It seems those immigrants we tried to keep out are needed after all.

A moratorium of sorts has been decided against “sending back” some unregistered immigrants. We need them to pick the crops being planted and later to be harvested.

Immigrant labor also has been a mainstay in health care and elder care. We just didn’t realize it, assuming those refugees were only after our welfare benefits.

Now in this pandemic, we realize we need their contributions to our society.

We are reminded of the “Black Death” of the Middle ages, the bubonic plagues that devastated much of Europe at different times. So many people died, that wage earners were scarce. For a time, wages were pushed up.

As time passed and population grew again, things returned to normal. The rich got richer and the others settled into subsistence living.

Perhaps, with better understanding this time, we can develop an ongoing appreciation for the immigrants who enrich our lives and country and culture. Perhaps we can better care for all our workers in those lower echelon jobs, so necessary for our life.