(Washington Insider Magazine) Los inmigrantes indocumentados que son víctimas de abuso laboral or son testigos en casos de este tipo podrán obtain in accelerated form a protection to deportation, así como una Authorización de Empleo, de acuerdo a nueva directives del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional.
Undocumented immigrants who are victims of labor abuse or witnesses to cases of this type will have access to an accelerated deportation protection system, in addition to an Employment Authorization (EAD).
The program had been announced a few months ago by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in coordination with the Department of Labor, but this Friday Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed the policy that would benefit dozens of people.
“Non-citizen workers who are victims of or witnesses to labor rights violations can now access a simplified and expedited deferred action request process,” DHS said. “Deferred action protects noncitizen workers from threats of immigration-related retaliation by exploitative employers.”
This Friday begins the possibility for immigrants in this situation to request protection, which will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, after the application is sent. Details can be found at DHS.gov, in English and Spanish.
The measure also seeks to empower undocumented immigrants to report any abuse, including trafficking.
“Unscrupulous employers who take advantage of the vulnerability of non-citizen workers hurt all workers and hurt companies that follow the rules,” Mayorkas said. “We will hold these predatory actors accountable by encouraging all workers to assert their rights, report violations they have experienced or observed, and cooperate in labor standards investigations.”
Goodbye to Fear
DHS recognizes that workers face mistrust in reporting abusive employers, so this program will help reduce that problem and improve enforcement.
“Labor and employment law enforcement agencies depend on the cooperation of these workers in their investigations,” the DHS says. “Refraining from reporting violations for fear of immigration-based retaliation creates unfair conditions in the labor market and perpetuates the commission of illegal and inhumane acts by employers.”
Among the problems faced by people in this condition are the non-payment of wages, the imposition of unsafe working conditions, and the weakening of workers’ ability to organize and collectively bargain their conditions.
How to Apply
Undocumented immigrants may send such applications to the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
This protection will be possible even for those immigrants who have a deportation order in process or final by a judge, for which USCIS will evaluate it on a case-by-case basis, in coordination with the office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This article is authored by Jesús García.