country. The xenophobic idea that America is only for Americans is at the root of the “predatory relationship between employers and immigrant employees,” said Bill Barry, former director of labor studies at Baltimore County Community College. This includes wage theft, most commonly in the form of unpaid overtime. The practice is widespread across the country but often goes unreported because immigrants fear losing their jobs or being deported if they don’t have legal documents.

In the words of economist Stephen Ratner, immigration has been “essential to America’s post-COVID-19 labor market recovery.”

Mayor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, 38, is from Honduras. Miguel Luna is from El Salvador. Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Carlos Hernandez, 24, are from Mexico. Dorrian Lonial Castillo Cabrera, 26, and Jose Mainor López, 35, are from Guatemala. These six men who died during construction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge should be remembered as part of that important recovery story.

Other than that, they had wives and children. They went to church on Sunday. They planted roots in the areas where they lived. At least two of them, Sandoval and Luna, volunteered with CASA, a nonprofit organization that serves and supports Latinos.

For 30 years, CASA has screened, trained and connected “good employees and good employers” in Maryland and other states, said Executive Director Gustavo Torres. He said that in recruiting halls in Baltimore, U.S.-born black workers are giving tips to black Latin American workers on how to negotiate wages. Recently, the two have banded together to ask for French classes so they can speak to French-speaking immigrants from Africa.

“They are workers who build bridges that connect communities, not walls that divide us,” Torres said.

The immigration status of all six men who died in the bridge collapse is unclear, but the tragedy has united advocates, business leaders and elected officials to urge the Biden administration to It called for temporary protected status to be extended to migrant workers who lived in the watershed. At least three of the deaths had also been in the United States for more than five years.

This would at least give immigrants legal permission to work in the United States, but it would not provide a direct path to legal residency or citizenship. “This is an opportunity for the president to recognize their contributions and a way to energize young progressive voters,” Torres said.

It’s a gamble, especially in an election year where immigration is a divisive issue, but it’s a worthwhile one for the organizations that have helped rebuild this country.