The Other Heroes

By Guest Blogger Prof.  Hillary B. Farber of UMass Law School

At this moment when our nation is celebrating the heroism of our immigrant work force, who in large numbers are among those the government now deems ‘essential workers’, President Trump is banning almost all migration into the U.S. The truth is immigrants have always been indispensable to our economy and this crisis amplifies that reality.

Immigrants are disproportionately represented among those who are risking their safety, their lives and the lives of their families to transport food to our tables, remove hazardous waste from our medical centers, and sanitize rooms in our hotels so medical workers can isolate from their families and continue caring for our sickest. We hail their heroism, applauding them every night, sponsoring rallies of honking cars down our streets, and filling our windows and doors with colorful rainbows and thank you signs.  A local grocery worker originally from Mexico recently remarked “who would have thought that I would be considered an essential worker, literally risking my life to stock shelves at my local grocery store?” 

Where were these workers a year ago, two years ago, a decade ago? Many of them were here, working as hard as they are today. We took them and their commitment to do these jobs for granted and they were nearly invisible to us. We may have noticed them behind a cart in a hotel hallway or asked them for fresher lettuce in the produce section of our local market. Could we have imagined that they would be the heroes we would cheer and the people whose unwavering work would keep us alive?  We say “it takes a village” but often ignore the thousands, if not millions, of immigrant workers laboring in the supply chain for all of our basic necessities, often silently sustaining our society. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a bright light on their faces and exposed their dedication. When the busyness of our lives came to a screeching halt we finally took notice of the identities of those whose plight we otherwise ignored as the immigration debate reached a fever pitch in our country. 

The worst of times often bring out the best in people. If we’re honest about who is sustaining us through this hardship, we may find a silver lining of clarity and compassion in our darkest hour. After 9/11 we said “we will never forget” and after the Boston Marathon bombing we were one as “Boston Strong”. When this pandemic is over let us remember and uphold those who have kept the shelves stocked and the hallways clean. Let us be more honest and more accepting of those who drive the engine of our economy and perform the tasks that save lives. Let us acknowledge President Trump’s actions simply play into a xenophobia that distracts from what we have learned about the power of unity in a crisis.