New Report: How U.S. Trade Policy Fuels Mass Migration and Worker Exploitation
Members of Congress, experts, and advocates joined Zoom launch event
Watch the full video of the report launch:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — At the heart of Donald Trump’s increasingly vicious crackdown on immigrants is the dangerous lie that they are to blame for working people’s frustrations. A new report by Public Citizen and the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) shows that, in fact, working people at home and abroad have suffered from “free trade” policies, which Trump claims to hate but has no intention of fixing.
The report, titled Exporting Instability, Importing Exploitation: The Impacts of U.S. Trade Policy on Migration in Latin America, documents how corporate-driven trade agreements have displaced millions of people, stripping them of their livelihoods and forcing them to migrate to survive. Upon arrival in the United States, they are criminalized, funneled into low-wage and exploitative industries, and detained in for-profit prisons.
Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), Chris Zatratz of the United Auto Workers, and Yunuen Trujillo of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) joined Public Citizen and NPNA for a public launch event today.
Quotes from the speakers are included below.
Iza Camarillo, report author and Global Trade Watch Research Director, Public Citizen.
“Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric deflects from the truth: migration is not the crisis, it is a foreseeable consequence of policies designed to prioritize corporate profits over human welfare and the environment.
“For years, U.S. trade policies have displaced millions from their homes, and immigration laws criminalize them for seeking refuge. These policies have created a vicious cycle that profits from their suffering at every stage while scapegoating them for political capital. The time for reform is now.”
Nicole Melaku, Executive Director, NPNA:
“As we end Immigrant Heritage Month, our communities are reeling due to relentless criminalization and enforcement. Federal focus must shift to integrating immigrants for the social, economic, and civic success of our nation. The growing divide between privileged and marginalized shows immigrant inclusion is more urgent than ever.
“As the Trump administration indiscriminately targets immigrants, carving out arbitrary exceptions to benefit billionaires, what is evident is that enforcement is nothing but a smokescreen for xenophobic politics and racist policies.
“We must uphold the dignity of all human beings regardless of immigration status, and deplore Trump’s attempt to reduce immigrants to exploitable labor for economic greed. Immigrants are our neighbors, our families, and cherished members of our communities who deserve protection and stability regardless of where they came from or what drove their journeys.”
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.):
“For decades, our trade policies have treated economic growth as a zero-sum game that has hurt U.S. workers and contributed to many of the regional migration patterns. We must chart a new direction. Ending forced labor, raising international labor standards and supporting pro-worker policies would address many of the root causes of migration. Trade should be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
Christopher Zatratz, Legislative Representative, United Auto Workers (UAW):
“The UAW has long fought to end a free trade system that exploits workers both at home and abroad. This expansive report illustrates that trade agreements like NAFTA and USMCA were always rooted in extraction and corporate greed. We will continue to organize for a trade system that no longer pits workers against each other. The working class deserves a better way of life, regardless of where we come from.”
Yunuen Trujillo, Director of Workers’ Rights and Labor Legal Services, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), an NPNA member:
“The current attack on immigrants is not just about racism—it’s about weakening workers’ rights at home. When trade policies prioritize corporate profits, the only way to ‘bring jobs back,’ as this administration claims it wants to do, is by undermining labor protections so corporations can continue reaping record profits at the expense of workers. We must not allow that to happen. Both domestic and international policies must include strong worker protections and high labor standards.
“This is an issue that concerns all of us. If you look in your closet today, your clothes were likely made by exploited hands in countries like Mexico, Honduras, Jordan, and others. And if you take pride in buying clothing labeled ‘Made in America,’ there’s an 83% chance those garments were made in Los Angeles by the very same displaced immigrant workers now being targeted by masked, unidentified federal agents through unconstitutional arrests. In a globalized economy, global labor abuse is not someone else’s concern—it’s ours.”
Jorge, a Dreamer originally from Jalisco, Mexico:
“I’ve experienced first hand the injustices from worsening climate change and our criminalizing immigration system. Climate change affects the water supply and stability of weather patterns that small farmers, like my family, depend on to sustain themselves, and without resources to overcome those impacts, they are then forced to migrate to the US and work for the giant agricultural corporations without protection or legal status.”
Patience Nji Mugah of the Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants (LORI), an NPNA member:
“Trade policies should uplift communities, not displace them. When economic agreements prioritize profit over people, migration becomes a necessity rather than a choice. We must also demand that polluting corporations and rich nations that are primarily responsible for causing the climate crisis, pay for the loss and damage they have caused, and invest in the resources that vulnerable communities need to overcome the impacts of climate change and stay in their communities and thrive.”