Immigration reform and workplace abuse

By Luis R. Perez

He works the standard long-hours of an investment banker, but he is paid like a pauper. Enrique, “El Neto,” an affectionate nickname in Spanish that can mean someone who is serious, has been working an average of 60-hour shifts at a horse farm in Dutchess County, NY.

Enrique said he earns $ 5 per hour for a scheduled 40-day work week, but he does not earn renumeration in the form of overtime or compensation time for extra work. Enrique’s wages fall short of the federally-imposed hourly rate of $7.25.

During a common work day, Enrique manages a 24-horse stable with the help of a fellow illegal immigrant friend who refused to give his name. Both of them take turns grooming, feeding and walking the horses. Also, they have to rake the stalls, clean out the horse debris, and pickup fresh hay and oats.

In the eyes of illegal immigration advocates, Enrique’s narrative is telling inasmuch illustrates why a stalled immigration reform process must be readdressed in an effort to stem the increase of abuses that take place at the workplace.

While highly-controversial immigration initiatives are being adopted by some states, such as Arizona and Alabama, at the federal level immigration reform has not gained any strong traction since a bipartisan legislative effort died in 2007. On the negative side, some employers are allegedly skirting basic responsibilities.

Donna Lieberman

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said her office gets hammered with jarring phone calls that involve immigrants being taken advantage of.

“Workers have rights, “ Lieberman said.

Lieberman fears that if there is not a safety-net put in place for immigrants that labor exploitation will continue to go on. “If there is a situation not in compliance with the law, that situation is an invitation for abuse,” she added.

Undocumented workers  often do not address grievances in the workplace for fear of being deported, suffering reprisals, or being subject to scorn in their community for creating trouble with the authorities, said the Rev. Richard Witt, who is the executive director of Rural and Migrant Ministry, an educational and advocacy group with a main office in Poughkeepsie and with satellite offices in Lyons and Ithaca.

“They are being scapegoated over the economy. The kind of menial and low paying jobs undocumented workers perform to keep the country going is a non threat,” Rev. Witt said.