LEGALIZATION OF UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS
An estimated 8.5 million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States.
Undocumented immigrants are an integral part of the U.S. workforce and many have U.
S. citizen and lawful permanent resident family members. According to current
estimates there are 5.3 million undocumented workers in the United States. 1 The
majority of these workers are considered low-skilled. The greater part of the projected
job growth in the next eight years will be in low-skilled professions requiring only short-
term on-the-job training such as waiters and waitresses, manual laborers, food
preparation and food service workers, janitors and cleaners, landscaping and grounds
keeping workers, nursing aids, movers, and retail salespersons. The Department of
Labor (DOL) estimates that the total number of jobs requiring such training will increase
from 53.2 million in 2000 to 60.9 million in 2010, resulting in a total of 7.7 million new
jobs. 2 Most families with undocumented members face a series of obstacles
(stemming from the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
(IIRIRA)), that block virtually all avenues to legal reunification. (For more information see
Barriers to Family Reunification). Many undocumented immigrants are unable to
regularize their legal status and remain in undocumented status.
Existing immigration laws do not reflect our nation's current economic and demographic
realities. Instead, our current laws and policies have resulted in the exploitation of the
undocumented workforce and hardship for mixed-status families.
Foreign-born workers in many service sector occupations earn low wages. The
median weekly salary for a waiter or waitress is $300; for a cook $289, and for a maid
$277. The garment industry employs mostly female and foreign-born laborers, with as
many as 60 percent of them undocumented. The average garment worker makes less
than $8,000 a year. 3 In addition to low wages and long hours, many undocumented
face withheld wages, insufficient water or breaks at the work site, robbery and
threats of deportation. 4 Many employers use workers' illegal status as leverage to
exploit them, and flout minimum wage and overtime laws. Although undocumented
workers have the right to protect themselves by organizing and filing complaints with
the state or federal government or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
fear of termination and deportation often dissuade the undocumented from pursuing
such rights.
In the world's richest economy, immigrant workers should not suffer from rock-bottom
wages, abusive employers, and dangerous working environments. Prior to September
11, 2001, President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox held unprecedented talks
on U.S. – Mexico relations, including discussions of a program to provide temporary
visas for workers in designated service sector jobs, with the possibility of lawful
permanent resident (LPR) status for those who stay in their jobs for significant
periods. These talks represented the best hope in years for the kind of reforms needed
to address the problems faced by undocumented workers in the United States.
Unfortunately, they were discontinued due to the terrorist attacks.
Solution
A viable solution to this problem includes a legalization program that would address the
labor needs of the U.S. economy by permitting regularized immigrant flows. A
legalization program would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for LPR status
without having to meet specific family or employment based immigration requirements.
LPR status allows an immigrant to remain and work in the United States permanently.
Such a program, which could only be established by an Act of Congress, would
acknowledge the significant contributions made by low-wage immigrant laborers to our
nation's prosperity and would ensure that the United States has continued access to
this labor pool. A program that allows for regularized immigrant flows through
expanded employment-based immigration must include legal and labor protections for
all workers, the ability to change employers, and a path to lawful permanent residence.
Such an Act should also make sufficient immigrant visa numbers available to clear the
existing backlog faced by beneficiaries of approved visa petitions.
"Making legal the large number of undocumented workers from many nations who are
in the United States would help to stabilize the labor market in the United States, to
preserve family unity, and to improve the standard of living in immigrant communities." 5
A legalization program would strengthen the position of immigrants who are subject to
workplace abuses and would place thousands of immigrant families beyond the reach
of harsh immigration laws passed in 1996. It would also enable undocumented
members of mixed-status American families to regularize their status without having to
depart the United States, and thus subjecting themselves to harsh penalties imposed
by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IRRIRA).
Moreover a legalization program would reduce border-crossing deaths (by allowing for
legal crossings) and would bring to the U.S. government's attention millions of law-
abiding residents. This would allow the DHS to concentrate its border and interior
enforcement efforts on drug traffickers and possible terrorists, potentially reducing the
need for Border Patrol growth.
footnotes
1. Pew Hispanic Center, "How Many Undocumented: The numbers behind the U.S.-
Mexico Migration Talks," March 21, 2002.
2. Daniel E. Hecker, "Occupational Employment Projections to 2010," Monthly Labor
Review, U.S. DOL, November 2001.
3. CLINIC, "Work Without Justice," at pp.11-12, (2000).
4. Valenzuela, "Day Laborers in Southern California: Preliminary Findings from the Day
Labor Survey," Center for the Study of Urban Poverty (May 30, 1999).
5. Strangers No Longer, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Conferencia del
Espicopado Mexicano, January 2003, at p. 35.
An estimated 8.5 million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States.
Undocumented immigrants are an integral part of the U.S. workforce and many have U.
S. citizen and lawful permanent resident family members. According to current
estimates there are 5.3 million undocumented workers in the United States. 1 The
majority of these workers are considered low-skilled. The greater part of the projected
job growth in the next eight years will be in low-skilled professions requiring only short-
term on-the-job training such as waiters and waitresses, manual laborers, food
preparation and food service workers, janitors and cleaners, landscaping and grounds
keeping workers, nursing aids, movers, and retail salespersons. The Department of
Labor (DOL) estimates that the total number of jobs requiring such training will increase
from 53.2 million in 2000 to 60.9 million in 2010, resulting in a total of 7.7 million new
jobs. 2 Most families with undocumented members face a series of obstacles
(stemming from the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
(IIRIRA)), that block virtually all avenues to legal reunification. (For more information see
Barriers to Family Reunification). Many undocumented immigrants are unable to
regularize their legal status and remain in undocumented status.
