From an Economic Policy Institute -- pro-labor organization --

Transparency in work visa programs is needed to fight human trafficking

On Thursday, January 11, EPI’s Daniel Costa joined members of Congress from both sides of the aisle as they announced a measure to combat human trafficking by increasing the transparency of workers’ activities and whereabouts. If enacted, the Visa Transparency Anti-Trafficking Act of 2018 would create a standardized reporting system across all guestworker visa categories and require that this information be made public. Costa, who is the director of immigration law and policy research at EPI, has published estimates of the numbers of temporary migrant workers employed by visa classification. But those estimates are based on limited data because no official government estimates exist by visa class. Without the greater transparency called for by the bill, millions of workers could remain hidden and vulnerable to abuse from employers.

10 worst ways President Trump and Congress have betrayed working Americans

In time for the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, EPI released a new feature recapping 10 actions by Trump and Congress that hurt workers the most during Trump’s first year. President Trump and Congress further rigged the economy in favor of the wealthy by rolling back important worker protections, advancing nominees to key administration posts who have a history of exploiting working people, and taking other actions that undermine pay growth and erode working conditions for the nation’s workers. EPI’s Policy Watch tracker will continue to spotlight actions by the Trump administration, Congress, and federal agencies to weaken workers’ rights.