Republicans raging over NYC protecting and rewarding hardworking Americans and punishing criminal bosses.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/01/30/deferred-action-immigrant-workers-work-permits-dhs/Construction worker José Moncada fractured his wrist while using a jackhammer on a demolition job in Manhattan six years ago — and got some unusual instructions from his site foreman, who promised he’d get his medical bills reimbursed.
One, take a cab to the hospital, rather than an ambulance. And two, tell doctors he hurt himself at the park, he recounted.
Working for the same demolition company at another construction site, a welder named Alejo suffered a debilitating injury when sparks hit his eye, close to his retina. (Alejo requested that his last name not be published.) His foreman paid for a cab to the hospital, instructed him not to disclose he was injured on the job, and said the company, Caledonia Carting Services, would pay his medical bills.
Both men relayed their experiences to law enforcement authorities investigating allegations of workers’ compensation fraud and retaliation against workers by Alba Services Inc., which uses laborers supplied by Caledonia Carting. In return, both received working papers after more than a decade in the U.S. as undocumented workers.
The two men’s work authorizations resulted from a little-known new federal program that allows immigrants exploited in the workplace, or who are involved in law enforcement probes stemming from workplace violations, to apply for protections from deportation.
That protection, known as deferred action, also allows them to apply for legal work permits that help pull workers out of the underground economy where exploitation and danger is commonplace and the threat of deportation keeps workers compliant. While deferred action lasts up to two years, it also allows individuals to apply for Social Security numbers – unlocking the ability to apply for home and credit-card loans.
