Who will pick fruit?

This is in response to Melanie Kutz’s opinion piece “Beyond illegal immigration” on the Sentinel opinion page Monday.

Kutz’s comments seem to imply that the “consequences of illegal immigration on our economy, educational system and health care” are all negative. I’d like to point out that, like most complex political issues, “illegal immigration” can hardly be understood in such black and white terms. If only it were so simple.

As far as the effects of illegal immigration on our economy, most economists state that, after weighing all the pluses and negatives, the net result is a positive one. Yes, there are costs involved in the areas of education and health care. However, unauthorized immigrants do pay taxes, so it’s not like they’re getting a “free ride.” In addition, they contribute to our Social Security system even though they may never realize any of the associated benefits. If you ask me, that’s a pretty sweet deal for us.

If E-Verify were to be fully implemented, where in the world are we going to get the people to go out into the sunbaked fields and pick our fruits and vegetables? Who will pluck the chickens in the smelly chicken farms or work in the frigid packing plants? I’d venture to say that it’s not going to be Kutz’s children or her grandchildren. Then, who indeed? Hector Siqueiros Longwood