Rallying for Justice at the DOJ
Over hundred people rallied outside the Department of Justice on Wednesday in support of Indian guest workers who were trafficked to the Gulf Coast, endured abusive employment practices, and now face deportation. Human rights advocates, labor organizers, and members of the faith community (including me) came together to call for justice for the workers. Progressive champions Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, also spoke passionately in the workers' defense.
Jobs with Justice, which helped organize the event, gives some background:
"In late 2006, over 500 Indian workers mortgaged their futures for an American dream, paying $20,000 apiece for false promises of green cards and permanent residency from US and Indian recruiters. Instead they received ten-month H2B guest worker visas and arrived to an American nightmare, working for Signal International. Signal forced them to live 24 men to a trailer and charged them $1,050 a month for it. H2B visas bind workers to a single employer, which let Signal threaten deportation at any time. When workers began to organize, Signal sent armed guards to seize the organizers, saying they would be deported the next day."
In March 2008, more than 100 of the workers walked off their jobs and kept on walking until they got to Washington, D.C. For the last month, they have engaged in a hunger-strike to call attention to their dire story.
The New York Times has picked up on it as has USA Today and the BBC.
Last week, 18 members of Congress, including Rep. Kucinich, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), sent a letter (pdf) to Attorney General Michael Mukasey urging him to investigate the trafficking case and give the workers continued presence in the United States while the investigation proceeds.
Jobs with Justice has been trying for some time now to schedule a meeting with the DOJ in hopes of exploring the need for an investigation. At the close of the rally, I went with several other members of the faith community to meet someone from the DOJ in hopes of finalizing a meeting time. While we were unable to schedule a time to meet then, we were assured they would do so... and they did. Today we received an email saying that members of the Office of Civil Rights within the DOJ would meet with us next week. This is a great step forward in the pursuit of justice. I'll be sure to give updates as they become available.