Workers across this country just got a big boost, and from an unlikely source: the Department of Homeland Security. How’s that?
There are about 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States. They’re not recent arrivals in this country. A majority of them have been here for a decade or more. Many have families. And they’re workers, around 8 million of them, who pick and process the food we eat, cook in our restaurants, care for our elderly and infirm, and build our homes. They help keep our economy running, and they pay billions in taxes. They’re integral members of our communities.
And yet, far too many of these workers have been consigned to live in fear. They often find jobs with unscrupulous employers, eager to exploit their undocumented status. They’re paid subminimum wages, with no overtime pay; sometimes they don’t get paid at all. They’re subjected to unsafe conditions, and if they get injured on the job and go to the hospital, they’re told to report that they got hurt at home.
