DHS Targets Workers, Not Abusive Employers

SEIU Urges Coordination with Dep. of Labor to Target Most Egregious Employers

Washington, DC--The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano expressing deep concerns about the Department's recently announced decision to send I-9 audit notices to 1,000 additional employers--notices that are off target because they will result in the dismissal of thousands of workers but will let the worst employers off the hook. Accompanying the letter, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina issued the following statement:

"DHS's road to immigration enforcement is lined with good intentions, but the lining is wearing thin, and it is starting to look more like the same detour to nowhere mapped out by the Bush Administration.

"DHS' plan to audit 1,000 new employers may sound tough--but the words ring hollow because the plan is not smart, targeted or effective. Based on its previous announcements, we had expected DHS to target egregious employers and criminals who break labor laws, but instead these seemingly arbitrary audits actually benefit abusive, off-the-books employers who push down wages and working conditions for all workers. The resulting churning of the workforce is harmful to local economies and communities. It is demoralizing to the workforce that remains in the affected workplaces, but gets us no closer to fixing our broken immigration system.

"America deserves an enforcement program with real teeth that punishes the most abusive employers--not the hard-working immigrants they exploit. Our nation's immigration enforcement system should be part of--not in conflict with--a broader strategy to lift wages and standards for all workers. To accomplish this, SEIU urges DHS to coordinate all workplace enforcement with the Department of Labor so it can effectively target and punish employers who intentionally take advantage of our broken system to exploit their workers--both legal and undocumented--by illegally paying them in cash, harassing them, and forcing them to work in abusive and unhealthful conditions.

"DHS' failure to distinguish between these bad actors and employers who are merely caught in a broken system means that no one benefits: working conditions don't improve; bad-apple employers aren't held accountable; and yet our immigration problems continue to fester without relief. Auditing 1,000 employers may sound impressive, but there are more than 6,000,000 businesses in the U.S. DHS is basically spinning its wheels and wasting taxpayer dollars.

"DHS knows full well that when one in 20 workers is undocumented, enforcement alone cannot solve this problem. We need comprehensive reform. But until Congress acts, DHS must enforce the law in the smartest way possible to improve lives. SEIU urges DHS to build an enforcement program that differs in substance, not just form, from the failures of the past."

Go to http://www.seiu.org/a/immigration/seiu-dhs-letter.php to download a copy of the letter SEIU sent to DHS Secretary Napolitano.

SEIU's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Principles:

A comprehensive solution would couple enforcement at the border and in the workplace with a path to earned legalization for all hard working immigrants. It will also replace guest worker programs with a system that guarantees immigrant workers full labor and civil rights protections, and a road to U.S. citizenship. Done together, these reforms will finally restore the rule of law and eliminate an informal labor market that drives down wages and labor protections for all U.S. workers. Read more about the Change to Win and AFL-CIO's Unified Immigration Reform Framework.

With 2.2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas and the largest union of immigrants. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.

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