The New York Times published an article today on the Indian migrant workers who have been on a hunger strike for the past week to ensure that the U.S. Justice Department investigates their case. As I've already mentioned in a previous post, these migrant workers are claiming that they have become victims of human trafficking after they paid upwards of $15,000 - $20,000 for what they believed were permanent resident visas that would lead to a green card. As the article reveals, since the hunger strike began, several of the migrant workers have been hospitalized, including one man who fasted for 23 days. The Justice Department has also confirmed that they are investigating their case so their visas have been extended until the case is resolved. Further details pending...
This entire situation reveals the vulnerability of migrant workers on the H2B visa. The workers originally went on strike because although they were given reasonable salaries, their living/working conditions were cramped, suffocating, and charged for unreasonable rates on their salaries, and because they were mislead to believe that their H2B visas would lead to green cards. As soon as they went on strike, they were fired, which officially terminated their status as legal immigrants and gave Signal International the right to forcibly deport them. With this structure, how can migrant workers ever hope to form a union or make any demands of their employer? Could domestic unions ever welcome migrant workers despite xenophobia and resentment for displacement from their own jobs?
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