Our Work - CDM

EVERY YEAR, employers across industries recruit hundreds of thousands of migrant workers internationally to perform seasonal, high-risk, low-wage labor in the United States. Many of these men and women travel mainly from Mexico to rural and remote U.S. farms and factories to labor in some of the lowest paid sectors of the economy.

Once in the U.S. migrant workers face a system rife with abuse that creates conditions for workers to suffer health and safety violations, sexual harassment, wage theft, and retaliation. In some cases, the economic coercion by employers leads to forced labor and trafficking in persons.

Centro de los Derechos del Migrante partners with migrant workers to build worker power, advocate for fair labor migration policies and remove borders as barriers to justice.

Here’s how we fight back

Worker Education and Leadership Development. We conduct “know your rights” trainings and leadership development trainings with migrant workers and provide rights information and resources to migrant workers in high-risk industries.

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Policy Advocacy. We advocate for fair labor migration policies and provide analysis and recommendations to Mexican and U.S. policymakers, and we join forces with workers, unions and immigrant rights organizations to campaign for migrant workers’ rights.

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Legal Services. We support migrant workers in their fight for justice, through Intake and Referral, Strategic Litigation and Litigation Support. We believe borders should not be barriers to justice.

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Latest News

May 23, 2025

Workers Deserve Safe Workplaces — No Exceptions

Creating workplaces free from sexual harassment and violence should never be a controversial issue. Yet, the Department of Labor recently terminated all “Fostering Access, Rights and Equity” (FARE) grants awarded by the Women’s Bureau during the Biden administration — including two that funded our critical work building power with workers in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Oregon.

May 1, 2025

Big Win for Chicken Catchers!

Last year, a group of people working as chicken catchers decided enough was enough. Angel was one of them. They contacted us and we supported them in filing a complaint with the Department of Labor (DOL) to seek justice for the inhumane working conditions their employer put them through. And they won.

Mar 8, 2025

Celebrating the Strength and Leadership of Migrant Worker Women

For the last almost 20 years, we’ve had the privilege of working with thousands of migrant worker women who migrate to the United States, leaving family and friends behind in search of a better future. This International Women’s Day, we celebrate them – for their strength, their courage and their leadership.

Feb 18, 2025

The search begins! Finding claimants in $92.5 million case

Oscar Onadia, an immigrant from Burkina Faso, courageously filed a class-action lawsuit against the City of New York, eventually obtaining a settlement of $92.5 million dollars for more than 20,000 people. The class members —immigrants and US citizens alike— were unjustly detained between 1997 and 2012 by the New York City Department of Corrections beyond their scheduled release dates.

Looking to 2026 this Int’l Migrants Day!

Now that this year’s FIFA World Cup is behind us (Congratulations, Argentina!), all eyes are on Mexico, United States and Canada who will co-host the mega-event in 2026. And after the infamous treatment of migrant workers in Qatar, we must ensure that next time human rights will be protected.

Huge win for migrant and immigrant workers!

Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an immigration relief policy for migrant and immigrant workers who face abuse and defend their workplace rights.