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MTW’s letter of support for California’s AB 364

Dear Governor Newsom,

On behalf of Migration that Works, we write to urge you to sign AB 364 (Rodriguez). Since our founding in 2011, Migration that Works (formerly known as the “International Labor Recruitment Working Group” or “ILRWG” for short) has documented widespread abuse and systemic flaws in recruitment for U.S. work visa programs, including fraud, discrimination, and economic coercion.¹AB 364 would prevent many of these abuses—protecting workers and preventing human trafficking—by regulating international labor recruiters who recruit for jobs in California. And it would protect law-abiding employers that use registered recruiters. With your leadership, California will protect more than 300,000 internationally recruited migrant workers and establish a model for ethical labor recruitment that other states can follow.

MTW’s Recommendations to DHS Towards Ensuring Mobility for H2 Workers

May 17, 2022

Every worker should be able to leave a job for any reason without fearing that their employer will retaliate against them or that they will be barred from employment elsewhere. This fundamental principle of workers’ mobility is enshrined in US anti-retaliation laws and international labor mobility frameworks. Nevertheless, the H-2A and H-2B programs currently prevent most workers from leaving one job and finding another because they tie these workers’ visas to a single employer.

Migration that Works statement on the Biden Administration’s alarming Expansion of the H-2B Program

February 25, 2022

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary work visa program leaves workers exposed to widespread abuse and exploitation. Despite the H-2B program’s well-documented structural flaws, the Biden administration and federal legislators have moved to dramatically expand this program — without first instituting protections endorsed by workers and advocates. Migration that Works opposes this approach — which so far has ignored the workers’ needs — and urges U.S. federal agencies and policymakers to protect migrant workers in the H-2 labor migration programs.

Migration that Works’ Response to the Updated National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking

January 24, 2022

The Biden-Harris Administration has a crucial opportunity to marshal the federal government’s resources and deploy its agencies to more effectively combat human trafficking—a devastating problem that the pandemic has exacerbated. As we observe Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the time is now for a robust, worker-centered strategy to end human trafficking, and particularly forced labor and debt bondage. Last month, the Administration published an updated National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (“Plan”). While Migration that Works commends the Administration for using gender and racial equity lenses and addressing migrant workers in its Plan—vital perspectives missing from the last administration’s version of the Plan—its proposed strategies to protect migrant workers fall woefully short.

Statement of solidarity with farmworkers who have suffered discrimination, racism, and displacement

As a Coalition committed to advancing equitable labor migration policies, we are in solidarity with farmworkers throughout the U.S., particularly those who have suffered historic discrimination, racism and displacement from their lands and communities.

Human rights of migrants and their families must be a priority in a North American vision of migration

November 19, 2021

Yesterday, U.S. President Biden convened with Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau and President López Obrador of Mexico, to discuss regional priorities, including migration. As a coalition of labor, migration, civil rights, anti-trafficking organizations and academics, we urge all three leaders to move away from “quick-fix” solutions and keep working towards a regional vision of migration that prioritizes the human rights of migrants and their families.

Joint comment on USCIS’s newly proposed I-129H2A and I-129H2B forms for Nonimmigrant workers.

Continue reading “Joint comment on USCIS’s newly proposed I-129H2A and I-129H2B forms for Nonimmigrant workers.”

Statement Regarding the Inhumane Treatment of Haitian Migrants at the US Border

Migration that Works decries the vile, inhumane treatment of Haitian migrant families and asylum-seekers at the US Border. The horrific violence perpetrated by the US Border Patrol in Del Río, Texas towards primarily Black Haitian migrants searching for refuge and security is unconscionable and unforgivable. This treatment is reminiscent of the footprint of slavery in the US, and the Biden Administration’s treatment of Haitian migrants is a reminder of the systemic racism and anti-Blackness that viciously pervade US institutions.

Open Letter to FIFA

When the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) unveiled the location of the 2026 World Cup, sports fans across North America naturally rejoiced. For the first time, the most-watched tournament in the world would be hosted by three countries: Mexico, the US and Canada. And this time, advocates had a reason to be enthusiastic, too—FIFA would require host nations and cities to submit a human rights plan as part of its selection criteria. This new policy signaled FIFA’s commitment to creating the infrastructure to address human rights abuses and to protect workers, following the highly-publicized, atrocious working conditions faced by guestworkers in the years leading up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Statement on “The Biden Administration Blueprint for a Fair, Orderly, and Humane Immigration System” and “Collaborative Migration Management Strategy” report

Last week, the Biden Administration published its Blueprint for a Fair, Orderly, and Humane Immigration System and the “Collaborative Migration Management Strategy” report, both of which included plans to expand access to Central America for the current H-2A and H-2B temporary work visa programs. At the same time, the Administration announced that it will resume the inhumane expedited removal of asylum-seeking families, and has yet to repeal the Title 42 policy, which directs immigration authorities to summarily expel migrants without providing them the opportunity to seek protection in the United States. These policies are a troubling continuation of the Trump Administration’s approach, prioritizing the expansion of exploitative temporary work visa programs over our government’s humanitarian responsibilities to asylum seekers and those with protection needs.