Latest news with #undocumentedWorkers
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Undocumented builders face unchecked exploitation amid Trump raids: ‘It's more work, less pay'
As the Trump administration ramps up its crackdown on immigration, undocumented workers in the construction industry claim raids and arrests have emboldened some contractors to cut pay and increase hours. Rogelio, a tile setter, works for various contractors in the the Tucson, Arizona region. He is undocumented, and did not provide his full name. When Donald Trump returned to office in January, Rogelio said his employers cut their rates by 30% to 40%. Other laborers told him they had endured similar treatment. 'They decreased the pay by piece because they know most of the tile setters don't have social security numbers, so they take advantage of that. We are in their hands,' Rogelio told the Guardian. 'It's more work, less pay. We have no choice right now. 'We're struggling with bills. We're struggling with food. We're struggling with everything because we don't get enough money to pay whatever we need to pay.' Many of the undocumented immigrants Rogelio knows are only leaving home to work, Rogelio said. 'We have a lot of fear,' he told the Guardian. 'We look for news in the morning to see if we're able to go to work or not.' With around 2.9 million US construction workers – some 34% of the workforce – foreign-born, construction sector lobbyists have publicly urged the Trump administration to soften their hardline stance on immigration. 'While the need for safe and secure borders is paramount, mass deportation is not the answer,' Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement. Advocates for workers rights say some operators in the sector are using Trump's crackdown to abuse undocumented workers. 'Especially in construction, there're a lot of subcontractors that take advantage of this situation by not paying them the fair wage or not even paying them at all,' said Laura Becerra, movement politics director of the non-profit Workers Defense Project based in Texas. Undocumented workers are unlikely to lodge an official complaint, she added. 'Since people don't want to say anything because they don't want to be put on the radar, and they're also getting retaliated against if they do say something.' The administration is pushing ahead with public raids on undocumented immigrant workers. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency is arresting an increasing number of immigrants without any criminal history, according to a Guardian analysis of federal government data. 'It's an attack,' Becerra said. 'It's taking a toll on families, families that need to make ends meet, that are already suffering from low wages and doing work no one wants to do.' In Tucson, undocumented workers are avoiding freeways, according to Rogelio. 'Freeways are one of the worst places to drive right now because of all the police and border patrol and they look for mostly hispanic people to stop,' he said. 'We are living day by day and not knowing what's going to happen tomorrow.' In some areas 'there are spots where you can work with no problem,' he said. 'But others, there are racist people living there and they don't want us. They want our work, they want cheap labor, but they don't want us. 'We came here because we want to work and provide for our families. The only reason I'm here, personally, I have two kids who are American citizens. I'm not asking for any benefits from the government.' Reports from across the US suggest undocumented workers are facing unprecedented pressure. Savannah Palmira, director of organizing for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades district council 5, which covers workers in states around the Pacific north-west, said the threat of raids is making it harder for workers to organize. A roofing company in Washington was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) earlier this year after workers filed safety complaints, Palmira claimed, with the fear of retaliation stemming from that case spreading to other job sites, and leaving workers reluctant to speak out and file complaints against abusive work practices. 'What contractors are doing is taking an opportunity to not be held accountable for their bad practices,' said Palmira. 'The more and more people are starting to talk about workers getting taken advantage of, Ice is getting called on them. They're taking a tool away from us to be able to put bad contractors on notice.' In Washington, another undocumented construction worker – who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation – said many of his coworkers were 'thinking about going back to their countries' due to the reality of life in the US. 'The last company I worked for took advantage of people in every situation,' he said, from dissuading injured workers from getting medical attention to denying overtime and breaks. 'They say, you are undocumented, so they will pay you $10 an hour because you have no work permit,' he added. 'And if not, they will tell Ice.' 'In Washington state, immigrants make up 25% of the trades workforce in construction. With a consistent labor shortage and demand for housing constantly growing, residential construction needs all the skilled workers available,' a spokesperson for the Building Industry Association of Washington said in an email. 'We've provided our members with guidance on how to legally employ immigrants, including verifying the identity and US employment authorization of all employees. We also generally support improving US Immigration policy to allow responsible and law-abiding undocumented worker a pathway to achieving citizenship.' Arizona Builders Alliance did not respond to multiple requests for comment. On a national level the construction industry has repeatedly warned of the negative impacts of immigration raids on what they claim has already been a severe labor shortage in US construction. Asked about contractors allegedly using the ramp up in immigration enforcement to cut pay and increase workloads, the National Association of Home Builders issued a statement from Hughes, its chairman, which did not directly address the claims. 'With the construction industry facing a deficit of more than 200,000 workers, policymakers must consider that any disruption to the labor force would raise housing costs, limit supply and worsen the nation's housing affordability crisis,' Hughes said. 'To address this pressing national issue, NAHB is urging Congress to support meaningful investments in our nation's education system to encourage students to pursue careers in the skilled trades. 'Policymakers should also support sensible immigration policies that preserve and expand existing temporary work visa programs while also creating new market-based visa programs that will accurately match demand with available labor.'
