Immigrants peel crawfish, but cannot eat them. How sad.

There is a scene many people have witnessed without ever really seeing it.

You drive past a crawfish processing plant and the picture is always the same. Steam rises from the kettles. Trucks back in. Inside, rows of immigrant women peel crawfish for hours at a time. Their hands move quickly and their work is steady. It is honest, physical work that keeps a Louisiana tradition alive.

The same visual exists in other parts of our state. You can drive past a sugarcane field and see immigrant workers cutting cane in the heat or cold, planting rows before the sun is up. Many of these men and women are legally here. They are hired through formal programs that allow farmers and processors to pay them fairly and provide the labor that our industries desperately need. These workers contribute to local economies and perform jobs that have become harder and harder to fill with a domestic workforce.

The problem is that most people do not understand the difference between legal immigrant workers who follow the process and illegal aliens who enter the country outside of the law. One group participates in the system and plays by the rules. The other group bypasses that system entirely. The issue becomes even more confusing when both groups often end up working in similar industries. The average person driving by does not see who arrived legally and who did not. They only see a workforce that looks unfamiliar, and they draw their own conclusions.

This is where the conversation becomes complicated. Immigration in the United States is not a simple issue. It is not as easy as open the borders or close them. And it is not a matter of liking or disliking immigrants. I understand why people risk everything to come here. They want safety. They want a future. They want opportunities their home countries cannot offer. It is impossible to see that and feel nothing.

At the same time, Americans have spent generations building the systems that make this country function. Taxes, schools, healthcare, infrastructure, and the daily stability we rely on all depend on participation in that system. When people enter the country illegally, they live outside of that structure. They do not pay into it in the same way. They are not part of the programs that hold the country together. This is not sustainable for any nation, and no country in the world allows uncontrolled entry because they cannot.

This is the catch twenty-two. Our economy quietly depends on immigrant labor, especially in agriculture, food processing, hospitality, and construction. Legal immigrant workers keep these industries moving. At the same time, illegal immigration strains the system and creates confusion, mistrust, and political division. Both realities exist at once.

I support enforcing immigration law, because a country must have borders and rules. Illegal entry cannot be ignored. It is not fair to the people who follow the process, and it destabilizes the system everyone depends on. But that support does not cancel out empathy for the people who come here searching for something better. We can acknowledge their humanity and still say that laws matter. We can be compassionate without abandoning structure.

The real question is how to fix this. Is it a border infrastructure issue? Is it a broken legal immigration process? Is it a labor market problem where certain industries depend on workers that citizens will not replace? Is it a class issue? Probably all of the above. Until we are honest about that, we will keep arguing without moving toward solutions.

Legal immigrants who work in crawfish plants, cane fields, hotels, restaurants, and factories are part of the American story. They contribute. They follow the rules. They help build industries that keep food on our tables. Illegal immigration is a different issue entirely, and it deserves a different response.

The image of workers peeling crawfish they may never taste is symbolic. It reminds me that immigration is not just policy or politics. It is real life. It affects families, industries, and communities. It affects citizens who depend on affordable food and stable jobs. And it affects the men and women who come here hoping to earn a living.

If we want an honest conversation about immigration, we must separate legal participants in our system from those who enter outside of it. Only then can we talk about practical solutions that protect America while still respecting the dignity of the people who want to be part of it.

For now, that simple picture of immigrant workers doing difficult work for the benefit of others reminds me that the issue is layered. It deserves thoughtful solutions, not emotional reactions.