By Diane Harris

In January 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE) to strengthen labor standards enforcement for immigrant workers. The program gave workers in labor disputes temporary protection from deportation and work authorization, ensuring they could participate in investigations without fear. Yet earlier this summer the Trump Administration ended the program with little notice. Now, millions of immigrant workers are at risk of workplace abuses and injuries.  

What is DALE? 

For decades, DHS had occasionally provided temporary protections for people serving as witnesses in labor or civil rights cases. DALE was significant because it formalized and streamlined this process. The program established a centralized system and made it easier for workers to apply for protection from deportation and work permits and for labor agencies to hold employers accountable. In its first year, DALE encouraged more workers to testify in hearings and provide evidence in investigations, strengthening labor standards enforcement for all workers.  

Why DALE Matters  

All workers deserve safe jobs, fair pay, and the ability to speak up when those standards are violated. Yet worker exploitation remains a problem in the United States, from unsafe conditions to wage theft to union busting. Immigrant and undocumented workers are especially at risk because of occupational segregation, racial profiling, and concentration in industries with high rates of abuse and retaliation.  

Without DALE, these workers must once again weigh reporting violations against the risk of deportation. This threat is even more acute now, as the administration continues its campaign for mass deportations, now with more funding than ever before and expanded expedited removals allowing officials to deport noncitizens without a court hearing. This results in a chilling effect that silences workers, makes it harder for agencies to enforce labor laws, and emboldens abusive employers.  

The Costs of Silencing Workers  

Research shows that immigrant workers are particularly vulnerable and face a disproportionate rate of abuse in the workplace. A landmark survey of 4,300 workers in low-wage positions in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York found that immigrant workers are nearly twice as likely as U.S.-born workers to experience minimum wage violations. Female undocumented workers are the most at risk, with almost half of these respondents experiencing a minimum wage violation in the previous week.  

Immigrant workers are also more likely than U.S.-born workers to be injured or killed at work. In 2024, two-thirds of Latino workers who died on the job were born outside the United States. Despite these conditions, immigrant workers are less likely to report violations because of the ever-present threat of deportation as retaliation. 

When immigrant workers lose protections, the consequences ripple across the entire workforce. If workers cannot report abuse safely, employers face little accountability and can more easily cut corners on safety, commit wage theft, or retaliate against anyone who speaks up. This drives down standards for all workers.  

A Pattern of Priorities 

Ending DALE is part of broader pattern: prioritizing immigration enforcement over worker protections. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found that between 2012 and 2021, immigration enforcement received more federal funding than any other labor-related priority. In May of this year, the administration requested increased funding for the Department of Homeland Security by nearly 65 percent for fiscal year 2026, while ignoring urgent issues that impact all workers like affordable housing, rising costs of living, and worker safety. At the same time, programs like Medicaid and the Child Tax Credit face cuts—further undermining the well-being of working families. 

This approach makes one thing clear: the Trump Administration is willing to sacrifice the health and safety of our workforce in pursuit of a xenophobic agenda.  

Conclusion 

The end of DALE weakens labor enforcement, silences immigrant workers, and leaves all workers more vulnerable to abuse. To protect workers in the absence of DALE, Congress must use its oversight power to ensure that workplace enforcement remains centered on workers. This means upholding existing protections for workers and their families and guaranteeing that information shared during the application process cannot be used against them.  

To learn more about how to support immigrant workers, please refer to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network’s “Get Involved” webpage.