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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

This is a watershed moment. On Tuesday,  Mexico and the United States signed a historic agreement (MOU) on protections for migrant workers. Thanks to our relentless advocacy, the agreement includes unprecedented provisions to strengthen workers’ rights across the region! For the past 17 years, CDM has led cross-border campaigns to advance migrant justice and gender equity in labor migration. You may remember Adareli Ponce and Maritza Perez, two migrant worker women who submitted the first petition against the U.S. government under the USMCA in March 2021. Together with a coalition of allies from across the region, we argued that the…

I am honored to share that CDM was just awarded the Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The award ceremony happened a few moments ago during the annual meeting of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF). The ceremony included Senior White House officials and principals from 20 participating PITF agencies, including Merrick Garland, Alejando Mayorkas and Xavier Becerra. I was honored to attend the White House ceremony with CDM Board President Cori Alonso-Yoder to receive the award from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on behalf of CDM. The award,…

On Workers Memorial Day 2020, as the pandemic was rapidly spreading, we announced our Protein Processing Worker Project (PPP), a collective effort to ensure that workers with limited knowledge of English had access to accurate information about COVID-19, their rights, and how to protect themselves from communicable diseases. Today, we are proud to share with you our second year impact report which details our partnership-based model and the incredible results we achieved alongside our 13 partner organizations. Both in-person and online, we helped workers defend their rights, protect their health and access vaccines, testing, and vital information about their right…

Yesterday, following a week of activities, we officially celebrated Labor Day and CDM’s 18th anniversary. Today, our vision remains the same as it did when we opened the doors to our first office in Zacatecas back in 2005: a world where borders aren’t barriers to justice and the rights of migrant workers are respected and laws and policies reflect their voices and experiences. To launch the week of activities, Daria Hernandez, a leader in our Migrant Defense Committee, and CDM staff joined the U.S. Department of Labor, the Mexican government and other governments for the kick-off of Labor Rights Week. As a keynote speaker,…

Finally! After months of planning, we held our first mass pro se deferred action legal clinic for farmworkers in North Carolina this past Sunday. Ever since the Deferred Action for Labor Disputes process was announced in January of this year we knew this could be a game-changer for workers unable to speak out against abuse for fear of losing their job, their income and their immigration status. Over the past few months, we have been working alongside allied organizations and law school clinics to develop and pilot a model clinic, legal infrastructure, and resources that would allow us to provide the support workers…

On October 19, 2023, the White House H-2B Worker Protection Taskforce published a long-awaited report adopting many of the critical policy recommendations that CDM made and citing CDM’s research. This announcement follows on the heels of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL)’s proposed new rules for the H-2A and H-2B visa programs. The report and the rules include ambitious and potentially game-changing protections long advocated for by migrant workers, CDM, and allies. Here’s what we are most excited about (It’s a long list but read on! This is all because of your support!): The…

November 20, 2023 We did it! With contributions from dozens of workers, CDM and Migration that Works (a coalition of labor, migration, civil rights, anti-trafficking organizations and academics chaired by CDM) submitted a total of FIVE(!) extensive comments in support of the proposed rules to the H-2 guestworker programs. We just submitted the last three comments today! I’m proud of our team for our hard work, but above all, I’m proud that our comments reflect the voices and experiences of workers who are directly affected by these flawed programs. During the last few weeks, we held feedback sessions with members…

Over the past seven days, we’ve celebrated CDM’s Week of Gratitude; seven days where we highlighted some of the people who have helped make this year a very special year for us and a very important year for migrant workers’ rights. But before we close out this Week of Gratitude we want to take a moment to thank you for all your support throughout the past 18 years. Thank you for believing in us, encouraging us and helping us advance migrant justice. You are an integral part of our growing CDM family. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to celebrate important wins this…

Today, International Migrants’ Day, marks exactly 1,000 days since migrant worker women alongside CDM and dozens of other organizations submitted a complaint under the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) against the United States for sex-discrimination in guestworker programs. On this meaningful day, we celebrate the strength of these migrant worker women and the positive ripple effects created by their courageous complaint. By the US government’s own recognition, the women behind the USMCA complaint are to thank for many recent wins for migrant workers: a program to return owed wages to H-2A workers and an MOU between the Mexican and US governments that specifically references migrant women’s concerns, to name a few. I am in awe of migrant worker…

From labor-based deferred action clinics and know your rights trainings to strengthened protections in the H-2 programs, this year was filled with powerful moments for migrant justice. And they were all thanks to …

For nearly 20 years, CDM has been on the frontlines ensuring workers build their power and are able to stand up for their rights. At this moment, when migrant workers are under attack, our commitment to this work is steadfast and more critical than ever. CDM was built to meet moments of vulnerability and we intend, as we always have, to rise to the occasion, and face the challenges of this moment with unwavering commitment to those we serve.

