One of the reasons my dad always hired Mexican immigrants for his masonry business is that they were ambitious and highly motivated. They were the kind of people who succeeded in making an arduous journey all the way north to Michigan and living in a place with a foreign climate and social structure.

They had guts, in a word, and they were awesome workers for it. He paid them very well, and everyone got ahead — him and them.

In fact, the first Mexican mason my dad ever hired now owns his own thriving business and employs about 30 people.

He’s a true American success story.