A line of migrant workers formed outside an office building in Koreatown on a recent Friday afternoon.
They followed the makeshift signs to a small courtyard, where dozens of volunteer lawyers, translators and other staff helped them apply for a little-known federal program that offers an unusual — and likely fleeting — reprieve from deportation.
Under the Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement program, people in the U.S. who work illegally at companies under investigation for workplace violations can be allowed to work in the country for four years. The program, started during the Biden administration, is intended to encourage undocumented workers to cooperate with investigations into security violations, labor abuses and other issues without fear that their immigration status will be used against them.
Previous registration clinics, such as the three-day drive that the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance began on Nov. 8, attracted little interest. But President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to deport millions of people when he returns to office has reignited fear among the millions of people living and working in the US illegally. More than 500 employees attended the KIWA meeting, a few hundred more than initially expected, as word of the government program and registration clinic spread by word of mouth.
Read more: With deportations at the top of Trump’s list, California immigrants ‘prepare for the worst’
With applications taking an average of 60 days to process, workers found themselves in a race against time to try to secure four years of protection before Trump takes office on January 20. With time running out, aid groups are ending their registration efforts. Hundreds of workers from California traveled to Las Vegas this weekend, where Arriba, an organization that helped organize the Koreatown event, held a final registration clinic.
While Trump is widely expected to eliminate the program, immigrant labor advocates said they do not expect officials in the new administration to revoke work permits already granted.
Bliss Requa-Trautz, executive director of Arriba, a Las Vegas-based advocacy group, said she is warning employees of the risks associated with applying for the deferred action program: Although applications are confidential, applying nevertheless makes authorities aware of a employee are in the country illegally, raising the possibility that they could subsequently become targets for deportation.
“Once you’re in the system, you’re visible to the agencies, while people might otherwise fly under the radar. It’s a certain level of visibility that carries a risk,” said Alexandra Suh, executive director of the Koreatown worker center. .
In any case, for many workers who take odd jobs under the table or use a fake Social Security number to work, a temporary work permit can mean better pay and at least a temporary reprieve from the fear of deportation.
A man who said he immigrated to the United States from Chihuahua, Mexico, more than 20 years ago sat in a white plastic chair waiting his turn to meet with an attorney at the registration drive in Koreatown. He learned about the clinic from some of his friends who he worked with at Bella+Canvas, a local clothing manufacturer and wholesaler. The company has teamed up with BaronHR, a staffing agency that has come under scrutiny by federal agencies for allegedly abusing workers it recruits for warehouses, factories and distribution center jobs in California and elsewhere.
“I’m sure my life is going to change,” said the man, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Hector. “I’m going to be able to take on more work to help my family.”
During the Obama administration, authorities began providing assistance to workers involved in certain labor cases and the program was formalized under Biden in early 2023. By the end of October, more than 7,700 workers had received protection under the multi-case assistance program. According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 50 investigations have been conducted by state and federal agencies. In the summer, the duration of protection was extended from two to four years.
An investigation into a chemical leak that killed six workers at a Georgia poultry plant in 2021 served as an early test case for how providing worker protections could help strengthen the collection of evidence and testimony, says Jessie Hahn, senior counsel for labor and employment policies. at the National Center for Immigration Law. Migrant workers did hesitated at first to come forward because they feared retaliation from the factory’s owner, including a call to local police or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she said.
Read more: Trump warns he will deport 1 million immigrants entering the US under key Biden programs
“One thing to understand is that this program has no humanitarian purpose. It has a law enforcement purpose,” Hahn said. “The government is trying to facilitate investigations.”
Hahn said her organization is working with the United Farm Workers union to help farmworkers employed by large farms and labor brokers under investigation by California’s labor safety agency enroll in the program.
Daniel Lopez, a spokesman for California’s Department of Industrial Relations, said state labor agencies, including the Labor Commissioner’s Office and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, have filed about 150 requests with the Department of Homeland Security asking for protections for workers who are employed by companies that are being investigated. Each request may concern multiple employees.
Attorney Yvonne Medrano of Los Angeles-based Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, said the loss of the program would not only affect workers but also create an uneven playing field for employers who follow the rules because it is difficult will be to punish bad actors who flout minimum wage laws and other regulations.
“We want employees to speak out against bad employers because it benefits everyone,” she said.
To apply, an individual must show a letter issued by a government agency naming the employee’s employers as the subject of an investigation and specifying the period covered by the investigation. An employee who is accepted into the program is not required to cooperate in the investigation.
An employee who asked to be identified by only his first initial, “A,” for fear of being identified as being in the country illegally, decided to travel from Santa Fe Springs to the Koreatown clinic with his parents on the day of the clinic. to ride. He was one of many clinic workers employed by BaronHR. Until the company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, workers it employed were often underpaid and worked in unsafe conditions, according to a New York Times report published Sunday.
The 30-year-old, who immigrated to the United States with his family from El Salvador at age 10, was hesitant to apply for a job at DALE for fear of retaliation if he spoke out about the staffing agency, which also employed its workers. parents. And after living in the country illegally for so many years, he also didn’t trust that the program really offered the opportunity to work in the country legally.
“Growing up without papers makes you skeptical, with a non-stop defense mechanism. Even though I’ve seen colleagues get permits, I didn’t accept it,” said A.. “I protect myself by not letting myself get too much grooming .”
Around 5 p.m., as the light disappeared and the air turned chilly, Jovita Bautista, 50, remained at her post at the check-in counter outside KIWA, where she had been stationed since 8 a.m. Bautista applied for her work permit in early August , and received it weeks later.
She said she was able to secure better-paying work and left her job at a minimum-wage employment agency. She now does the same job, but because she is directly employed by the Intuit Dome arena in Inglewood, she is paid $22 an hour, she said.
Bautista said she admires Trump for what she describes as his business acumen, and that she owns three of his books. But she fears his upcoming presidency because she worries about her siblings being in the country without permission.
“I love Donald Trump, but not as president.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