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Undocumented builders face unchecked exploitation amid Trump raids: ‘It's more work, less pay'
As the Trump administration ramps up its crackdown on immigration, undocumented workers in the construction industry claim raids and arrests have emboldened some contractors to cut pay and increase hours. Rogelio, a tile setter, works for various contractors in the the Tucson, Arizona region. He is undocumented, and did not provide his full name. When Donald Trump returned to office in January, Rogelio said his employers cut their rates by 30% to 40%. Other laborers told him they had endured similar treatment. 'They decreased the pay by piece because they know most of the tile setters don't have social security numbers, so they take advantage of that. We are in their hands,' Rogelio told the Guardian. 'It's more work, less pay. We have no choice right now. 'We're struggling with bills. We're struggling with food. We're struggling with everything because we don't get enough money to pay whatever we need to pay.' Many of the undocumented immigrants Rogelio knows are only leaving home to work, Rogelio said. 'We have a lot of fear,' he told the Guardian. 'We look for news in the morning to see if we're able to go to work or not.' With around 2.9 million US construction workers – some 34% of the workforce – foreign-born, construction sector lobbyists have publicly urged the Trump administration to soften their hardline stance on immigration. 'While the need for safe and secure borders is paramount, mass deportation is not the answer,' Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement. Advocates for workers rights say some operators in the sector are using Trump's crackdown to abuse undocumented workers. 'Especially in construction, there're a lot of subcontractors that take advantage of this situation by not paying them the fair wage or not even paying them at all,' said Laura Becerra, movement politics director of the non-profit Workers Defense Project based in Texas. Undocumented workers are unlikely to lodge an official complaint, she added. 'Since people don't want to say anything because they don't want to be put on the radar, and they're also getting retaliated against if they do say something.' The administration is pushing ahead with public raids on undocumented immigrant workers. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency is arresting an increasing number of immigrants without any criminal history, according to a Guardian analysis of federal government data. 'It's an attack,' Becerra said. 'It's taking a toll on families, families that need to make ends meet, that are already suffering from low wages and doing work no one wants to do.' In Tucson, undocumented workers are avoiding freeways, according to Rogelio. 'Freeways are one of the worst places to drive right now because of all the police and border patrol and they look for mostly hispanic people to stop,' he said. 'We are living day by day and not knowing what's going to happen tomorrow.' In some areas 'there are spots where you can work with no problem,' he said. 'But others, there are racist people living there and they don't want us. They want our work, they want cheap labor, but they don't want us. 'We came here because we want to work and provide for our families. The only reason I'm here, personally, I have two kids who are American citizens. I'm not asking for any benefits from the government.' Reports from across the US suggest undocumented workers are facing unprecedented pressure. Savannah Palmira, director of organizing for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades district council 5, which covers workers in states around the Pacific north-west, said the threat of raids is making it harder for workers to organize. A roofing company in Washington was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) earlier this year after workers filed safety complaints, Palmira claimed, with the fear of retaliation stemming from that case spreading to other job sites, and leaving workers reluctant to speak out and file complaints against abusive work practices. 'What contractors are doing is taking an opportunity to not be held accountable for their bad practices,' said Palmira. 'The more and more people are starting to talk about workers getting taken advantage of, Ice is getting called on them. They're taking a tool away from us to be able to put bad contractors on notice.' In Washington, another undocumented construction worker – who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation – said many of his coworkers were 'thinking about going back to their countries' due to the reality of life in the US. 'The last company I worked for took advantage of people in every situation,' he said, from dissuading injured workers from getting medical attention to denying overtime and breaks. 'They say, you are undocumented, so they will pay you $10 an hour because you have no work permit,' he added. 'And if not, they will tell Ice.' 'In Washington state, immigrants make up 25% of the trades workforce in construction. With a consistent labor shortage and demand for housing constantly growing, residential construction needs all the skilled workers available,' a spokesperson for the Building Industry Association of Washington said in an email. 