Amy Traub

Immigration Enforcement May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Knock, Knock!
Who's There?
OSHA
OSHA, who?
It's the immigration police -- you're under arrest!

Okay, so it's not a terribly funny joke, but even fewer people were laughing last July when something pretty much along those lines happened to 48 immigrant workers at an air force base in North Carolina. Ordered to attend a mandatory training session of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, undocumented workers were instead swept up in a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE officials argued that having undocumented workers on millitary bases poses a threat to domestic security. That may be the case, but if impersonating officials from another government agency is the best way the U.S. military has to ensure the security of its facilties, we're in more trouble than we thought.

Undermining workers' trust in an agency meant to protect their health and safety on the job poses its own serious dangers to our security. Word has probably already spread in immigrant communities that people claiming to be government health and safety inspectors may actually be agents coming to deport you. As a result, undocumented workers will be less willing to report unsafe worksites or employers who fail to provide proper safety gear. Employers, aware that they won't be reported, will try to get away with more safety violations. This doesn't only mean more dangerous workplaces for undocumented workers and their co-workers, but also unfair competition for employers who are obeying health and safety rules, as they are undercut on cost by competitors willing and able to cut corners on safety.

As I argue in "Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class" undermining immigrants rights in the workplace -- including their confidence in public safety regulations and the agencies that enforce them -- ultimately harms all working Americans, making all of our workplaces less safe. That's a domestic security issue too.

Amy Traub: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 4:01 PM, Feb 15, 2006 in Immigration | Labor
Permalink | Email to Friend