DHS said the improvements advance the Biden administration’s commitment to empowering workers and improving workplace conditions.

“Unscrupulous employers who prey on the vulnerability of noncitizen workers harm all workers and disadvantage businesses who play by the rules,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement.

Noncitizen workers often fear removal or other immigration-related retaliation by an abusive employer. Because of that fear, they will often refrain from reporting violations, which creates unfair labor market conditions and perpetuates the commission of unlawful and inhumane acts by employers.

The actions by employers could include nonpayment of wages, the imposition of unsafe working conditions, and chilling workers’ ability to organize and collectively bargain to improve such conditions.

“We will hold these predatory actors accountable by encouraging all workers to assert their rights, report violations they have suffered or observed, and cooperate in labor standards investigations,” Mayorkas said.

“Through these efforts, and with our labor agency partners, we will effectively protect the American labor market, the conditions of the American worksite, and the dignity of the workers who power our economy.”

DHS said that in addition to providing new guidance to labor agencies regarding processes to seek deferred action for certain workers, DHS will also provide for a single intake point for deferred action requests from noncitizen workers.

The centralized intake process will allow DHS to efficiently review these time-sensitive requests, provide additional security to eligible workers on a case-by-case basis, and more robustly support the mission of labor agencies.