Occupational Health Rights Difference Between US citizens and Mexican Illegal Immigrants (a study case)

The illegal immigrant population of the United States in 2009 was estimated in 11 million people, 62% of them from Mexico. There is a continuing practice of hiring immigrant workers, to avoid paying high salaries and benefits. In 2003, Vicente Fox stated that remittances "are our biggest source of foreign income, bigger than oil, tourism or foreign investment". In 2005 the World Bank stated that Mexico was receiving $18.1 billion in remittances. Mexican immigrant workers to USA are critical to improve the economy of both countries. While they support with money to their families in Mexico, they support USA economy with their low salary/benefits and hard work. Nevertheless, they don’t receive Occupational Health benefits from any of the countries. This work compares the outcomes of two WCs’ cases.  First case is an American working in a popcorn factory located in Jasper Missouri. After some years of exposure to flavorings, employee was diagnosed with the pulmonary disease Bronchiolitis Obliterans, a very rare disease affecting among 1:40,000 to 1:100,000 people in USA.  In that manufacturing site eight out of 425 workers were affected. That big difference was caused by exposure to chemical substances called flavorings. Main suspected flavor was Diacetyl. Many lawyers sued that company, representing ill employees. Employee won trial for $20 millions. Second case is related to a 17 years old (2 months pregnant) undocumented woman US, working in a Coast Grape Farming located in California. She passed away after working nine straight hours in the broiling heat (35 Celsius degrees average) of the summer.  After suffering heat exhaustion, she was not sent immediately to the hospital. When she arrived into the hospital 1.5 hour later she was in coma with a body temperature of 42 Celsius. She passed away two days later. She didn’t receive any WCs’ benefit.