By Yadira Lopez

Immigrant workers are the backbone of the U.S. workforce and economy. However, worker protections and attacks on immigrants have increased since the start of the second Trump Administration. A combination of xenophobic messaging, attacks on immigrants’ ability to work, increased immigration enforcement, and rescinded worker protections have created labor conditions that shift power toward employers, weaken workers’ ability to assert their rights, and increase opportunities for labor exploitation. Insights from focus groups with immigrant workers revealed a loss of opportunity in employment outcomes, poor treatment and exploitation through wage theft and fear of retaliation, and increased fear of immigrant enforcement and family separation under recent circumstances. This brief uplifts the voices and experiences of immigrant workers and provides policy recommendations for supporting them and ultimately ensuring the safety and well-being of all workers.

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