A line of immigrant workers formed outside an office building in Koreatown on a recent Friday afternoon.
They followed makeshift signs to a small courtyard, where scores of volunteer lawyers, translators and other staff helped them apply for a little-known federal program that offers an unusual — and probably fleeting — reprieve from deportation.
Under the Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement program, people in the U.S. illegally who work at companies under investigation for workplace violations can receive permission to work in the country for four years. The program, which was started during the Biden administration, is intended to encourage undocumented workers to cooperate with investigations into safety violations, employment abuses and other issues without fear their immigration status will be used against them.
Earlier registration clinics like the three-day push the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance began on Nov. 8 drew little interest. But President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to deport millions of people when he returns to office has reignited fears among the millions of people living and working in the U.S. illegally. More than 500 workers turned up at the KIWA’s event, several hundred more than initially expected as word of the government program and the registration clinic spread by word of mouth.
With applications averaging 60 days to be processed, the workers found themselves in a race against the clock to try to secure four years of protections before Trump takes office on Jan. 20. With time running out, aid groups are ending their registration efforts. Hundreds of workers from California traveled to Las Vegas over the weekend, where Arriba, an organization that helped run the Koreatown event, held a final registration clinic.
Although Trump is widely expected to do away with the program, immigrant labor advocates said they don’t expect officials in the new administration will rescind work permits that have already been granted.
Bliss Requa-Trautz, executive director of Arriba, a Las Vegas-based advocacy group, said she warns workers of the risks that come with applying to the deferred action program: Although applications are meant to be confidential, applying nonetheless makes authorities aware an worker is in the country illegally, giving rise to the possibility that they could be targeted for deportation afterward.
“Once you’re in the system you’re visible to the agencies, whereas otherwise folks might be flying under the radar. It’s a certain level of visibility that comes with a risk,” said Alexandra Suh, executive director of the Koreatown worker center.
Regardless, for many workers who take odd jobs under the table or use a false Social Security number to work, a temporary job permit can mean better pay and at least temporary reprieve from the fear of being deported.
A man who said he immigrated to the United States from Chihuahua, Mexico, more than 20 years ago sat in a white plastic chair waiting his turn to meet with an attorney at the Koreatown registration drive. He learned about the clinic from some of his friends whom he used to work with at Bella+Canvas, a local apparel manufacturer and wholesaler. The company has worked with BaronHR, a staffing agency that has come under scrutiny from federal agencies for alleged abuses of workers it recruits for warehouses, factories and distribution center jobs in California and elsewhere.
“I am sure my life is going to change,” said the man, who asked to be identified by only his first name, Hector. “I’m going to be able to take more work to help my family.”
During the Obama administration, authorities began granting relief to workers involved in some labor cases and the program was formalized under Biden at the beginning of 2023. As of the end of October, over 7,700 workers had been granted protections under the program for assistance in more than 50 investigations by state and federal agencies, according to Department of Homeland Security. Over the summer the length of the protection was expanded from two years to four.
An investigation of a chemical leak that killed six workers at a Georgia poultry plant in 2021 served as an early test case of how granting protections to workers could help bolster the collection of evidence and testimony, said Jessie Hahn, senior counsel for labor and employment policy at the National Immigration Law Center. Immigrant workers had initially hesitated to come forward because they feared retaliation by the plant owner, including a call to local police or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she said.
“One thing to understand is that this program does not have a humanitarian purpose. It has a law enforcement purpose,” Hahn said. “The government is trying to facilitate investigations.”
Hahn said her organization has partnered with the United Farm Workers union to help farmworkers employed by major farms and labor brokers under investigation by California’s workplace safety agency enroll in the program.
Daniel Lopez, a spokesperson for California’s Department of Industrial Relations, said state labor agencies including the Labor Commissioner’s office and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health have submitted about 150 requests to the Department of Homeland Security requesting protections for workers employed by companies under investigation. Each request can cover multiple workers.
Attorney Yvonne Medrano of Los Angeles-based Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, said the loss of the program would not only affect workers, but also would create an uneven playing field for employers that follow the rules since it will become difficult to punish bad actors that are flouting minimum wage laws and other regulations.
“We want workers to speak out against bad employers because it benefits everybody,” she said.
To apply, a person must show a letter issued by a government agency naming the worker’s employers as the subject of an investigation and that specifies the period covered by the inquiry. A worker admitted into the program is not required to cooperate with the investigation.
A worker who asked to be identified by only his first initial, “A,” because of fear of being identified as being in the country illegally, decided the day of the clinic to drive from Santa Fe Springs with his parents to the Koreatown clinic. He was among many workers at the clinic employed by BaronHR. Until the firm collapsed earlier this year, workers the firm employed were often underpaid and working in unsafe conditions, according to a New York Times report published Sunday.
The 30-year-old, who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador with his family when he was 10 years old, had been reluctant to apply to DALE over fears of reprisals if he spoke out about the staffing agency, which also employed his parents. And after so many years living in the country illegally, he also didn’t trust the program really offered the possibility of working in the country legally.
“Growing up undocumented you grow skeptical, with a nonstop defense mechanism. Even though I’ve seen co-workers get permits, I haven’t accepted it,” A. said. “I’m protecting myself by not letting myself care too much.”
Around 5 p.m., as the light disappeared and the air grew chilly, Jovita Bautista, 50, stayed at her post at the check-in desk outside KIWA, where she had been stationed since 8 a.m. Bautista had applied for her work permit in early August, and received it weeks later.
She said she has been able to secure better-paying work, leaving behind her minimum-wage staffing agency job. She now does the same work, but because she is directly employed by the Intuit Dome arena in Inglewood, she is paid $22 per hour, she said.
Bautista said she admires Trump for what she describes as his business acumen, and said she owns three of his books. But she fears his impending presidency, because she worries about her siblings who are in the country without authorization.
“I like Donald Trump, but not as president.”