http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hslett ... tml#626246
July 14, 2005

INS ruse was unfair to hard working immigrants

The Associated Press recently reported that the Immigration and Naturalization Service used a sham, mandatory OSHA safety training session at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base to ensnare undocumented workers. In essence, the INS used a respected and important tool for workplace safety to trap workers who showed up hoping to learn how to protect their safety on the job.

This worsens difficult conditions for aid workers who already face an uphill battle against the justified fears of a frightened population. For almost 30 years the Durham based non-profit group the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Project (NCOSH) has worked to educate North Carolina workers on their rights to safe and healthy workplaces. We have dedicated substantial resources to conducting outreach to immigrant workers over the past 10 years.

Our mission is to educate, but also to give power to workers to exercise their rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Many immigrants come to our country to escape poverty and oppression. They come and, like early American immigrants, work in some of the most dangerous jobs. Many come from countries that lack workplace safety regulations and they assume that injuries and hazards are just part of the job.

NCOSH and other immigrant advocacy groups work with this population to help them understand the laws that were created to support all workers as they contribute to our factory, industrial and service industries.

What the INS has done is to undermine the cornerstone of my organization's grassroots organizing and the state of North Carolina's own Occupational Safety and Health Division's hard won trust from immigrant workers. The INS's callous misuse of a critical tool for workers can only help perpetuate the unfair treatment of immigrant workers.

The writer is executive director of the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Project.

Amy Kaufman
DURHAM
July 14, 2005