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Notes
For an in-depth discussion of the structures, mission and characteristics of workers’ rights centers around the nation, see Fine, 2006.
For research on nationwide trends, see: Fine, 2006; De Castro et al, 2006; Martin et al, 2007; Bernhardt et al, 2009.
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the state, ranking fourth in size among the nation's counties. The Workers' Center is located in downtown Phoenix within Maricopa County.
According to the organization “No More Deaths,” there have been 252 bodies or remains found in the Arizona desert between 1 Oct 2009 and the time of this writing. See: No More Deaths, 2010.
Despite local decisions to create “English only” or “English as the Official Language” laws, “http://www.lep.gov/13166/eo13166.html” mandates that federally funded programs and agencies provide “language assistance” for those with limited language proficiency. Though the Obama administration has made the enforcement of Executive Order 13166 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a priority, limited funding has impacted the DOL's ability to provide “meaningful” access to services (that is, the hiring of additional bilingual staff). However, since early 2010, the state DOL reposted some Spanish language resources on its website. See: Federal Interagency Working Group, 2003.
SB 1070 required, among many things, that if an officer has contact with an individual through normal course of dealings (that is, pulling someone over for a traffic violation), and the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person might be in the country illegally, he or she is required by law to investigate the person's documentation status. Judge Susan Bolton determined that this part of the law would not go into effect on 29 July, though other pieces of the bill continue to be litigated (Rau et al, 2010). To read the full text of the bill, please see: Arizona State Legislator, 2010.
Rev. Trina Zelle, director and founder of the Worker Rights Center reported: “It used to be, until July 1 of 2008, most of the websites of the enforcement agencies in Arizona were bilingual in English and Spanish both. After this ballot initiative about English only all of the websites scrubbed their Spanish language, which means that if you're not strong in English or you don’t speak it at all, even if you were to get the number and call them, the [voice] message is in English. Now if you can finally get down there, they might have somebody that can translate. But, that's not even a guarantee. It's not a friendly system. Even though the individuals that work there tend to want to help, they’re not equipped to help.”
Though some Spanish language materials have since been reposted to the DOL website, the state DOL still does not offer an official Spanish language complaint form, nor are all resources available in English also offered in Spanish. The website still states its English only policy “Pursuant to Article XXVIII of the Arizona Constitution, the official language of the State of Arizona is English. Except as otherwise provided by law, translations or communications in a language other than English are unofficial and are not binding on this state” (See Industrial Commission of Arizona, 2010).
Preference is given to those requiring a translator in the highest courts (superior court).
Given the extreme costs of crossing into the United States, migrants often arrive with a high debt that they must pay off immediately.
The following publication lists the eligibility requirements for federally funded programs, to which undocumented immigrants do not have access (including Temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), Supplemental security income (SSI), Food stamps, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Social Security or any other federal benefits) – with the exception of emergency Medicaid. See: National Immigration Law Foundation, 2006.
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Téllez, M., Sanidad, C. & de la Fuente, N. Immigration and the state of labor: Building a movement in the valley of the sun. Lat Stud 9, 145–154 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2011.10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2011.10