For Immediate Release // Excuse Cross Posting
October 19th 2016
Contact: Armando Carmona, armando@ndlon.org, 323-250-3018
NDLON Response to 3rd Presidential Debate: Immigrant Worker Rights Take Center Stage!
Washington, DC — In response to statements about immigration that ocd during the third presidential debate, Cal Soto, Worker Rights Coordinator at the NDLON issued the following statement:
“I’m glad that the exploitation of immigrant work was finally given a national stage during the debate tonight. When Hillary Clinton highlighted Donald Trump’s abuse of undocumented workers, underpaying them and threatening retaliation when they asked for fair , she was also calling out thousands of rotten employers across the United States.
“No one understands better than day laborers the United States’ dependence on – and exploitation of – immigrant work. The simple truth is that Donald Trump would accept immigrant workers’ labor without accepting their humanity. And his racist demagoguery is consistent with his own predatory business model. For the last year, Trump’s dehumanizing and racist language has emboldened predatory practices of those same employers who take advantage of all vulnerable workers, and purposefully creates divisions between native-born and immigrant workers. “
“Thankfully, a proposed solution exists to stop the racist, anti-immigrant business model embraced by Trump and his ilk: Whistleblower protections should be provided for any immigrant worker who comes forward to defend labor and civil rights. As we move from a rancid political debate to a discussion about actual policy, we hope the Obama Administration and the next administration provides legal status to immigrant workers who come forward. There are steps that can be taken today, without the approval of our currently broken Congress and without violating the injunction in Texas v. US.”
Follow a special live-streamed post-debate discussion by day laborers: https://www.facebook.com/LatinoRebels
###