July 29, 2026
Proclamation of the Migrant Defense Committee
We, the Migrant Defense Committee, are a group of migrant workers, ex-migrants, and families of migrants who fight to achieve labor justice and safety for each worker. For over 20 years we have raised our voices in the name of the thousands of migrant workers whose efforts sustain the economy of the United States but have unfortunately continued to face unjust salaries, labor exploitation, inadequate housing, discrimination, and other labor abuses.
Recently, attempts to expand temporary worker visa programs (H-2) without ensuring better worker protections have returned forcefully. Mass deportations, including raids in communities and workplaces, are affecting thousands of people, families, and whole communities, which constitutes an injustice and puts the security and integrity of workers at risk. Additionally, the recent proposals to change the rules of the H-2 visa represents a setback in our labor rights. The possibility of greater risks and vulnerabilities, the change in the process of petitioning for H-2A visas, and the change in the way that the perceived salaries of agricultural workers (adverse wage) is calculated, with the lamentable consequence of lowering the salaries that workers with H-2A visas receive, are all alarming situations. In this context, we express our worries because we know that the migrant community that labors in the United States will experience greater difficulties to access justice and lead a dignified life.
We call on the government of the United States and other involved parties to strengthen the laws, listen to the workers and put an end to labor exploitation - to not desert the labor protections that each migrant worker deserves. The labor programs like the H-2 visa must guarantee justice and safety for each worker.
We stand in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who find themselves in the United States, and we ask that before approving new labor laws you center the perspectives of migrant workers, that you honor their work and their contributions that benefit the economies of the origin and destination countries.
We ask that the authorities and employers respect and comply with the laws, assuring that workplaces are dignified and make human rights and workers rights a reality: just salaries, dignified housing, health and safety in the workplace, and the elimination of workplace discrimination and retaliation.
“United we are stronger”
Sincerely,
Migrant Defense Committee