Across the U.S., masked agents operating as part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are arresting people believed to be in the country illegally. Videos online show officers waiting outside of schools and churches, handcuffing people at work and in at least one case, posing in disguise in a hardhat and safety vest on a construction site.
These actions are being carried out in accordance with the administration’s executive order on “Protecting the American People from Invasion.” That order states that many immigrants, migrants and others in the country illegally “present significant threats to national security and public safety, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans.”
Data from the University of California at Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project shows ICE immigration raids aren’t succeeding at catching more criminals. Almost 40 percent of arrests made by agents in July were of people with no criminal convictions or pending charges. In December of 2024, that number stood at 27 percent.
Unintended Consequences for Worker Safety & Health
One issue caused by immigration enforcement that’s not getting nearly enough attention is its impact on worker safety and health. Data from the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research shows immigration enforcement is correlated to a significant drop in safety complaints from workers and a dramatic spike in workplace injuries.
“Clearly the situation around immigration enforcement today is so much worse than the data that this report was working on from about 10 years ago,” said Stephen Knight, Executive Director at Worksafe, a California-based workplace advocacy group. “As of today, fear spreads from armed, masked agents launching workplace raids all around the country.”
This creates an environment where workers may fear that reporting unsafe conditions, injuries, wage theft or labor violations could trigger immigration checks or deportation. It’s not surprising that the reporting of unsafe conditions drops drastically when workers are afraid to speak up. Without worker participation, OSHA protections become less effective, creating a two-tiered system where immigrant-heavy industries are less protected.
California made national news earlier this summer when protests of ICE raids in Los Angeles led the administration to deploy the National Guard. Now California residents report being afraid to simply go to work or spend time outdoors.
For its part, Cal/OSHA said in a statement that its mission is to “protect the health and safety of all workers in California, regardless of immigration status” and that “fear in the workplace, whatever the cause, can have a chilling effect on workers’ ability to speak up about hazards.”
Unions Have a Protective Effect
Heightened immigration enforcement creates a climate of fear that suppresses worker reporting, enables exploitation, increases workplace hazards and worsens both the physical and mental health outcomes of workers.
While immigration enforcement leads to more dangerous conditions in largely Hispanic workplaces, the data also shows a protective effect in unionized workplaces. Following immigration enforcement, unionized workers barely saw any dropoff in their willingness to report unsafe conditions and a much smaller uptick in injuries.
This data shows the value of unions in giving workers a voice and in maintaining a strong sense of safety on the job. In addition to providing workers with better wages, better health benefits and retirement savings, unions also provide a sense of community and stability in tough times.
With many members in our communities fighting for their due process rights, fighting to stay with their families and fighting for the lives they’ve built, safety on the job may not be top of mind. But at the LHSFNA, we will always speak up when policies put workers in harm’s way.
[Nick Fox]
