Time to Question the ICE Raids

by Jane Guskin, MRZine
April 11, 2008

According to an article in today's Los Angeles Times, "L.A. Mayor Chides ICE for Workplace Immigration Raids," Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa "has asked the federal government to review its immigration enforcement priorities, warning that work-site raids on 'non-exploitative' businesses could have 'severe and lasting effects' on the local economy."

Villaraigosa "said ICE should spend its limited resources targeting employers who exploit wage and hour laws," according to the article. [...]

But ICE raids never result in a positive resolution for exploited workers -- in fact, workers who are jailed and deported after being picked up in raids face a real challenge collecting their last paychecks, let alone suing their abusive employers for underpayment of wages. [...]

Read the full article at:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/guskin100408.html

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Jane Guskin is co-author of The Politics of Immigration: Questions and
Answers, published by Monthly Review Press in July 2007. Guskin also
edits Immigration News Briefs, a weekly newsletter covering immigration
issues. She lives in New York City.
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