'We've provided our members with guidance on how to legally employ immigrants, including verifying the identity and US employment authorization of all employees. We also generally support improving US Immigration policy to allow responsible and law-abiding undocumented worker a pathway to achieving citizenship.' Arizona Builders Alliance did not respond to multiple requests for comment. On a national level the construction industry has repeatedly warned of the negative impacts of immigration raids on what they claim has already been a severe labor shortage in US construction. Asked about contractors allegedly using the ramp up in immigration enforcement to cut pay and increase workloads, the National Association of Home Builders issued a statement from Hughes, its chairman, which did not directly address the claims. 'With the construction industry facing a deficit of more than 200,000 workers, policymakers must consider that any disruption to the labor force would raise housing costs, limit supply and worsen the nation's housing affordability crisis,' Hughes said. 'To address this pressing national issue, NAHB is urging Congress to support meaningful investments in our nation's education system to encourage students to pursue careers in the skilled trades. 'Policymakers should also support sensible immigration policies that preserve and expand existing temporary work visa programs while also creating new market-based visa programs that will accurately match demand with available labor.'
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump: I'll spare undocumented farm workers if bosses can vouch for them
Donald Trump said he will spare undocumented farm workers from deportation if their bosses can vouch for them. The US president floated the idea for the exemptions, which could also apply to hotel and restaurant workers, during a visit to Iowa. Legislation is already being drafted for the carve-out how to deal with undocumented agricultural workers with Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary. 'You know, they've had people working for them for years. And we're going to do something … we're going to sort of put the farmers in charge,' he said on Thursday night. 'If a farmer has been with one of these people that worked so hard – they bend over all day, we don't have too many people that can do that, but they work very hard, and they know him very well, and some of the farmers are literally, you know, they cry when they see this happen. 'If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people, in some way, Kristi, I think we're going to have to just say that's going to be good, right?' Mr Trump was repeating remarks he made earlier in the week. Underpinning the proposed exemptions is a dispute within the administration, with Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, pushing for concessions for farmers and their workers, while immigration hardliner and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller strongly opposes any concessions. At one point, raids on farms, meatpacking plants and restaurants were paused. But they were resumed again after immigration hawks, including Mr Miller and Ms Noem, leaned on the president. Mr Trump's remarks this week suggest that he could be leaning towards backing his agriculture secretary after all. According to the Centre for Migration Studies, there are around 283,000 undocumented farm workers in the US, with nearly half being employed in California; other estimates put the figure even higher. More than 80 per cent come from Mexico, with the remainder hailing from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Agriculture industry hit by deportation drive The Trump deportation drive has wrought havoc on the agriculture industry. Fearful of being picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as many as 70 per cent of farm workers in some parts of the country have been staying away. This has led to crops rotting in fields and labour shortages at meat-packing facilities. 'We do not have enough workforce in the United States to do manual work, to do those jobs that other people are not qualified to do and do not want to do,' Alexandra Sossa, chief executive of Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project, told Newsweek. 'For example, we are running into a problem where we do not have enough farm workers to grow the food we eat every day.' According to Farmonaut, an agriculture technology company, the stricter immigration polices are creating a labour shortage, which is putting up food prices. There is similar pressure on the hospitality industry, with hotels and restaurants heavily dependent on immigrant labour. Even Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago has imported foreign workers, with Department of Labour statistics showing that it applied for 136 H-2B visas for non-agricultural workers in 2023. Trump urged to fix long-term labour issues 'We are encouraged that the president recognises the valuable contributions farmworkers play in America's food security,' John Walt Boatright, director of Government Affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation told The Telegraph 'Farmers support a secure border and safe communities, and they also understand that without a stable workforce, it's not possible to get food from the farm to the tables of America's families.' 