United States

In 2004, after a six year campaign, Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) won a collective bargaining agreement with the North Carolina Grower’s Association (NCGA). The NCGA is the nation’s largest user of the H2A program, a temporary visa which allows agricultural workers to come to the US to work seasonally. Each year, nearly 7,000 workers are recruited to work in NC through the NCGA, and all are covered by the FLOC union contract.

The H-2B  program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. The new H-2B issued in April 2015 enhance U.S. worker recruitment and strengthen worker protection with respect to wages, working conditions and benefits that must be offered to H-2B workers and U.S. workers in corresponding employment.

In 2012 President Obama issued an executive order that strengthens existing protections against trafficking relating to federal contractors by, among other things, prohibiting contractors and subcontractors from doing business with the federal government, from charging recruitment fees, to prospective employees, using fraudulent or misleading practices during the recruitment process or withholding workers’ passports or identity documents. These provisions address many of the areas of potential abuse in the recruitment process. 

Public engagement with diverse American communities, including diaspora and migrant communities is a priority for DHS CRCL. CRCL’s Community Engagement Section responds to community concerns and provides information on DHS programs, activities, and issues.

The goals of our program are:

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) promotes the human and labor rights of migrant workers throughout the labor migration process.

In order to assist DOL in the protection of migrant workers employed in the United States and to help communicate with workers whom it might not otherwise be able to reach, DOL has established formal partnerships with the embassies of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and the Philippines. DOL’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs which coordinates the program is working to expand these partnerships to embassies and consulates of other countries.

On August 29, 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador and the Occupational Health and Security Administration of the US Department of Labor signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington, D.C., which recognized the joint commitment of both nations in the labor rights protection of Salvadoran immigrant workers.

Established in 2000, DRUM aims to build the power of South Asian low wage immigrant workers, youth, and families in New York City to win economic and educational justice, and civil and immigrant rights. One of DRUM's main programs,  the South Asian Workers Center,  seeks to build the leadership of and organizes low-wage workers in service industries, particularly immigrant women retail workers.

The US National Institute of Health's Fogarty International Center (FIC) aims to strengthen the capacity of institutions in low- and middle-income countries to conduct HIV/AIDS-related research. 

Wells Fargo has made inroads to China by partnering with the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), one of the largest banks in China, by offering an account-to-account remittance program. Customers in the United States can send up to $1,000 a day to China for $8. Recipients can claim their funds at more than 31,000 ABC branches and 12,500 ATMs throughout China.