Organized Labor Report Lays Groundwork For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

This press release comes from our allies at the National Immigration Forum. The National Immigration Forum is the leading immigrant advocacy organization in the country with a mission to advocate for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation.

For Immediate Release
October 27, 2009

Contact:
Katherine Vargas (kvargas@immigrationforum.org)
(202) 383-5987 or (202) 641-51988 (mobile)

ORGANIZED LABOR REPORT LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM

Washington, DC - Today, the AFL-CIO, American Rights at Work and the National Employment Law Project released a report on how harsh immigration enforcement has "severely interfered with the protection of workers' rights, to the detriment of immigrant and native-born workers alike." The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington.

Our deficient immigration system has created an uneven playing field that allows unscrupulous employers to exploit and intimidate immigrant workers and which undermines labor protections and wages, thus eroding workplace conditions for every worker.

Today's report raises the voices of organized labor - the authentic voice of working class Americans - and their support for robust regulation of labor laws and enforceable immigration laws. The labor movement realizes, as immigration reform advocates do, that improved wage and hour enforcement helps good employers and workers alike.

As long as we have 5.4% of the American workforce outside of the system and not protected by basic labor laws, good employers and American workers will continue to be out-hustled by unscrupulous employers that take advantage of our broken immigration laws.

We need comprehensive reform of our immigration system to ensure a legal workforce, protect all workers and restore fairness to the labor market.

Posted in: AFL-CIO,American Rights at Work,Comprehensive Immigration Reform,National Employment Law Project,National Immigration Forum,Organized Labor,Report