In a step hailed by the United Farm Workers union, the Homeland Security Department announced a streamlined and expedited process to protect non-citizen workers from immigration-related retaliation during labor disputes with their employers. “Unscrupulous employers who prey on the vulnerability of non-citizen workers harm all workers and disadvantage businesses who play by the rules,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“We will hold these predatory actors accountable by encouraging all workers to assert their rights, report violations they have suffered or observed, and cooperate in labor standards investigations,” he said. The DHS created a centralized intake point where workers can apply for so-called deferred action status, which typically lasts for two years but could be renewed if labor agencies have a continuing interest in the dispute.
Teresa Romero, president of the UFW, said the streamlined process would protect immigrant workers involved in labor organizing and other labor disputes form threats of retaliation. “For too long, agricultural employers have weaponized the threat of retaliation to keep wages low, to suppress labor organizing and to keep farmworkers living in fear — which is just how agricultural employers like it.”