Today, International Migrants’ Day, marks exactly 1,000 days since migrant worker women alongside CDM and dozens of other organizations submitted a complaint under the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) against the United States for sex-discrimination in guestworker programs.
On this meaningful day, we celebrate the strength of these migrant worker women and the positive ripple effects created by their courageous complaint. By the US government’s own recognition, the women behind the USMCA complaint are to thank for many recent wins for migrant workers: a program to return owed wages to H-2A workers and an MOU between the Mexican and US governments that specifically references migrant women’s concerns, to name a few.
I am in awe of migrant worker women and everything they’ve achieved. And we are especially proud to have supported them, alongside you and many other organizations and academics, in their fight for justice. I am absolutely certain that this is the way forward to a just labor migration system: all of us working together with migrant workers leading the way.
Advancing migrant justice is a collective effort. As Daria Hernandez, a Migrant Defense Committee leader, implored government officials at the launch of Labor Rights Week, “every one of you has in your hands the power to do something to better the lives of migrant workers like me. We are hoping that you choose to do so.”
Thank you for being a part of this fight for a world where migrant worker rights are respected and laws and policies reflect their voices and experiences.