In this study, RTI International investigates immigrant workers and labor trafficking in the construction and hospitality sectors in four communities.
This research undertaken by RTI International concludes that immigrant workers face additional vulnerabilities to labor exploitation in the hospitality and construction industries because of their legal statuses. The brief provides an overview of key findings related to how immigrant workers in these industries are vulnerable to exploitation because of their legal status. Both workers and experts interviewed shared how employers exploit both authorized and unauthorized workers’ immigration status and prevent them from seeking help for their exploitation. Immigrant workers also experience barriers to accessing legal help and other community-based assistance for their exploitation. The authors provide an overview of interventions that can prevent, respond to, and intervene in employers’ exploitation of immigrant workers and allow immigrants to work with safety and dignity. The objective of this study was to explore how the recruitment, control, concealment, and needs of labor trafficking victims vary across industries in two sectors: construction and hospitality. The study included primary data collection activities in four communities: Denver Metro Area, CO; Summit County, CO; Chicago Metro Area, IL; and New York Metro Area, NY. Government, social services, and labor organizations can work together to seek interventions that protect immigrant workers from abuse, bolster their labor rights, and prevent their future exploitation in many ways. Most anti-trafficking efforts by law enforcement and community-based organizations have focused on sex trafficking. Labor trafficking, when prioritized at all, is often conceptualized as a single phenomenon—the variation in industries in which labor trafficking occurs and the variation in victim experiences within these industries are sorely overlooked. The lack of sector-specific knowledge about labor trafficking victimization limits the extent to which law enforcement, regulatory agencies, health officials, and community-based advocates can identify and respond to this crime.