DHS targets enhanced employment, labor standards enforcement

Department of Homeland Security officials said the agency is initiating efforts to bolster enforcement of wage protections, workplace safety, labor rights and other employment laws and standards.  

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has issued directives to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding the initiative.

“The Department of Homeland Security has a critical role to ensure our Nation’s workplaces comply with our laws,” Mayorkas said. “We will not tolerate unscrupulous employers who exploit unauthorized workers, conduct illegal activities, or impose unsafe working conditions. Employers engaged in illegal acts compel the focus of our enforcement resources. By adopting policies that focus on the most unscrupulous employers, we will protect workers as well as legitimate American businesses.”  

Per the DHS directives, ICE, CBP, and USCIS are to facilitate participation of vulnerable workers in labor standards investigations; establish an end to mass worksite enforcement operations; and foster broader means for coordinating with interagency partners to enforce worker protections.

“Our worksite enforcement efforts can have a significant impact on the well-being of individuals and the fairness of the labor market,” Mayorkas wrote in the
memorandum on worksite enforcement forwarded to ICE, CBP and USCIS leadership.
“Our accomplishments in this area make clear that we can maximize the impact of our efforts by focusing on employers who exploit the vulnerability of undocumented workers. These employers engage in illegal acts ranging from the payment of substandard wages to imposing unsafe working conditions and facilitating human trafficking and child exploitation. Their culpability compels the intense focus of our
enforcement resources.”