As the immigration debate continues to take shape on Capitol Hill, a huge piece of the legislative discussion will undoubtedly surround the rights of immigrant workers. On the heels of new immigration principles released by both the Senate and the White House this week, the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM), Farmworker Justice, Global Workers Justice Alliance, National Guestworker Alliance, Southern Poverty Law Center, and a diverse group of other international and national organizations have brought to light a report released by Migration that Works (formerly the International Labor Recruitment Working Group), which identifies the shortcomings and gaps in the current regulatory and enforcement framework governing immigrant worker programs. The report titled, The American Dream Up for Sale: A Blueprint for Ending International Labor Recruitment Abuse, documents the pervasive abuses experienced by immigrant workers in a range of low to high skilled fields and further provides important recommendations for reform.
On February 5, 2013, the House Judiciary Committee held its first immigration hearing, “America’s Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration.” Just prior to this transformative hearing, labor, migrant rights and anti-trafficking leaders held a press conference to call for an end to the wide-spread abuse, and further demanded that Congress consider the report’s blueprint for change in drafting an immigration reform bill.
As immigration reform progresses, you can get involved by downloading and reading the full report, and by contacting your congressional representative. Then continue to visit this website often for updates about this repot and future projects of Migration that Works (formerly the International Labor Recruitment Working Group).
migrationthatworks.org 