Excellent article re immigration reform
The New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy just published SOLUTIONS, NOT SCAPEGOATS: ABATING SWEATSHOP CONDITIONS FOR ALL LOW-WAGE WORKERS AS A CENTERPIECE OF IMMIGRATION REFORM, an excellent article by Rebecca Smith and Catherine Ruckelshaus of the National Employment Law Project.
In summary, the authors argue that employer sanctions and guestworker programs, while both are touted as solutions to the “problem” of illegal immigration, are failed policies that have simply brought discrimination and an ever-greater “off the books” workforce, to the detriment of U.S. workers and foreign workers alike. At least part of the lesson of low-wage work in the United States, including work by U.S. citizens, guestworkers under various programs, and undocumented workers, shows that comprehensive immigration reform must mean comprehensive enforcement of the hard-won labor protections that all workers in the United States rely upon, as a matter of law, economics, and human rights. The authors include recommendations for shoring up the wage floor for all workers and reforming guestworker programs.
For those of you with Westlaw or LEXIS access, the cite for the article is 10 N.Y.U. J. Legis. & Pub. Pol’y 555.