This International Migrants Day we are celebrating a new rule that strengthens protections for migrant guestworkers in the H-2 program. The rule, which was announced yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will make it easier for migrant workers to access key existing worker protections.

Last week, our team led seven know your rights workshops for farmworkers in Maryland and Virginia. These trainings are part of the Farm Labor Stabilization Protection Pilot Program (FLSP), a USDA program to support employers in ensuring safe and healthy workplaces for farmworkers.

Maximo applied for deferred action, an immigration protection for workers involved in labor disputes, during our first pro se deferred action clinic in North Carolina last year.  Maximo’s employer had forced him and his colleagues to work in the sweet potato fields under extreme heat without sufficient water or breaks. As a result, one worker died from heat stroke. Maximo decided to apply for deferred action so he could remain in the United States and fight for justice for himself and his colleagues.

We’re thrilled to introduce you to Julia Solórzano, CDM’s new Director of Litigation! Julia brings deep empathy and vast experience litigating cases on behalf of migrant workers, and we couldn’t be happier to have her on our team! A little bit about Julia: Before joining CDM, Julia was a Senior Staff Attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project, where she litigated cases regarding large-scale workplace immigration raids in Tennessee and Mississippi and the unionization rights of farmworkers in North Carolina. Julia received her A.B. from Princeton University and her J.D. from Yale Law School. After law school, Julia…

It’s been a whirlwind of a week —I have so much to share with you! Here are three exciting updates: Update # 1 – Immigration protections for workers involved in labor disputes can now be granted for up to 4 years! After months of advocating alongside allied organizations, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agreed to extend immigration protections for workers involved in labor disputes to up to four years. This protection helps immigrant and migrant workers speak up against labor abuse by lessening the risk of immigration-based retaliation by allowing them to stay and work in the United States while helping…

Just a few hours ago, the Department of Labor announced new protections for migrant workers! The historic, worker-protective rule reflects decades of courageous advocacy by migrant workers, CDM, and allied organizations. The rule has the potential to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of migrant agricultural workers in the U.S. H-2A visa program. Some of the hard-fought protections in these regulations include: Employers can’t retaliate against workers for speaking out against abuse by firing them. Workers have stronger protections against being fired without cause. Workers must have access to safe transportation and seatbelts. Workers won the right to invite guests (including…

We just closed the third “The Future of [Guest]Work” summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The summit brought together workers on TN visas from across industries and states to build power and strengthen connections with allies. Over the past three days, TN workers representing different industries, joined by Migration that Works members, developed an advocacy agenda that reflects the experiences and priorities of TN workers: an agenda that will guide our efforts throughout the year and beyond. Migrant workers on TN visas identified the following advocacy priorities during this week’s summit: Facilitating access to justice by eliminating barriers that hinder their access to legal services. Eliminating unjust…

Imagine leaving your home behind to pursue what seems to be an incredible professional opportunity abroad only to experience fraud, abuse, discrimination, wage theft and more at the hands of your employers. This is exactly what happened to our clients — Rosa Linda and Jimmy, two engineers from Mexico. Today, I am proud to announce we are representing Rosa Linda and Jimmy in a class action lawsuit against their employers, GFA Alabama and Hyundai Glovis, for the fraudulent and abusive working conditions they endured while working in the United States with TN visas. Centro de los Derechos del Migrante’s unique transnational advocacy model means…

A few weeks ago, 17 State Attorneys General, growers and big-time farmers filed a suit against the U.S. Department of Labor to stop the new farmworker protection rule from going into effect. We cannot let this happen. Today, we filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit to ensure that our organization and migrant agricultural workers have a seat at the table as the court decides the future of the rule. We are seeking to enter the suit in two different roles: as an organizational defendant-intervenor and also as counsel for Candelario and Jorge, two migrant H-2A farmworkers who are speaking…