The United States Government announced this Tuesday (12.10.2021) that there will be no more raids on workplaces in search of undocumented immigrants and will focus more on employers and respect for labor laws to prevent the “exploitation” of workers migrants.
“We will not tolerate unscrupulous employers who exploit unauthorized workers, conduct illegal activities or impose unhealthy or dangerous working conditions,” the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, said in a statement.
A. Mayorkas memorandum called for an end to mass raids on work sites stating that “under the previous administration these costly operations resulted in the simultaneous arrest of hundreds of workers and were used as a tool by exploitative employers to repress and retaliate. against the demands of the workers to comply with our labor laws,” he said in the statement.
“Employees who engage in illegal actions will be the focus of our law enforcement resources,” Mayorkas said. “By taking action that targets the most unscrupulous employers, we will protect workers as well as legitimate American businesses.” At the beginning of 2020, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) had a daily average of 40,000 people detained, and currently has just over 21,800 in its custody in different detention centers throughout the country.
Arrests, which during the Trump administration included raids on work sites, fell from 6,000 last December to 3,600 in August, according to ICE data. Last July, the Hispanic Caucus in Congress stated in a statement that “the vilification of immigrant communities has increased surveillance and arrests by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service, often in collaboration with local police forces.”
“Mass raids and arrests predominantly targeting immigrant communities, and often occurring in schools or workplaces, erode trust between the communities and the police,” the statement added.