Existing immigration laws do not reflect our nation's current economic and demographic
realities. Instead, our current laws and policies have resulted in the exploitation of the
undocumented workforce and hardship for mixed-status families.
Foreign-born workers in many service sector occupations earn low wages. The
median weekly salary for a waiter or waitress is $300; for a cook $289, and for a maid
$277. The garment industry employs mostly female and foreign-born laborers, with as
many as 60 percent of them undocumented. The average garment worker makes less
than $8,000 a year. 3 In addition to low wages and long hours, many undocumented
face withheld wages, insufficient water or breaks at the work site, robbery and
threats of deportation. 4 Many employers use workers' illegal status as leverage to
exploit them, and flout minimum wage and overtime laws. Although undocumented
workers have the right to protect themselves by organizing and filing complaints with
the state or federal government or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
fear of termination and deportation often dissuade the undocumented from pursuing
such rights.
In the world's richest economy, immigrant workers should not suffer from rock-bottom
wages, abusive employers, and dangerous working environments. Prior to September
11, 2001, President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox held unprecedented talks
on U.S. – Mexico relations, including discussions of a program to provide temporary
visas for workers in designated service sector jobs, with the possibility of lawful
permanent resident (LPR) status for those who stay in their jobs for significant
periods. These talks represented the best hope in years for the kind of reforms needed
to address the problems faced by undocumented workers in the United States.
Unfortunately, they were discontinued due to the terrorist attacks.
Solution
A viable solution to this problem includes a legalization program that would address the
labor needs of the U.S. economy by permitting regularized immigrant flows. A
legalization program would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for LPR status
without having to meet specific family or employment based immigration requirements.
LPR status allows an immigrant to remain and work in the United States permanently.
Such a program, which could only be established by an Act of Congress, would
acknowledge the significant contributions made by low-wage immigrant laborers to our
nation's prosperity and would ensure that the United States has continued access to
this labor pool. A program that allows for regularized immigrant flows through
expanded employment-based immigration must include legal and labor protections for
all workers, the ability to change employers, and a path to lawful permanent residence.
Such an Act should also make sufficient immigrant visa numbers available to clear the
existing backlog faced by beneficiaries of approved visa petitions.
"Making legal the large number of undocumented workers from many nations who are
in the United States would help to stabilize the labor market in the United States, to
preserve family unity, and to improve the standard of living in immigrant communities." 5
A legalization program would strengthen the position of immigrants who are subject to
workplace abuses and would place thousands of immigrant families beyond the reach
of harsh immigration laws passed in 1996. It would also enable undocumented
members of mixed-status American families to regularize their status without having to
depart the United States, and thus subjecting themselves to harsh penalties imposed
by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IRRIRA).
Moreover a legalization program would reduce border-crossing deaths (by allowing for
legal crossings) and would bring to the U.S. government's attention millions of law-
abiding residents. This would allow the DHS to concentrate its border and interior
enforcement efforts on drug traffickers and possible terrorists, potentially reducing the
need for Border Patrol growth.
footnotes
1. Pew Hispanic Center, "How Many Undocumented: The numbers behind the U.S.-
Mexico Migration Talks," March 21, 2002.
2. Daniel E. Hecker, "Occupational Employment Projections to 2010," Monthly Labor
Review, U.S. DOL, November 2001.
3. CLINIC, "Work Without Justice," at pp.11-12, (2000).
4. Valenzuela, "Day Laborers in Southern California: Preliminary Findings from the Day
Labor Survey," Center for the Study of Urban Poverty (May 30, 1999).
5. Strangers No Longer, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Conferencia del
Espicopado Mexicano, January 2003, at p. 35.
415 Michigan Ave., NE
Suite 150
Washington, DC 20017
202.635.2556
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media inquiries:
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Suite 150
Washington, DC 20017
202.635.2556
202.635.2649 fax
media inquiries:
e-mail me
(202) 635-5810
Advocacy Topics
Alternatives to Detention
Asylees and Refugees
Asylum-Seekers
Barriers to Family Reunification
Board of Immigration Appeals
Border Enforcement and Immigrant
Deaths
Citizenship
Consular Identification Documents
Detention
Department of Homeland Security
Driver's License Restrictions
Immigration Processing Delays
Indefinite Detention
Legalization
Local Law Enforcement
Mandatory Detention
National Security and Immigration
Unaccompanied Minors
Undocumented Immigrants:
State/Local Initiatives
Video Conferencing
Voter Registration
Alternatives to Detention
Asylees and Refugees
Asylum-Seekers
Barriers to Family Reunification
Board of Immigration Appeals
Border Enforcement and Immigrant
Deaths
Citizenship
Consular Identification Documents
Detention
Department of Homeland Security
Driver's License Restrictions
Immigration Processing Delays
Indefinite Detention
Legalization
Local Law Enforcement
Mandatory Detention
National Security and Immigration
Unaccompanied Minors
Undocumented Immigrants:
State/Local Initiatives
Video Conferencing
Voter Registration
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