Being constantly on the move. the children cannot stay long enough in one place to receive an adequate education. If they survive their early childhood. they are virtually doomed to repeating the dismal life of their parents. This situation of the typical migrant family is repeated 500.000 times throughout the Nation. Including women and children. nearly 2 million human beings in America are caught in a dismal web of constant poverty and degradation in the midst of plenty. In the past. because of the local nature of the migrant labor problem. only local remedies were sought. In response to the local migrant labor problem. State and local governments and other organizations have in many instances acted to aid these people. However. because of the great number of migrant workers and because of their constant movement they are also a national problem of concern to all Americans. Action must be taken by Congress immediately to bring these people and their children into the 20th century. If we believe in economic and social justice for all Americans. it must include these 2 million people. Unlike most other laboring groups in our society. agricultural migrants are almost totally lacking in either political or economic power. In contras to the economic and political weakness of the migrants. stands the economic and political power of the agricultural growers and processors who purchase their labor. The fact that agricultural workers are specifically excluded from coverage under Federal wage and hour legislation. and from much other social legislation. is strongly indicative of their lack of political power. This fact also suggests the need for further legislation by this Congress to attempt to help equalize these two groups.
Keywords matched
migrants migrant