Immigration: A Thanksgiving Tradition
2.4 billion pounds of sweet potatoes. 254 million turkeys. 659,340 tons of green beans. 7,600,000 barrels of cranberries.
These are the average annual production quantities for some of America’s favorite Thanksgiving foods. Although these figures account for a year of production, a whopping 20% of the above totals go toward the Thanksgiving feast each year. (This makes sense, though – who eats that many cranberries at any other time of year?) For many Americans, the Thanksgiving meal is the crux of their holiday celebration. We write our shopping lists, raid the grocery stores until they are barren wastelands, and spend hours preparing dishes to share with (or hoard from) loved ones. However, in the midst of preparation, we don’t often think about where our food came from before it hit the grocery store, or—more importantly—who helped get it there.
There are 11.1 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States. Of that 11.1 million, 26% report working in farming-related jobs, comprising 17% of America’s agriculture industry as a whole. In the newly introduced Legal Workforce Act (H.R.3711), a bill sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) in September, these 2,860,000 undocumented immigrants working in agriculture will now face another obstacle to employment in the form of a new Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS). This bill is an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which oversees the H-2A guest worker program that allows many undocumented immigrants to hold temporary agricultural jobs in the U.S. The incorporation of the EEVS would require employers to verify the legal status of all H-2A employees, which would bar undocumented immigrants from holding these jobs. As of early November, this bill awaits a vote by the House Judiciary Committee.
[pullquote]There are 11.1 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States. Of that 11.1 million, 26% report working in farming-related jobs, comprising 17% of America’s agriculture industry as a whole.[/pullquote]
This is obviously not the first piece of controversial immigration legislation that this country has seen lately. In fact, this last year has been filled with some of the most drastic legislation of this nature in recent history, including Trump’s travel ban in January and decision to end DACA in early September. However, the moral weight of the Legal Workforce Act gains an extra pound at this particular time of year. Beyond the pumpkin pies and green bean casseroles, Thanksgiving is, at its core, a holiday that celebrates immigration.
[pullquote]However, the moral weight of the Legal Workforce Act gains an extra pound at this particular time of year. Beyond the pumpkin pies and green bean casseroles, Thanksgiving is, at its core, a holiday that celebrates immigration.[/pullquote]
On Thanksgiving, many Americans remember the Pilgrims’ journey from England to America in order to escape religious persecution. We reflect on the harsh conditions that the Pilgrims endured on their 66-day Mayflower voyage to the New World. We recall that Thanksgiving commemorated the Pilgrim’s first harvest in their new home—a sign of hope for a bountiful future and a celebration of survival. On Thanksgiving, we are told to be thankful, for, like the Pilgrims, we could be facing the harsh realities of immigration instead of relaxing at our dinner tables. Perhaps the harsher reality is the fact that the food in our Thanksgiving feast was likely harvested by people who are currently facing the hardships of immigration in the United States.
[pullquote]Perhaps the harsher reality is the fact that the food in our Thanksgiving feast was likely harvested by people who are currently facing the hardships of immigration in the United States.[/pullquote]
The Legal Workforce Act contradicts everything our country claims to honor during Thanksgiving, and in fact, poses an obstacle to celebrating this holiday at all. Without the work of the undocumented immigrant population in agricultural labor jobs, there would be fewer hands to pick and produce the foods we bring to our Thanksgiving tables. We take for granted that, in the frantic preparation of our Thanksgiving dinners, the grocery stores will be stocked with all of the fresh fruits and vegetables that we need to stuff our turkeys, pies, and stomachs. Americans are largely unwilling to take these low-wage, labor-intensive agricultural jobs. We rely on the undocumented immigrant population to help us maintain our regular diets, and in this case, preserve traditions that feel innate to our nation’s cultural identity. The implementation of the Legal Workforce Act would not only be harmful to the over two million immigrants who work in this industry, but could also change the future of Thanksgiving as we know it.
As I sit down to Thanksgiving dinner this year, I will excitedly await the combination of classic dishes that I refuse to eat in conjunction at any other time of year. I will think about the immigration story of the Pilgrims, as they left their old lives behind to find a better future in the country that we live in today. However, I will also think about the immigration stories that may not be written yet or that may be happening in the United States as I bite into a piece of pumpkin pie. I will hope for a future where legislators and citizens alike will recognize that the Thanksgiving tradition that our country values most is thanks to those whose futures are in our hands.
Hannah Gilberstadt ‘19 studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at hannah.gilberstadt@wustl.edu.