In 2017, José Martin Paz Flores fell from a ladder and broke his leg while installing drywall.

Such injuries are not unusual in the construction industry, where workers have among the highest risk for both fatal and non-fatal work-related injuries. What was unusual was what happened to Flores after the injury.

Flores’s employer did not have active workers’ compensation insurance, which employers are required to hold to cover their workers’ medical expenses and lost wages following an occupational injury. After Flores came to his employer’s office to receive cash meant to cover some of his medical expenses, he was arrested by Boston Police and ICE officials while his 2-year-old son watched.

Fears of similar deportation efforts targeting workers are growing as the Trump administration steps up raids targeting workplaces across the country, a major spark for the recent protests in Los Angeles.

Announcing these new efforts, the so-called “border czar” Tom Homan said, “You’re going to see more work site enforcement than you’ve ever seen in the history of this nation. We’re going to flood the zone.” One of the likely consequences of these efforts to “flood the zone” and target undocumented workers will be making these workers less likely to report dangerous work conditions or labor law violations such as unpaid wages.

Undocumented workers are employed in some of the........

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