'We have not seen specifics on President Trump's plans, but we urge him and Congress to address long-term agriculture labour issues by revising overreaching regulations, modernising current guestworker programmes to allow for year-round access to employees, and fixing outdated wage rate calculations that put help out of reach for many farmers.' While the administration is willing to make concessions for these key groups of workers, there will be no let-up in ICE's activities. Within days of the announcement of an 'Alligator Alcatraz' to house deportees in Florida, Alaska, albeit tongue in cheek, suggested its large bear population could do a similar job in the frozen north. The state has the option of bidding for a slice of the $5 billion earmarked in the Big Beautiful Bill for the construction and renovation of ICE's detention facilities.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump: I'll spare undocumented farm workers if bosses can vouch for them
Donald Trump said he will spare undocumented farm workers from deportation if their bosses can vouch for them. The US president floated the idea for the exemptions, which could also apply to hotel and restaurant workers, during a visit to Iowa. Legislation is already being drafted for the carve-out how to deal with undocumented agricultural workers with Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary. 'You know, they've had people working for them for years. And we're going to do something … we're going to sort of put the farmers in charge,' he said on Thursday night. 'If a farmer has been with one of these people that worked so hard – they bend over all day, we don't have too many people that can do that, but they work very hard, and they know him very well, and some of the farmers are literally, you know, they cry when they see this happen. 'If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people, in some way, Kristi, I think we're going to have to just say that's going to be good, right?' Mr Trump was repeating remarks he made earlier in the week. Underpinning the proposed exemptions is a dispute within the administration, with Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, pushing for concessions for farmers and their workers, while immigration hardliner and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller strongly opposes any concessions. At one point, raids on farms, meatpacking plants and restaurants were paused. But they were resumed again after immigration hawks, including Mr Miller and Ms Noem, leaned on the president. Mr Trump's remarks this week suggest that he could be leaning towards backing his agriculture secretary after all. According to the Centre for Migration Studies, there are around 283,000 undocumented farm workers in the US, with nearly half being employed in California; other estimates put the figure even higher. More than 80 per cent come from Mexico, with the remainder hailing from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The Trump deportation drive has wrought havoc on the agriculture industry. Fearful of being picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as many as 70 per cent of farm workers in some parts of the country have been staying away. This has led to crops rotting in fields and labour shortages at meat-packing facilities. 'We do not have enough workforce in the United States to do manual work, to do those jobs that other people are not qualified to do and do not want to do,' Alexandra Sossa, chief executive of Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project, told Newsweek. 'For example, we are running into a problem where we do not have enough farm workers to grow the food we eat every day.' According to Farmonaut, an agriculture technology company, the stricter immigration polices are creating a labour shortage, which is putting up food prices. There is similar pressure on the hospitality industry, with hotels and restaurants heavily dependent on immigrant labour. Even Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago has imported foreign workers, with Department of Labour statistics showing that it applied for 136 H-2B visas for non-agricultural workers in 2023. 'We are encouraged that the president recognises the valuable contributions farmworkers play in America's food security,' John Walt Boatright, director of Government Affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation told The Telegraph 'Farmers support a secure border and safe communities, and they also understand that without a stable workforce, it's not possible to get food from the farm to the tables of America's families.' 'We have not seen specifics on President Trump's plans, but we urge him and Congress to address long-term agriculture labour issues by revising overreaching regulations, modernising current guestworker programmes to allow for year-round access to employees, and fixing outdated wage rate calculations that put help out of reach for many farmers.' While the administration is willing to make concessions for these key groups of workers, there will be no let-up in ICE's activities. Within days of the announcement of an 'Alligator Alcatraz' to house deportees in Florida, Alaska, albeit tongue in cheek, suggested its large bear population could do a similar job in the frozen north. The state has the option of bidding for a slice of the $5 billion earmarked in the Big Beautiful Bill for the construction and renovation of ICE's detention facilities.
