Demographics
There are more male than female illegal workers in San Diego’s labor force. The population’s age ranges from 18 to 34 years, and most workers are illiterate of inadequate education. Among the unauthorized population, 98% are Mexican, and the rest come from Latin America. Many migrants have conventional housing, such as trailers and apartments, while others live with friends and family. Due to inadequate education, most immigrants engage in casual labor, such as janitorial services and construction.
Prevalence of Abuse in Specific Industries
More than half of San Diego’s immigrant population enter the country through labor trafficking and experience violence at the workplace. Findings indicate that 30% of the people are victims of labor trafficking, while 5% are victims of abusive labor. The workers face more violence and force in working institutions than during trafficking, making employees the most abusive parties in the trade. During recruitment and transportation, 6% of the population experience abuse from smugglers, and 20% undergo abusive practices while traveling, such as beatings and starvation.
Industries that abuse immigrants the most include janitorial, food processing, and the construction sector. The janitorial industry leads in the trafficking of human labor and abusive working environments to immigrants, while the agricultural sector has the most minimal reports of labor trafficking and abuse. Some abusive practices include physical abuse such as threats of injury, actual assault of the body, sexual harassment.
Employers also abuse workers by obstructing entry into the workplace or depriving them of fundamental human rights like freedom of speech and interaction. Unauthorized workers are subject to long working hours without extra compensation because the immigrant cannot complain to the authorities. Illegal workers also experience false accusations involving fraud and manipulating statements, compromising job contracts. Finally, the workers are underpaid or released from employment without payment which is unfair in the employment sector.
Workers in the food-processing sector face most physical abuse where employees work extra hours with minimal pay. According to the respondents, employers yell, abuse, and throw kitchen equipment regardless of the harm they can cause. When victims complain or threaten to leave, they are not paid the monthly salary, forcing them to persevere to earn a living. The second leading industry is janitorial, while manufacturing has the least labor trafficking and abuse cases.
Industries that most deprive and restrict employees are janitorial, food processing, and construction businesses. For instance, a respondent stated that her employer forbade her from sitting during working hours regardless of her age. At 45 years, the respondent was not allowed to have breaks and even ate while standing to avoid lagging at work. Agriculture has minor reports of deprivation and restricting immigrants’ fundamental human rights.
Deception and lying about employees are most common in the construction and janitorial sectors. Workers face threats of exposure to the authorities if they do not comply with changes in working conditions and overtime and receive minimal wages. Agriculture still maintains minor reports on abusive labor at 11% compared to manufacturing and food processing industries.
Further research on factors that may influence workplace abuse, such as financial stability and knowledge of the country’s employment and human rights, indicate that victims experience abuse regardless of civil ability or economic status. The researchers conclude that labor trafficking and abuse are more prevalent in San Diego than in other states because of the region’s high number of illegal immigrants.