They were hired as engineers or technicians with the TN visacreated by the North American Free Trade Agreement, now USMCAwhich allows Canadian and Mexican professionals to cover highly skilled jobs in the United States…and they were put to work as laborers!
Thus, sued Hyundai Mobis since last Decembera car manufacturer and its recruiting agencies for defrauding the United States government and dozens of people with the profession of Mexican engineers and technicians.
But now they have better news. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recognized that there is an immigration relief policy for migrants facing abuse and defend their labor rights:
It will give them temporary immigration protections and permission to work in the United States when they raise their voice against unsafe and unfair working conditions, as announced last Friday.
“This is a victory worth celebrating!”said Rachel Micah-Jones, director of the Center for Migrant Rightsa non-profit organization that since 2005 has documented abuses like those that occurred with the engineers and many others.
Such abuses include issues such as lack of minimum wageif they do not pay overtime or do not pay for all hours worked. If the boss keeps part of your tipsif there are dangerous conditions and they do not give the protective equipment or if there is discrimination such as night work that they do not give to nationals.
“The labor abuse complaints number in the thousandsif not millions, but they will have to confirm it”, explained Jorge Mújica, substitute migrant representative and activist for human and labor rights in Chicago.
This newspaper reported in the article entitled “DACA for workers will be able to legalize millions” that since last July, the President Joe Biden’s administration implemented a Deferred Action with which victims of violations of labor laws can obtain a legal work permit and a social security number if they file a lawsuit and while the lawsuit is being resolved.
To this is added the announcement of the DHS policy that, according to the CDM, will empower workers to take action against exploitative and/or abusive employers.
“Working people migrants and immigrants have demanded these protections for a long time. We applaud the agency for stepping up in the strengthening of protections for migrant and immigrant workers,” Micah-Jones added in a CDM statement.
“This policy is a key step in empowering working people to hold abusive employers accountable,” she adds.
What is immigration relief?
Many Undocumented migrants fear their employer will retaliate if you complain about violations of labor rights. There are several cases of employers threatening to retaliate (for example, call the immigration officers) or other actions against people who have complained about violations of their labor rights.
The immigration relief can help protect these peoplein addition to providing certain immigration protections and a permit to work with another employer, in this way they will be able to safely stop working with an employer without fear of retaliation.
How does the immigration relief process work? The Department of Labor (DOL) will consider requests for support for the migratory relief of working people and the defenders of working people.
If the DOL agrees to the request, it will provide a document known as a “DOL Statement of Interest” to DHS. Ultimately, it is DHS, not DOL, that thas the power to provide immigration relief to working people.
But a statement of interest from DOL helps support the application. The DOL will make the decision to issue a statement of interest on a case-by-case basis. You will not provide a declaration of interest in all cases.
How can I request a DOL Statement of Interest to support my application for immigration relief?
If you want help to request a statement of interest from the DOLthey can contact the CDM they can call 800-590-1773 which provides free information.
DOL can also accept applications for declarations of interest directly from workers. You can communicate directly with the DOL to request a declaration of interest.
It is recommended talk to a lawyer about rights before contacting the government. And never share personally identifiable information, such as your date of birth, social Security number o Alien registration number, previous migration history, or current immigration status, if you contact DOL directly because of the sensitivity of the information shared.
In the case of engineers tricked into working as laborersFor example, the legal action was filed by the Migrant Rights Center, in conjunction with other lawyers in Georgia.
According to the list published by the Department of Stateengineering and technical positions are among the professions covered by the TN program.
However, work on an assembly line is not. Once settled in Georgia, professional people were put to work in factories where they performed repetitive production manual labor during 12-hour shifts, six days a week, receiving low wages.
“This case is emblematic of a pattern we have seen in the region and in industry where employers in such supply chains are misusing TN visas,” said Ben Botts, CDM Legal Director.
The demand also includes employment discrimination, since the Mexican workers argued that they were paid less than US workers despite doing the same or similar work. That is they received less pay because of their nationality and race.
The DHS announcement to protect migrants who report labor violations was given after President Joe Biden’s visit to Mexico within the framework of the North American Leaders Summit, also known as the Three Amigos Summit, where they addressed migration issues.
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