Maryland lawmakers are looking at making it illegal to extort someone based on their immigration status.
Current Maryland extortion laws extend to virtually all categories, with the exception of immigration status. And it’s not just in Maryland. Only three states — Virginia is one of them — make it illegal to extort undocumented people based on their immigration status.
“It has become common practice for certain employers to take advantage of the vulnerability of undocumented immigrants,” says Del. Marice Morales (D-Montgomery).
She says when the extortion happens, it’s usually to get undocumented workers to accept less pay for their work, or to stay working on a project longer than they are contracted for.
“The employer will either keep any kind of identifying documents. And a lot of times with undocumented workers, the only identifying document they have is a passport,” Morales says. “And they naively give it to the employer at the beginning of the project negotiation phase. Or, the employer can instill this fear by saying that they will report the undocumented status of that worker to law enforcement.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Matt Bush over at WAMU
