The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, announced Monday the implementation of a measure under federal law to offer temporary protection against retaliation and eventual deportation to undocumented workers who denounce their employers.
It is a process in which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor work together to guarantee equal rights to workers who fear to report something related to their employment due to their legal status, as indicated Hochul in a statement.
a new process
Last January, the DHS published a guide on this new process for immigrant workers to obtain temporary protection against deportation and work authorization if they are involved in a labor dispute, after evaluating each case individually.
That protection is a “deferred action,” which will be in effect for two years in which the Homeland Security agency agrees not to request the deportation of the worker involved in the investigation, and the permit can be renewed if the investigation is prolonged.
“This important partnership with the Department of Homeland Security will not only help protect the integrity of our labor investigations, but also the safety of vulnerable workers,” the governor said.
“We will continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to ensure that all workers enjoy their right to fairness and safety in the workplace, regardless of their immigration status,” he said.
Submit a request
Once an investigation is opened, the workers, their spokesperson or lawyer must submit a request to the Department of Labor to support the granting of deferred action and also make the claim to Homeland Security.
The Department of Labor has to inform DHS that it is investigating the conflict and that it needs the worker(s) to be protected from deportation so that they can collaborate with the process.
“The fear of retaliation paralyzes any worker, but it is especially terrible for immigrants. At the Department of Labor we investigate all complaints, regardless of immigration status,” Roberta Reardon, commissioner of the state Department of Labor, recalled in the joint statement. .