{"id":12060,"date":"2025-07-17T07:57:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T11:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?p=12060"},"modified":"2025-07-17T12:29:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T16:29:19","slug":"immigration-enforcement-undermines-worker-health-and-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/07\/17\/immigration-enforcement-undermines-worker-health-and-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigration Enforcement Undermines Worker Health and Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he increasingly militarized harassment of immigrants upending our communities across the country has been well understood<\/a>. Less recognized is how these anti-immigrant policies are undermining the safety of immigrant workers on the job, resulting in more health and safety violations, more injuries and fewer worker complaints. The solution is more unions.<\/p>\n

This is the conclusion of a recent study: When Labor Enforcement and Immigration Enforcement Collide: Deterring Worker Complaints Worsens Workplace Safety<\/a>, by Amanda M. Grittner and Prof. Matthew S. Johnson, which shows that the deeply negative economic impact of the anti-immigrant policies extends to workplace health and safety.<\/p>\n

Relying on data from the \u201cSecure Communities\u201d partnership between federal ICE agents and local law enforcement from the 2010s, the authors document dramatic negative impacts of immigration enforcement on worker health and safety. Looking at workplaces with a high percentage of Hispanic workers, they show that complaints to OSHA dropped off dramatically while injuries rose significantly.<\/p>\n

Because the author\u2019s important findings are presented in a dense academic paper and often look like this, a general audience may find it challenging to unpack.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At Worksafe<\/a> we wanted to bring this information to wider attention, illustrating these important points:<\/p>\n