ABC News
04-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Donald Trump just won the fight to remake America in three big ways
Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is an extraordinary piece of legislation that brings many of the US president's MAGA dreams to life. It blew up his bromance with his biggest billionaire backer and could end up costing him considerable political capital. But it means many of his most drastic domestic policies will now become the law of the land. It will change the US — and the world — in some ways that are obvious, and probably in others that are unforeseeable. Which of those ways matters most is open for debate. But there are three areas where we can be sure to see some things dramatically transform. America's been home to millions of undocumented migrants for decades. About 8 million are estimated to be in the US workforce, and industries like agriculture and construction have become dependent on them. Under some administrations, their presence has been unofficially tolerated. A lot of big cities granted them "sanctuary" protections to prevent their deportation. Some of these "illegal" workers are even given special "ITIN" numbers so they can file taxes. And in 2022 they paid an estimated $US97 billion ($147 billion). (It's worth noting more than a third of that money went to social welfare programs they couldn't access.) So the US has long been referred to as the "land of hope" for people from abroad seeking better lives. But the legislation delivers on Trump's promise to strip a lot of that hope away. The incentives to come here are being removed, and people here without legal status are being encouraged to self-deport or risk harsh consequences. (In what could become an interesting exception, Trump has been talking about lifelines for unauthorised migrants who work on farms, if the farmers vouch for them.) The bill will inject more than $US100 billion to hire enforcement agents, continue work on the Mexican border wall, and double the size of detention facilities. The bill also puts in place a bunch of new barriers for refugees or asylum seekers hoping to stay in the US. Immigrants who are found eligible for humanitarian protection will be hit with a $US1,000 fee to get it. Seeking asylum will yield bills of at least $US100. Applying for a work permit will cost $US550 at a minimum. Many Americans applaud these moves. The White House says the new fees will help support what's become an expensive system. And Trump's crackdown remains popular with many Americans after big spikes in unauthorised border crossings in the Biden era created a situation that many saw as unsustainable. For environmentalists, the final version of the bill isn't quite as bad as it could have been. They know Trump's no fan of renewable energy. Solar farms, he says, are "ugly as hell". And wind turbines have been "destroying the place". An earlier version of the bill reflected his disdain for renewables with a proposed new tax on solar and wind projects. That triggered forecasts of the demise of those industries, until a small group of Republican senators forced the tax's removal. But many experts still see the bill as another big retreat from the fight to contain climate change by the US, the world's second-largest producer of greenhouse gases (after China). While the proposed new tax is dead, so are clean energy tax credits — for renewable energy, electric vehicles and efficient homes — that were brought in by former president Joe Biden. The priority moves back to oil and gas. The bill will make it easier to lease public land for drilling and mining, and cut the royalties oil and gas producers pay the government. Multiple studies project the bill's implementation will cause greenhouse gas emissions to rocket in relation to what they would have been. Princeton University modelling projects the bill will increase US greenhouse gas emissions by 470 million tonnes per year by 2035 (compared to where they would have been without the bill). That's an increase of more greenhouse gas than Australia produces in a year in total. And that's before you factor in other measures Trump is implementing to wind back climate and clean-energy policies. Trump's oil-thirsty energy policy often boils down to a three-word slogan: "Drill, baby, drill." The bill will help power the drilling. Most credible independent analysis points to a widening of the vast gap between America's haves and have-nots as a result of the bill. Its centrepiece is what Trump heralds as the largest tax cut in American history. Many analysts point out the income tax cuts disproportionately favour the wealthy, but they've been in place since 2017, meaning people won't really notice a change. But making those cuts permanent will cost $US4.5 trillion over a decade. So, despite some of the spin to the contrary, that revenue loss will be partially covered by cuts to Medicaid — the government program that provides health insurance for low-income Americans. The White House frames this as a rooting out of waste and fraud, and a refocusing on providing services for the neediest Americans the program was designed for. Congress's budget office estimates about 12 million Americans will lose their health coverage, saving the government $US1 trillion. Millions of Americans are also expected to lose the help of the national food stamp program that helps keep poorer people fed. The Trump administration is sensitive to the criticism this bill unfairly benefits the rich. And there are measures that mean some people on the poorer end of the social spectrum may be better off. For example, workers in low-paying service jobs, who rely on tips to make a living, will appreciate that tips are now exempt from tax. There are also tax credits for seniors and parents — and if you're a fisherman or whaling captain in Alaska, there are tax benefits for you too, inserted into the bill to win over that state's holdout Republican senator. But overall, most experts say the socio-economic scales will tip further in the favour of richer Americans. For those with less, the US already lacks the welfare benefits of places like Australia, where things like Medicare and Centrelink are sometimes taken for granted. But the protections offered by America's few safety nets will now be rolled back further.
