Employers of domestic workers push for legislation to protect immigrants

Employers of domestic workers are calling on New York’s leaders to pass the New York For All Act and other legislation to protect immigrants in the state. This week, 89 employers affiliated with Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network plan to send a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie urging action as federal immigration crackdowns inspire fear across the state. They caution that beyond the material harm that would be felt in immigrant communities, the economic impact would be substantial as well. 

Undocumented New Yorkers pay billions in state and local tax revenue and make up 10% of the care worker labor force, according to the Center for Migration Studies. Some employers fear that a reduction in this labor force via immigration raids, the effects of which have already been felt in agriculture, could have a knock-on effect as those unable to find cleaners or care for their loved ones in turn drop out of the workforce. 

Rachel Kahan, who currently employs housecleaners, said that she does not believe she would not have been able to sustain a career without relying on nannies and home care workers in the past. Without them, she said, “no other work is possible.” She and other home care employers are particularly concerned about the risks that undocumented workers now face getting to and from work.

“I definitely know other employers who have had these tough conversations with the people who work in their home to sort of say, ‘how can we make sure that you get to and from work safely?’” Kahan said. 

Murad Awawdeh, the executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said that the New York For All Act, which would largely prohibit collaboration between state and local government and federal immigration authorities, is the most straightforward route to protect undocumented New Yorkers and allay any fears they may have. 

“We're hoping that this gets done before session’s over in June, and we're calling on the state Legislature to pass the bill. It is critically important that they take it up with urgency. We're already seeing local police departments operate in a rogue fashion to collude with Border Patrol and ICE,” Awawdeh said. “And in this moment, we need to be thinking about, how are we protecting New Yorkers, not putting them in harm's way?”

The letter from home care employers also calls on the Legislature to pass the Dignity Not Detention Act, which would prohibit government entities from entering into immigrant detention contracts; the Access to Representation Act, which would establish the right to legal counsel in immigration court; and the Clemency Justice Act, would establish application processing and review requirements for reprieves, commutations and pardons. 

It remains to be seen whether lawmakers will take up immigration-related bills now that the budget has passed. On Tuesday, Stewart-Cousins told reporters that there aren’t any clear cut priorities for her conference with about a month left of session. 

“I have members who have a lot of great legislation that will be impactful in all different areas. So we're going to push through as many as we can. I couldn't say I want this one over that one or this one over that one” she said. “I think we've always been responsive to what the climate is.”