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Immigrants are Most Exploited by Wage Theft

Plus: Maine faith leaders push senator to support path to citizenship, and immigrant advocates protest at Port of Miami

This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.

A report by the Center for Public Integrity highlights how immigrants are often not paid fairly by their employers, despite working some of the most burdensome jobs. Through an analysis of Labor Department and U.S. Census Bureau data, the investigative reporting outlet found “industries with higher percentages of foreign-born workers had higher rates of wage theft.” The Center for Public Integrity zooms in on the story of Audelia Molina, a Mexican immigrant who asked for help from a labor rights attorney to file an unpaid-wage complaint with the California Labor Commissioner. The state later found that Molina’s employers were violating labor laws and other rules. The Center for Public Integrity

In other national immigration news…

Maine Faith Leaders Hold Vigil to Push for Path to Citizenship

Maine faith leaders on Monday held a vigil in front of U.S. Sen. Angus King’s office in Portland, asking the senator to help speed up processing of DACA cases and push to pass a path to citizenship.Twelve Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in Maine also sent a letter to Sen. King urging him to “come out in support of clearing the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services backlog of more than 100,000 unprocessed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications and requests.” Maine Beacon

Immigrant Advocates Block Entrance to PortMiami, 10 Arrested

Immigration activists came together at PortMiami on Monday to condemn the deportations of Haitians, and ten people were arrested for civil disobedience. Dozens of people participated in the rally, and a group used their bodies to block the port’s road for several hours while demanding that Vice President Kamala Harris help create a path to citizenship. The demonstrators halted traffic near the Torch of Friendship in Miami for several hours, which was built in 1960 to “to signify the passageway for immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean to the U.S.” CBS Miami

Facebook Will Pay Financial Penalty for Reserving Lucrative Jobs for Immigrants

The U.S. government last year accused Facebook of “illegally reserving lucrative jobs for immigrant workers” and sponsoring them for permanent residency, instead of “adequately” looking for U.S. workers to fill the spots. Now, Facebook Inc. has agreed to pay a financial penalty as part of settlements with the government. Facebook will pay $4.75 million to the U.S. government, and up to $9.5 million to the victims of the discrimination who are eligible, according to the Justice Department. The department said this was “the largest fine and financial award its civil-rights division has ever made.” The Wall Street Journal

Barriers Ensue for Immigrants in California Rent Relief Program

California has now tied its eviction protections to whether a tenant applies for rental assistance — but advocates are worried this could leave immigrants behind. Many immigrants who may not speak English, do not have a standard lease or don’t have the same access to digital necessities as others are not applying for aid “at the same rate as their estimated need,” advocates said. The state’s most recent data show there was a drop in rent relief applications from non-English speakers, though measuring rent relief equity is difficult. Jefferson Public Radio

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