Two months after the U.S. government put a halt to workplace raids — which often resulted in the mass arrests of undocumented immigrants — Nashville advocacy groups rallied on Monday in support of more protections for undocumented immigrant workers. The order to stop the raids was delivered in an October memo from the Department of Homeland Security, and it gave agencies 60 days to evaluate internal guidelines when it comes to targeting exploitative employers and protecting workers from retaliation for reporting labor violations.
Cecilia Prado of Workers’ Dignity — a local workers’ center and labor advocacy organization — called the memo one of the most progressive steps in history in terms of protecting immigrant workers. Workers' Dignity helped organize Monday's rally, which took place outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in South Nashville.
Prado said the federal policy could benefit workers in states like Tennessee, which she said has some of “the worst labor laws in the country.” She also noted that the state legislature has even preempted Nashville’s attempts to bolster workplace safety standards.
Prado also called for a streamlined process to report workplace violations — and she doesn’t want Immigration and Customs Enforcement involved.
For years, ICE conducted worksite raids to sweep up undocumented workers and deport them en masse. While those raids quieted down during the Obama administration, they ramped back up under Donald Trump.
Prado told the Scene it’s common to hear about employers threatening workers with immigration enforcement.
“We hear [these stories] every day,” said Prado. “Workers get told by their boss that they’re gonna call immigration if they keep calling them to get their wages back. … Bosses saying, ‘I’m gonna call immigration if you organize in the workplace.’"
The rally included speakers from workers' and immigrants’ rights groups like API Middle Tennessee, Elmahaba Center and Never Again Tennessee. Speakers connected the rally to not just immigration raids but also workplace discrimination and rising costs of living in Nashville.
Armando Arzate also spoke about his experience as a worker in Nashville who has dealt with exploitative employers. For two years, Arzate clashed with Orion Building Company over wage-theft cases for construction work done at Vanderbilt Divinity School and McMurray Middle School. (The Scene has previously reported on his story.)
“There are a lot of stories like mine,” Azarte told the Scene. “Many people in our communities are suffering because companies like Orion have a lot of influence and power.”
