June 12, 2025
Contact: Tochtli Garcia, tgarcia@nationalcosh.org, +1 917 804 8581

• National COSH Condemns ICE Raids as an Assault on Human Dignity, Worker Safety, and Immigrant Rights

• Federal Immigration Tactics Are Tearing Families Apart and Undermining Worker Protections Across the U.S.

Los Angeles, CA – The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) strongly denounces the recent escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at workplaces and in public spaces across the United States. While national attention has focused on Los Angeles, similar raids are happening in Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, and other cities, often without media coverage or warning to communities.  

These are not isolated events. They are deliberate attacks on working people—raids that traumatize families, silence essential workers, and erode the foundation of safety and dignity that every human being deserves. Our very own worker leaders from the National COSH Network have already been directly targeted, and left fearful of participating in community spaces, advocacy campaigns, and trainings.

“As the daughter of immigrants who built their life in this country, I am calling on U.S. citizens and allies, especially white community members, academics, and safety professionals, to rise to this moment,” said Jessica E. Martinez, Executive Director of National COSH. “Our worker leaders are afraid. They fear going to community meetings, speaking up in campaigns, even showing up for trainings. Now more than ever, we need you to be the voice where they cannot.”

Now is the time to show up! 
We are calling on those with privilege — U.S. citizens, safety experts, allies in positions of influence — to stand visibly and vocally with immigrant workers:

• Speak out in your communities
• Join actions and mobilizations
• Use your platforms to call out injustice
• Support local worker centers and immigrant-led organizations

“ICE is not protecting public safety, they are creating public fear,” Martinez said. “When agents show up at a job site or a child’s graduation to detain a parent, they are disrupting lives and destroying trust. These are not isolated incidents; they are part of a broader pattern of criminalizing immigrant labor and silencing voices.”

National COSH and its affiliates are deeply rooted in the communities now under siege. From coast to coast, we are witnessing the silencing of workers who already face some of the most dangerous jobs in our economy. These raids deepen that danger by pushing workers further into the shadows, unable to report injuries, violations, or abuse without fear of detention or deportation.

“We will continue to stand alongside immigrant workers, and we call on all of you to do the same,” said Martinez. “If you have the privilege of safety, use it. If you have the ability to speak, speak for those forced into silence. Our movement depends on your courage and your solidarity.”

Facts You Can’t ignore:

• Latino and immigrant workers suffer the highest rates of workplace fatalities in the United States.
• Latino workers account for nearly 1 in 5 workplace deaths .
• Immigrant workers represented 64% of all fatalities in the construction laborer category — one of the deadliest jobs in the U.S.
• In 2022, the fatal injury rate for Latino workers was 4.6 per 100,000 full-time workers, compared to the national average of 3.7 — a gap that continues to grow.
• Immigrant and Latino workers are less likely to report unsafe conditions, due to fear of retaliation, job loss, or deportation — creating a perfect storm of vulnerability.
• Industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor — like agriculture, meatpacking, construction, and domestic work — are consistently among the most dangerous and least regulated.

These raids are not about safety or justice. They are about discrimination and dehumanization. Actions that target millions based solely on where they come from are now dangerously becoming normalized as public policy. That’s why we must speak up, be visible, and defend the dignity of our communities.

“Let’s be the allies our immigrant communities need,” said Martinez. “Let’s warn our neighbors, organize against these terrifying raids, and stand with those who are being silenced. Because all of us, at some point, come from immigrant roots. And all of us deserve to live and work without fear.”

Message to Immigrant Workers:
We are here for you. You have rights — and most importantly, you have a community that stands with you. Seek out trusted local immigrant rights organizations in your area. Make an emergency plan. You are not alone.

Resources:
To access materials and resources on the rights of immigrant workers, as well as tools to defend and protect immigrant workers, visit: nationalcosh.org/Safety-Without-Borders