April 20, 2005

"Legal Mexican Migrants File NAFTA Complaint"

MEXICO CITY -- More than a dozen legal Mexican and Central American migrant workers recruited by U.S. companies filed a complaint Wednesday alleging they were abused and denied rights guaranteed by the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The complaint, filed with the Mexican government under the companion labor agreement to NAFTA, maintains that 16 migrant non-farm workers from Mexico, Guatemala and Panama suffered labor abuses in the United States but had no way to file a complaint or to access U.S. courts.

Lodged with the help of eight American and Mexican labor and migrant organizations, the complaint calls on the Mexican government to ask the United States to better enforce its own labor laws...

In case you missed that the first time: the complaint calls on the Mexican government to ask the United States to better enforce its own labor laws. Sure, I'm all for it. Do the Mexican government and those eight organizations mind if we enforce our immigration laws as well? Hey, where'd they go?

See the links in "Appeasing our cheap labor supplier" for more examples of the Mexican government's attempts to in effect tie us down with nuisance suits. No really, that's their stated plan to "eat the elephant", i.e., get a "migration accord."

Posted to NAU at April 20, 2005 12:35 AM

Comments

I've seen a lot of cases of immigrants getting screwed by their employers. A lot of foreigners aren't aware of the rights that we afford workers in the US and/or don't know how to enforce their rights.

Posted by: Ralph at April 20, 2005 03:20 PM

Yeah, I guess employment in America isn't some sort of charitable undertaking, so maybe we shouldn't have so many unskilled immigrants coming here, because this just increases the supply which of course lowers wages and more germane here gives employers leverage which makes 'screwing' more likely to occur, especially when the employees are more vulnerable, e.g. either ignorant foreigners or here illegally.

Or so one would think.

Posted by: eh at April 21, 2005 02:52 AM