What we stand for

Equal rights on the job for all: All workers deserve fair and equitable treatment, regardless of their country of origin or Immigration status. Current unjust immigration policies have severely stripped the rights of undocumented and guest workers, leaving them more vulnerable to abuse. Comprehensive immigration reform is needed to level the playing field and uplift standards throughout all fifty states, the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.

This is why LCLAA calls for the following:

• A broad, inclusive, affordable, and swift pathway to citizenship for all workers who allow our country and our territories to proposer

• Fundamental reform of abusive work visa programs to ensure that workers, not employers, control their status

• Expanded availability of U and T visas to protect workers who experience or report workplace crimes

• Bringing domestic and agricultural work under the full protection of our labor and employment laws, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining

• A clear pathway for DACA recipients to become U.S. citizens

Enforcement that protects workers and their families: Hard-won laws meant to keep our workplaces safe and fair are only effective when workers are able to enforce them. Our government spends twelve times more to enforce our immigration laws than it does to enforce core labor protections. This enables employers to violate immigration workers’ rights with impunity, and undermines our efforts to build worker power. Rebalancing our enforcement priorities to safeguard rights and standards for immigrants will result in better conditions for all workers.

This is why LCLAA calls for the following:

• Concrete protections, including work permits, for workers who are organizing and taking action to enforce our labor laws

• No expansion of E-verify

PRIORITY: PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

The United States has a rich immigrant history, but while the U.S. contends to be a nation of immigrants, our current immigration system has left many Latino/a families in crisis while making immigrant workers vulnerable to labor rights violations.

LCLAA advocates for immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship for the over 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States so that all workers, regardless of their legal status, have access to labor protections, fair wages and safe working environments. LCLAA also supports immigration, asylum, and naturalization policies that respect the migrant’s human rights.  Unfair and inhumane practices like family separation and the use of Title 42 on the southern border violate the U.S. commitment to human and civil rights.

Enactment of community trust policies that separate immigration enforcement from local law enforcement

• An end to private, child, and family detention

• Policy reform to bring an end to unrealistic and unreasonable costs and fees for immigration processes such as green card renewal, permits, and applications for citizenship

Humanitarian protections for those in harm’s way: Immigrants and refugees have always helped to build, serve, and feed our nation, and they continue to play a pivotal role in our society today. Preserving and expanding humanitarian pathways is essential for our country's vitality and workforce. As human displacement continues to escalate in the face of conflicts and climate change, the United States and its territories must keep our doors open to refugees, asylum seekers, and other forced migrants from all regions of the world equally, without regard to the color of their skin or the faith they practice.

This is why LCLAA calls for the following:

• Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) designations for all eligible countries, including Central American countries affected by recent hurricanes

• Increased levels of refugee resettlement

• Improved asylum processing with broader criteria for eligibility

• New, rights-based pathways for climate migrants

• Fair treatment of unaccompanied children who arrive at our borders

• Reformed immigration detention centers

Universal access to quality public services, benefits, and programs: All workers and their families—no matter their immigration status—should be guaranteed equal access to public services, government programs, and a social safety net. As we saw in the pandemic, current exclusions put millions of working families at risk and undermine public health.

This is why LCLAA calls for all workers and their families, regardless of immigration status, to have access to the following:

• Affordable, quality healthcare,

• Unemployment insurance,

• Nutrition and housing assistance,

• Family tax credits,

• In-state tuition and federal student aid, including Pell Grants,

• Driver licenses, and Real IDs

Raising wages, not walls: The fate of workers in the United States and its territories is deeply intertwined with that of workers around the world, including those here in the Americas. We hope to advance a pro-worker model for the global economy that supports people rather than profits by working together across borders. We are committed to overcoming the structural challenges that hinder workers’ rights and opportunities everywhere, while also welcoming those who have no choice but to migrate.

This is why LCLAA calls for the following:

• Trade and investment strategies that promote decent work at home and abroad

• A just transition to a carbon-neutral economy that acknowledges and humanely addresses the displacement across borders caused by climate change

• Demilitarization of our border communities

• Building international and Pan-American solidarity and worker power through partnerships with unions and labor rights