This September, as communities celebrate Latino Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), scenes from California’s fields and construction sites remind us of the challenges many Latino workers still face. Across the state, immigrant workers who form the backbone of industries like agriculture and construction live with constant fear of deportation despite their critical role in keeping food on our tables and building our communities. For many, routine activities such as driving to work or stopping at the laundromat carry the risk of being detained by immigration agents. These personal anxieties reflect a broader national trend: according to recent Pew Research Center data more than 1.2 million immigrants have left the U.S. labor force since January, disrupting industries that depend heavily on immigrant labor.
These fears have been amplified by a recent Supreme Court ruling granting federal immigration agents wide discretion to stop individuals based on appearance, language, or occupation. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Court’s first Latina justice, warned in her dissent that such a policy risks creating a country where “anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low-wage job” can be detained without cause. For immigrant workers, the decision reinforces feelings of exclusion and vulnerability. It also signals a troubling shift in the legal landscape, normalizing profiling and undermining constitutional protections that should apply to all.
The strain on industries highlights a paradox: the very workers being celebrated during Latino Heritage Month are also those most at risk of displacement. Nearly 20% of the U.S. workforce is made up of immigrants, and nearly 33% of California’s workforce is made up of immigrants. And now, due to the lack of available workers in California, crops have been left to rot in fields and major construction projects have stalled. The number of construction jobs are down in about half of U.S. metropolitan areas, according to an Associated General Contractors of America analysis of government employment data. The largest loss of construction jobs in the U.S. this year occurred in California’s Inland Empire (7,200 jobs), while the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area has lost 6,200 construction jobs.
For California Applicants’ Attorneys, these issues carry a direct and urgent resonance. Many of our clients, who are essential to sustaining industries like agriculture, construction, and health care, face not only workplace injuries but also systemic vulnerabilities that threaten their livelihoods and families. In response to the unique and increasing challenges these workers face navigating workers' compensation systems, CAAA’s Latino Caucus has developed a practice tip designed to further assist practitioners in issues common to the representation of an undocumented client. As we recognize Latino Heritage Month, we are reminded that the fight for workplace protections is inseparable from the broader struggle for dignity and security for immigrant workers.
