OBAMA PLAN: JOBS REGARDLESS of IMMGRATION STATUS

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New Dept. of Labor Campaign Helps Workers “Regardless of Immigration Status”
On April Fools’ Day, President Obama’s Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, announced that the Department of Labor (DOL) will expend taxpayer dollars as part of a new outreach campaign to offer assistance to “low-wage and vulnerable workers…regardless of immigration status.” The campaign, spearheaded by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, seeks to “connect America’s most vulnerable and low-wage workers with the broad array of services offered by the Department of Labor.” (DOL Press Release, April 1, 2010).

According to DOL, the campaign – called “We Can Help!” – will reach out to workers in industries such as construction, janitorial work, hotel services, food services and home health care and inform them about their rights in the workplace. In particular, DOL will provide workers with information on how to file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division to recover owed wages, “regardless of immigration status.” As part of its outreach efforts, “We Can Help!” will utilize Spanish/English bilingual public service announcements, a new website, and a toll-free hotline ((866)-4US-WAGE). (Id.). In a public service announcement for the new campaign, DOL Secretary Solis states: “Remember: every worker in America has a right to be paid fairly – whether documented or not.” (See “We Can Help!” Public Service Announcements).

Media reports have begun to shed light on how “We Can Help!” will operate in practice. DOL will solicit tips from “worker advocacy groups” concerning suspected wage and hour violations, including the AFL-CIO, a notorious amnesty proponent. (Id.). Importantly, an anonymous DOL spokesperson indicated that the department “won’t punish” illegal aliens “because of their status.” (The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2010). Another DOL official who spoke in Spanish to a group of day laborers in California told them: “We’re the feds, but the good ones. We’re here to help workers. Documented or not, the law is: If you work certain hours, you are owed certain money.” (Contra Costa Times, April 1, 2010).

True immigration reformers are questioning the motives behind the Obama administration’s new program. Appearing on Fox News, FAIR President Dan Stein noted: “What we have is an administration that’s positioning itself for a big amnesty program, and they don’t want to deport anybody unless they’re …a serial murderer or a rapist or a terrorist. Everybody else – they’re saying – should be allowed to stay, and that’s why they’re setting up these programs that are sending conflicting signals and making us, the American taxpayer, feel like our government is incoherent.” (See YouTube Video, April 7, 2010).