have been similar complaints lobbed at nearly every mass wave of immigrants that has ever come to this country, including the Irish, Italians and Jews. Further, these earlier groups of immigrants, like the Mexicans now, present a dual dilemma for America. On the one hand, they do necessitate higher levels of spending for public services and other facts of life, but on the other hand they represent an enormous pool of low-wage labor from which employers can draw-usually in positions that most white Americans feel are beneath their “dignity.” As such, while there are many who feel the immigrants are a threat or burden to society, what makes so many of them come here is because employers have little qualms about hiring people who want to take an often menial task for a low wage and work hard:
Just as it was for the Italians, the chief draw for Mexican immigrants is employment. The heterogeneous ranks of Mexican immigrants include millionaires and professionals, but the great majority lack high-
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