We've all heard xenophobes rant about immigrants taking jobs away from American workers. Now meet the immigrants who sign on to jobs Americans won't touch -- the ones with no safety nets -- low wages and no benefits, i.e., no paid vacations, no profit-sharing, no health insurance (despite dangerous working conditions), no compensation for loss of limbs, no pension plan, no social security contributions.
One's perspective is changed with the realization that these new Americans are proud to be working at a place where the hourly wage is a whopping $7-8/hr. If this is the American dream, imagine what life must be like at home!
Fink goes to work in a meat-packing plant in Iowa for an up-close look at the conditions and environment in which immigrants (mostly from Mexico and Central America) toil to support families both here and in their homelands. Her sensitivity to the workers' pride and plight, and her empathy with their every-day existence is remarkable for an American. She is to be commended for her courage in wading into a stark and noisy reality -- one not altogether known by many U.S. citizens -- while retaining her writer's objectivity.
This book is highly recommended.