Washington, D.C.—The National Employment Law Project (NELP) strongly condemns the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant executive orders and anticipated immigration policies and enforcement actions intended to terrorize immigrant communities, separate working families, and take away employment authorization from countless workers across the U.S. These actions threaten the safety, dignity, and livelihoods of millions of immigrant workers and their families, potentially uprooting 20 million immigrants, destabilizing state and local economies and essential industries, and jeopardizing the wellbeing of over 5.1 million U.S. citizen children in mixed-status families, including by attempting to unconstitutionally strip citizenship from children born in the U.S. after late February 2025 based on their parents’ immigration status. On the same day he took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, President Trump is already trying to change it through an unlawful decree.
“These devastating policies undermine the rights and contributions of immigrant workers and their families, attacking their dignity and worth,” said Rebecca Dixon, president and CEO of NELP. “By pushing workers into the shadows, the Trump administration will exacerbate racial and economic inequities, weaken collective advocacy for fair wages and safe workplaces, and deprive families, communities, and our economy of immigrants’ vital contributions. In our interdependent economy, these attacks harm all workers.”
The Truth About Workers, Immigration, and the U.S. Economy
Trump’s anti-immigrant policies exploit public fear for political gain by scapegoating immigrants and promoting false divides like “skilled versus unskilled” workers to mask corporate exploitation and unjust policies that harm immigrant and U.S.-born workers alike. Racial resentment and divisive narratives—like those promoted by the Trump administration’s agenda—distort public perceptions of economic conditions and labor dynamics, distracting from the real causes of systemic economic inequality. Economies like the U.S. profit from forced migration and labor exploitation despite having the resources for all workers to thrive. For example, corporations have long exploited policies like temporary work visa programs and international trade deals to drive job losses, migration, and inequality, raking in exorbitant profits while disregarding workers’ wellbeing. Simultaneously, the U.S. relies heavily on undocumented workers to fill critical gaps in the workforce and function as an engine of the economy. True economic justice demands policies that value all work as “skilled work,” ensure fair treatment for workers regardless of immigration status, and hold unscrupulous corporations accountable for the harm they cause.
Anti-Immigrant Policies Worsen Economic Injustice
The Trump administration’s immigration agenda continues the dangerous legacy of criminalizing immigrants and creating conditions that will increase labor exploitation and abuse. These policies disproportionately harm Black, brown, and immigrant workers, who, due to occupational segregation, are overrepresented in essential industries like healthcare, construction, agriculture, and food service, including in app-based and delivery jobs. The anti-immigrant rhetoric driving these actions divides communities and distracts from systemic corporate exploitation that harms all workers, deepening economic insecurity for both immigrant and U.S.-born workers. NELP underscores the critical connection between immigration policies and economic justice, emphasizing the need for unity among workers instead of division.
“These policies target millions of valued family and community members while destabilizing industries that rely on immigrants’ essential labor,” said Marisa Díaz, NELP’s immigrant worker justice program director. “We are united with immigrant workers and allies to build a labor movement that builds worker power, resilience, and resistance while valuing all work and all workers across industries.”
In the face of these attacks on our communities, NELP stands in solidarity with our partners and immigrant communities to:
- Defend workers’ rights: Ensure all workers’ rights are respected and enforced, regardless of workers’ immigration status.
- Hold corporations accountable: Prevent employers from exploiting immigration enforcement to suppress workers’ rights and ensure they face accountability for violating workers’ rights.
- Preserve and create new pathways to legal status: Protect programs that provide permanent and temporary legal status for immigrants, migrants, and asylees, including those that protect immigrant workers from immigration-related retaliation.
- Pass humane immigration reform measures: Promote policies that protect workers and families, rather than fuel fear and instability.
- Protect birthright citizenship: Oppose unconstitutional attempts to revoke citizenship from children born in the U.S.
“Investing in policies that honor people’s dignity, protect their rights, and ensure equity for all workers—including immigrants—is essential to a fair labor market,” Dixon continued. “NELP is committed to building a good-jobs economy where all workers, regardless of immigration status, are valued and treated with dignity.”
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