Publications

Navigating Trust: COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Across Protein Processing Worker Communities

Throughout the summer of 2022, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM), in collaboration with the CDC and community-based organizations, conducted a survey to better understand the experiences of protein processing workers and community members with COVID-19 vaccines, as well as their perceptions of various prevention efforts. This research sought to highlight the key factors influencing vaccination decisions during a time when vaccines were widely available for adults and children.

Through interviews with 206 protein processing workers and community members, the survey revealed that vaccine decisions were influenced by a combination of community engagement, addressing practical needs, personal experiences, and access to clear, readily available information.

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Protein Processing Worker Project: Year 2 Impact Report

With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM) is coordinating the Protein Processing Worker Project through a Cooperative Agreement to control the spread of infectious diseases among protein processing workers and their communities through a comprehensive communications and outreach campaign. To implement the project’s diverse activities, CDM is convening a coalition of thirteen community-based partners who are deeply connected with workers employed in industries like poultry, seafood, pork and beef processing, especially immigrant and migrant workers.

Today, we are proud to share with you our second year impact report which details our partnership-based model and the incredible results we achieved alongside our 13 partner organizations.

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Protein Processing Worker Project: 2020-2021 impact report

Together, our coalition led Health Within Our Reach, a digital and in-person communications and outreach campaign to increase COVID-19 health and safety best practices, encourage testing, and promote vaccine information and access

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Unpacking the facts: A rapid assessment of protein processing workers’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

A CDM survey with 288 protein processing workers in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia revealed that migrant and immigrant workers, those with limited English proficiency, and women in protein processing industries were disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

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Breaking the Shell: How Maryland’s Migrant Crab Pickers Continue to Be “Picked Apart”

A followup to 2010’s Picked Apart: The Hidden Struggles of Migrant Worker Women in the Maryland Crab Industry, this new report reveals how H-2B guestworkers remain in a daily fight for their rights and dignity in an atmosphere still rife with gender-based abuse — even when they have been deemed ‘essential’ workers under the COVID-19 pandemic.

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15-Year Impact Report (2020)

CDM has led countless victories in workplaces, courtrooms, and the halls of power. We could not have done it without powerful worker leaders, our allies across movements, and the supporters who have fueled our fight for justice.

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Ripe for Reform: Abuses of Agricultural Workers in the H-2A Visa Program

From September 2019 to January 2020, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (Center for Migrants’ Rights, or “CDM”) traveled across Mexico to interview 100 individuals who had worked as H-2A workers in the U.S. within the past four years. These in-depth interviews revealed a dark side to the H-2A program. The program is rife with systemic violations of workers’ legal rights.

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Shining A Light on Summer Work: A First Look at the Employers Using the J-1 Summer Work Travel Visa

The first-ever, data-informed picture of employment realities in the J-1 Summer Work Travel Program (SWT).

Friend-of-the-Court Brief: NY Farmworkers’ Exclusion from Legal Protections

Through the voices of workers, this CDM friend-of-the-court brief challenges New York farmworkers’ exclusion from legal protections for the right to organize and bargain collectively—rights guaranteed to all under the state’s constitution.

Taken for a Ride

Taken for a Ride: Migrant Workers in the U.S. Fair and Carnival Industry

Picked Apart

Picked Apart: The Hidden Struggles Of Migrant Worker Women In The Maryland Crab Industry

Friend-of-the-Court Brief Seeks to Put a Stop to Exploitative Recruitment Fees

Alongside over a dozen allies, CDM filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit holding employers accountable for charging illegal fees in international labor recruitment.

Recruitment Revealed

Recruitment Revealed: Fundamental Flaws in the H-2 Temporary Worker Program and Recommendations for Change

Monitoring International Labor Recruitment

Monitoring International Labor Recruitment: A Cross-Visa Exploration of Regulatory Challenges

The American Dream Up for Sale

The American Dream Up for Sale: A Blueprint for Ending International Labor Recruitment Abuse

Coerced Under NAFTA

Coerced under NAFTA: Abuses of Migrant Workers in the TN Visa Program and Recommendations for Reform

Engendering Exploitation

Engendering Exploitation: Gender Inequality in U.S. Labor Migration Programs

Engendering Exploitation: Gender Inequality in U.S. Labor Migration Programs – Worker Stories

Impact Report 2015

Ten Years of Impact documents CDM’s first decade of groundbreaking, transnational advocacy. Read the report to learn more about our unique model for impactful migrant justice advocacy.