The book is a result of the study by physician Seth Holmes on the impact of immigration on health. The book examines immigrant labor and reveals that immigrant workers experience unfair labor practices like strenuous jobs, long working hours and poor working conditions which affect their health. Holmes holds that the importation of immigrant workers has been propagated by the beneficiaries and unfairly utilizes manpower obtained from other countries till the people are unable to work, and then they are sent back to their homes (Holmes, 16). He focuses on Mexican immigrant workers and looks at the impact that the working conditions have on their health and the access that they have to healthcare. The workload demanded of immigrants is enormous; Holmes gives an example where immigrants are expected to pick a minimum of 50 pounds of berries each hour or miss out on the pay and be evicted (Holmes,31 ). The living conditions and the society’s formed opinion about immigrant workers have ensured that they remain in that status. The discrimination and biased rhetoric affect indigenous immigrants more than any other group of employees (183). The society has, with time, accepted the suffering of the immigrants as a normal way of life.
The research by Holmes gives a deeper theoretical and practical look at how the society perceives and propagates the poor condition of immigrant workers and how this spills over to their health and the healthcare systems. While immigrant workers provide much needed unskilled labor that helps drive the economy, in the interest of humanity and fair labor practice, the work conditions should be regulated and changed to accommodate the needs of immigrant workers. The society moreover, needs education on the plight of immigrant workers to enable a shift in opinion.
Works Cited
Holmes, Seth M. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies. Print.
