Rep. Chu Commends DHS on Protections for Immigrant Workers Experiencing Labor Rights Violations, Urges Passage of POWER Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that noncitizen workers who are victims of violation of labor rights can now access a streamlined and expedited deferred action process or temporary relief from deportation as they cooperate with labor standards investigations.

Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) released the following statement in response:

"Too often, employers threaten deportation or otherwise retaliate against immigrant workers who raise the alarm about illegal workplace conditions, which undermines working conditions and wages for all U.S. workers. Today's announcement is a critical step forward to ensuring safe and just workplaces for all workers in the U.S., and so I commend Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden Administration for using their discretionary authority to protect everyone working here. Today's announcement is not a permanent solution, however, and a future Administration could rescind it. That is why it is so critical to pass the Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation Act, which I have championed for years. The POWER Act, like the DHS announcement today, would expand protections for immigrants who are victims of serious workplace violations and ensure workers have a recourse to report unlawful or unfair labor practices."

The National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Jobs with Justice, Economic Policy Institute, National Employment Law Project (NELP), and Tulane Immigrant Rights Clinic issued a jointed statement in response:

"Immigrant workers are essential partners in labor agency investigations that enforce workplace rights. Protecting these workers as they raise their voice and stand up for their rights makes every workplace safer, for the benefit of both U.S. and immigrant workers and for the general public."

The AFL-CIO and SEIU, unions who have long supported the POWER Act, added:

"This streamlined process is a historic step forward for protecting immigrant workers from retaliation and deportation as they exercise their labor rights, including the right to organize and join unions and the right to seek legally owed wages for their work."