For Michael Moretti*, a social worker in New York City, the border crisis impacts his daily life as illegal migrants make up a growing percentage of the people he serves. It has also cost him and those he knows priceless economic opportunities.
As a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA), Moretti provides non-clinical support and guidance to individuals with substance abuse disorder –– a significant concern in New York affecting a considerable portion of its population.
In January 2024, Moretti applied for a position as a peer advocate in the healthcare space.
“I was going for a position for which I have all the qualifications – the background, the hours, the references, everything,” Moretti told IW Features.. “And the first question was, ‘Are you bilingual?’”
When Moretti told the interviewer “No,” the interviewer allegedly told him that he was “off to a bad start” because “most of the residents here speak Spanish.”
Moretti, whose grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy in the early 1900s, said that being turned away from a position because he didn’t speak Spanish was a jarring experience.
“My grandparents saved and scrimped and bought a house and bought a business and started a family and did it the right way – and they assimilated,” Moretti said. “They learned English. That was what it was about.”
Moretti said he ultimately took an alternative position at a men’s homeless shelter that did not require bilingual proficiency. Even still, he said, the shelter he now works at recently was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to the high concentration of illegal migrants there.
“It was a team of 10 guys that came in, and they knew who they were looking for. They asked for the rooms, the room numbers,” he said. “They took three people.”
As of Feb. 1, ICE has arrested more than 8,000 illegal migrants across the U.S. and dozens in New York City alone. The increased deportation efforts are thanks to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which seeks to “prioritize the safety, security, and financial and economic well-being of Americans” by enforcing U.S. immigration law.
Despite the upheaval of having his place of work raided, Moretti said he felt the position he took at the homeless shelter was ultimately a good fit for him.
One of his close friends, however, wasn’t so lucky.
Moretti explained that one of his friends from Maine works as a roofer. Roofing is “pretty seasonal,” he said, but his friend had been working with one particular commercial roofing company for about seven years.
One week before Christmas, Moretti said, his friend received devastating news.
“He called me and said, ‘I got laid off today. My boss can’t pay me because it’s the slow season.’ I asked what happened, and he said, ‘My crew is still working. They replaced me [with an illegal immigrant], and he’s working for half of what I make. He’s working for $11 an hour.’”
According to Moretti, his friend is a “senior man” on his roofing crew and handles difficult jobs, such as structural support, that impact the safety of the building. His team continuing to work without a suitable replacement, therefore, was extremely unsettling.
“When you’re dealing with somebody’s roof, especially in Maine, you have to do it right because they have tons of snow,” Moretti said. “What’s basically behind this is money.”
If illegal immigrants are willing to work for less than minimum wage – Maine’s is $14.65 per hour – American citizens such as Moretti’s friend, who must be paid a higher wage, are at a serious disadvantage despite company loyalty and decades of experience.
Moretti’s experience proves illegal immigration has far-reaching effects, extending far beyond the border states, from which no American is exempt.
“There are people that have been here for generations, black Americans, Spanish Americans, that were born here and are working two jobs just to feed their children,” Moretti said. “It isn’t right.”
