Trump's crackdown on migrant workers is starting to effect U.S. businesses and driving up prices.

 

California's economy and in other parts of the U.S., is so dependent on migrant labour that the crackdown by Donald Trump on migrant workers, is starting to affect many businesses and raising retail prices in the supermarkets.

There are an estimated 7 million workers who are undocumented in the U.S. labour force. Undocumented workers make up 25% of all farm workers in the U.S. and many of them are Mexicans. Many of these migrant workers work in construction, domestic work, hospitality, agriculture, meat processing and the care sectors. Raids by U.S. immigration officials have led to many migrant workers failing to turn up for work and putting businesses at risk. The Trump administration say that they are targeting illegal (undocumented) migrant workers who do not have a legal right to be in the country, rather than documented migrant workers, who do. They also say they are targeting criminals. Yet, it seems, that undocumented migrant workers are paying local, state and federal taxes while in employment, so how can they be undocumented?

It's also clear that many U.S. employers openly employ illegal migrants and that this demand for migrant labour is what drives immigrants to come to the U.S. Many of these migrant workers basically do the back breaking jobs that many Americans are often unwilling to do because it's hard graft. Many businesses like farms, hotels and restaurants, are now pressing Donald Trump to exempt their businesses from immigration raids.