Some anti-immigrant groups are calling for more worksite raids to accelerate deportations. We developed a tool to meet this moment.
We know from our direct experience—including the response to last year’s Hyundai raid in Georgia—that worksite raids are chaotic, terrifying, and life-altering for workers, families, and entire communities. When a parent or caregiver is detained, the consequences are immediate and devastating: food insecurity, uncertainty regarding child custody, and a desperate need for legal defense.
With that in mind, and in partnership with technologists from the Social Justice Partnership, we developed an easy-to-navigate, bilingual, trauma-informed tool designed to deliver critical, holistic support to migrant and immigrant communities facing mass worksite raids, which we were thrilled to present earlier this month at the Take Back Tech in Atlanta, Georgia.
This powerful digital tool enables community-based organizations and advocates to rapidly respond to reports of worksite raids and provide well-organized, coordinated in-person and virtual support to screen workers for civil and employment rights violations, to assess their need for legal and material support, and then to securely share information with service providers like lawyers and community organizations. In short, the tool provides organizations responding to these crises a way to coordinate quickly, securely, and effectively.
The intake tool is pre-loaded with trauma-informed questions, ensuring advocates can screen workers safely without the need for multiple, re-traumatizing rounds of questioning. The tool is programmed to break down information into separate, secure databases to protect privileged communications. With workers’ consent, this data can be shared safely among trusted service providers and legal advocates, ensuring a coordinated, effective response.
Our team at CDM has already trained thousands of workers on how to protect themselves during worksite raids, and a network of more than 2,000 attorneys and volunteers on how to support workers during raids. CDM is currently in conversation with advocates, unions, and community-based organizations to scale the tool’s access and usefulness across the country, from California to New York.
This May Day, we invite you to invest in the future of worker defense. Your support helps us develop and scale bold, innovative tools we need to fight back against exploitation and build a just future for all.