Los Angeles Public Interest Law Journal

LOS ANGELES PUBLIC INTEREST LAW JOURNAL

1 L.A. PUB. INT. L.J. 285

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ASSESSING THE RIGHTS OF UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS:REJECTING FEDERAL PREEMPTION OF STATE LABOR PROTECTIONS*
Cindy Pánuco

          A wave of anti-immigrant sentiment is sweeping across the country. State Representative Douglas Bruce’s statement above is illustrative of the negative and flawed perception that some Americans have of immigrants and immigrant workers. Elected officials, vigilante groups like the Minuteman Project, and anti-immigrant groups, like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (“FAIR”), the Center for Immigration Studies (“CIS”), NumbersUSA, and the Social Contract Press, are leading anti-immigrant efforts across the United States.

          Employers are also joining in the movement to push immigrants further into the shadows. Immigrant workers account for one in seven U.S. workers, one in five low-wage workers, and one in two new workers. Most notably, two of every five low-wage immigrant workers are undocumented. Industries where immigrants are overrepresented are often known for the most frequent and blatant violations of labor laws and exploitation of this population. For example, in these industries where immigrants are found in the workforce, undocumented immigrants are often denied the right to unionize, do not receive overtime benefits, and are paid at rates far below the minimum wage. In fact, immigrants’ hourly wages are lower on average than those of Americans, with nearly half of immigrants earning less than 200 percent of the minimum wage, compared to only one-third of American workers.


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