World Immigration News

Book examines immigration and race in the low-wage workplace

Release Date
2025-10-20
Media
Cornell Chronicle
Summary
A new book titled “Legalized Inequalities: Immigration and Race in the Low-Wage Workplace” (Russell Sage Foundation Press), co-authored by researchers from Cornell University’s ILR School, examines how systemic racism, power imbalances, and exploitative labor conditions affect low-wage immigrant workers of color in the United States. The authors argue that these inequalities are reinforced by both historical and contemporary U.S. government policies, and they call for reforms to labor, immigration, and civil rights laws to create fairer workplaces.

The book, written by Kati L. Griffith, Shannon Gleeson, Patricia Campos-Medina, and Darlène Dubuisson, draws on interviews with more than 300 Haitian and Central American workers and 50 worker advocates. It explores three main themes.

The first section discusses the U.S. system of “at-will employment,” which allows employers to dismiss workers at any time, fostering job insecurity that forces low-wage workers to tolerate poor conditions.

The second section examines how immigration status—undocumented, temporary, or permanent—shapes workplace experiences. Surprisingly, workers with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) often felt less secure than undocumented workers because their personal data are known to the government, making them more vulnerable to policy changes.

The third section connects current labor inequalities to the legacies of slavery and colonialism. Many Haitian workers described their treatment as being “like a slave,” reflecting ongoing racialized disrespect and dehumanization at work from employers, coworkers, and customers.

The authors also highlight how the 1986 law requiring employers to verify work authorization has turned employers into “mini immigration enforcers,” worsening power imbalances.

Policy recommendations include boosting funding for labor rights enforcement, removing employer verification requirements, strengthening anti-discrimination protections, and developing a new research framework that integrates immigration and racial inequality into labor studies.
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