According (Sullivan) post regarding the Tuesday announcement by Bidden administration, there will no longer be a mass arrest of undocumented workers during the enforcement of operations at US businesses. The announcement will reverse to Trump administration policy that required the deportation of illegal immigrants (Sullivan). Nonetheless, Mayorkas Alejandro, the secretary of homeland security, stated that the worksite raids would mainly target unscrupulous employers. The reprobate employers have been exploiting illegal workers, imposing unsafe working conditions, and carrying out illegal activities, which go unreported by the unauthorized workers out of fear of deportation or arrest (Sullivan). He further requested recommendations from immigration department agencies to identify agreements and policies affecting the enforcement of labor laws and make adjustments on the areas of concern.
Get Woke
I chose this current news due to the hard tussle that the US government has been having in responding to illegal immigrants. Workplace raids and arrests of undocumented immigrants have been criticized for a long time by immigration advocates. The harassment of illegal immigrants has always spread fear among workers and discouraging workers from reporting incidence of labor violations out of the fear that they would be arrested and deported (Hackman). The news shall relieve millions of illegal immigrants because they will no longer be prioritized for deportation. Moreover, because the enforcements will focus on the unscrupulous employers exploiting labor while providing unsafe working conditions, better workplace conditions will play a role.
Consequently, unauthorized workers will now have the confidence to report the victimization and frustrations they are subjected to in the workplace. The new policy order will affect both the illegal immigrant workers and the fraudulent and exploitative employers who use unsavory means to obtain cheap labor (Hackman). In the past, business groups have been very supportive of the policies and measures of curbing workplace raids. However, most employers are likely to retreat with the new move since they will be impacted directly. Pursuing the employers marks the onset of new compliance standards, and supporting workers to report mistreatments in the workplace is likely to reinforce president Biden’s initiative and make employers more responsible.
Be Woke
Firstly, the announcement will contribute immensely towards the integrity of most employers in the sense that it is going to push employers to pursue only documented immigrants for labor without putting excessive pressure on the illegal immigrants trying to make a living. Secondly, when unethical employers recruit illegal employees, they create an unfair labor market by making it hard for the authorized workers to find jobs paying a living wage (Sullivan). Lastly, I am not surprised by the topic because it is something that I have waited for a long to happen. I have also learned that president Biden is a man of action. During his inauguration, he promised to serve the interest of every person in the United States and make life better for all. Moreover, he promised to take a softer approach towards policies of immigration, unlike his predecessor, who used unorthodox means in solving the US immigration issues and the US labor market. I will follow the topic to the latter to see how the new policy will roll up and improve the US labor market.
Stay Woke
- Will the announcement help reduce the increasing number of illegal immigrants in the US?
- Will the initiative bring labor freedom among illegal immigrants hence protecting them from deportation? Or is it just a trap set?
- The US is facing a critical labor shortage due to the corona pandemic; how is the labor market going to be now that the policy is likely to cut further the number of employees in the labor market?
Works Cited
Hackman, Michelle. “Biden Administration Plan Would Protect Immigrants from Deportation if They Report Employer Abuses.” Wall Street Journal (WSJ), 2021, Web.
Sullivan, Eileen. “Biden Ends Workplace Immigration Raids, Reversing Trump Policy.” The New York Times – Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos, 2021, Web.