To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Protection for Immigrant Workers
Please extend federal worker protection laws to immigrant workers and their families as part of immigration reform. Protect the psychological, emotional and physical well-being of these families that support our society and economy.
Why is this important?
For immigrants coming to America it is a land of opportunity. There are dreams of a better life in both work and living. Many of them are placed with a stigma of being an “unskilled worker". However, the demand for their work cannot be denied. They face discrimination in being treated worse than Americans in the same type of work. Reasons for this is due to a language barrier, low-expectations of skilled work, and expectations of being paid well. These workers face labor exploitations in the areas they work in, and although there have been some regulations made to protect them, not enough has been done.
We ask for fair treatment and anti-discrimination laws to protect immigrant workers.
Immigrants are forced to work in dangerous conditions and if they happen to get injured on the job they will get deported. Supervisors may harass immigrants sexually and force them to work at a very fast pace. Most immigrants are employed in agriculture or construction, which both have high injury rates. While immigrants take these jobs because they seem safer than jobs in their previous country, they are not given adequate information and protection from unsafe working conditions. The language barrier and little education are further reasons they have been exploited.
We ask that laws are put in place to protect immigrant workers from these conditions and to provide better educational opportunities for them.
The deplorable working conditions for migrant workers in the United States also create undue psychological stress on the individual. Migrants tend to be youthful in age, and are looking for a way to balance the financial stress of having a family, as well as trying to maintain the well-being of family across unfriendly borders. When mothers and fathers come into the U.S. seeking a way to provide for their children they often end up working extremely long hours in dangerous conditions and do not have the psychological stamina to deal with a child who never knew their homeland. As a result, the children suffer, as well. The restrictions the U.S. government places on these families is discriminatory, is dangerous for the human psyche, and does not stop or slow the flow of traffic across the border.
We ask that you address these restrictions that keep families separated and endangers their psychological, physical and emotional safety.
While California has had some success with signing in laws that protect immigrant workers, there remains the problem on the federal level of immigrant worker protection which leaves immigrant workers vulnerable to abuses in other states. One example of abuse is include employer control of worker visas which can lead to exploitation and punishment for organization, including the fear of deportation. Another example is the shadow of human trafficking to which immigrants can be subject to without appropriate laws to protect them. Other anti-immigration measures such as the E-Verify system need to be addressed.
We ask that you make federal immigration reform with protection for immigrant workers and their families a priority this year so they can work and live in safety.
Sincerely,
Dr. Paul Lopez, Ph.D., Carrie, Kendra, Francis, and Emmett
We ask for fair treatment and anti-discrimination laws to protect immigrant workers.
Immigrants are forced to work in dangerous conditions and if they happen to get injured on the job they will get deported. Supervisors may harass immigrants sexually and force them to work at a very fast pace. Most immigrants are employed in agriculture or construction, which both have high injury rates. While immigrants take these jobs because they seem safer than jobs in their previous country, they are not given adequate information and protection from unsafe working conditions. The language barrier and little education are further reasons they have been exploited.
We ask that laws are put in place to protect immigrant workers from these conditions and to provide better educational opportunities for them.
The deplorable working conditions for migrant workers in the United States also create undue psychological stress on the individual. Migrants tend to be youthful in age, and are looking for a way to balance the financial stress of having a family, as well as trying to maintain the well-being of family across unfriendly borders. When mothers and fathers come into the U.S. seeking a way to provide for their children they often end up working extremely long hours in dangerous conditions and do not have the psychological stamina to deal with a child who never knew their homeland. As a result, the children suffer, as well. The restrictions the U.S. government places on these families is discriminatory, is dangerous for the human psyche, and does not stop or slow the flow of traffic across the border.
We ask that you address these restrictions that keep families separated and endangers their psychological, physical and emotional safety.
While California has had some success with signing in laws that protect immigrant workers, there remains the problem on the federal level of immigrant worker protection which leaves immigrant workers vulnerable to abuses in other states. One example of abuse is include employer control of worker visas which can lead to exploitation and punishment for organization, including the fear of deportation. Another example is the shadow of human trafficking to which immigrants can be subject to without appropriate laws to protect them. Other anti-immigration measures such as the E-Verify system need to be addressed.
We ask that you make federal immigration reform with protection for immigrant workers and their families a priority this year so they can work and live in safety.
Sincerely,
Dr. Paul Lopez, Ph.D., Carrie, Kendra, Francis, and Emmett