New visa rules to bring much-needed relief to labor trafficking victims

In our work, we see many foreign guest workers and vulnerable immigrants who are victimized by unscrupulous recruiters and U.S. employers seeking a cheap, easily exploitable labor force. Often, these workers have little recourse when they are defrauded or abused in the workplace. And, for many, the fear of retaliation or deportation prevents them from exposing the abuses.

It’s a longstanding problem – one the SPLC has addressed through litigation and advocacy for more than a decade.

Congress has done nothing in recent years to stop the abuses. But last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) took a major step toward protecting victimized workers by expanding access to what are known as U and T visas, both of which were created by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. 

These two visa categories are intended to protect victims of certain crimes – including some workplace abuses – by granting them legal status and work authorization.

Under the new procedures, the DOL will begin certifying T visas for the first time. These visas provide legal status to victims of human trafficking who assist law enforcement in the investigation of trafficking crimes.

The DOL also is expanding access to U visas, which it certifies for noncitizens who are victims of crime in the workplace, including involuntary servitude and peonage. With last week’s action, the DOL added extortion, forced labor and fraud in foreign labor contracting to the list of crimes for which a victim can qualify. These are among the most common violations we see in our work at SPLC.

The DOL changes are part of President Obama’s executive actions for immigration reform announced in November 2014.

Because the DOL is the agency most likely to encounter victims of labor trafficking and workplace crime, its involvement in certifying these visas is a powerful change for workers. The expanded access will empower thousands of vulnerable workers to speak out against abusive employers.  

The SPLC has represented hundreds of clients who are eligible for these visas during the past few years and has led the push to expand access to those not previously qualified. 

They’re people like Dalila Contreras Martinez, an SPLC client who was among a dozen Latino workers at a Tennessee cheese factory who were arrested, jailed and threatened with deportation after they spoke out about abusive conditions and not receiving their wages.

“The visa made it safe for me to come forward, and made it possible for me to be with and provide for my family, even when my employer retaliated after I complained about our working conditions,” Dalila said.

The changes will not only make it easier for people like Dalila to speak out and to cooperate with investigators, it will pressure abusive employers to change their ways in order to avoid controversy or legal action.

Massive reform is needed in our migrant worker visa programs. When reforms like this are made, we begin to untangle the web of abuse and bureaucracy that so many workers face when they seek better opportunities in our country. 

Eunice Cho is an SPLC staff attorney