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UNDOCUMENTED HOTEL WORKERS FIRED FOR UNION ACTIVITIES WIN POSTPONEMENT OF DEPORTATION
Seven workers at a Minneapolis, Minnesota, Holiday Inn who were fired and reported to the INS for working without authorization have won a two-year postponement of their deportation.  The workers claimed they were fired because they had been engaged in efforts to unionize the workplace.  The hotel manager claimed he fired them only after discovering that they did not have work authorization, and wanted to avoid being fined by the INS. 
The National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission took up the workers’ case.  These agencies filed suit against the hotel for unlawful discrimination and unfair labor practices.  The cases were settled, and the hotel paid each worker 00.  
That the workers have been allowed to remain in the US shows that the federal government is serious about a recently announced EEOC policy that prevents employment discrimination against all workers in the US, regardless of their immigration status.  According to the workers, the hotel knew they were undocumented and took advantage of this fact, making them work long hours with low pay, holding the threat of deportation over them.  
While the decision has met with much approval, as with most matters involving immigration, there are those who are opposed.  As in so many circumstances, it is Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has spoken out on the anti-immigrant side.  According to Rep. Smith, “It is discrimination to give these illegal aliens a settlement plus what amounts to an amnesty when anyone else would receive only a settlement.” 
While the workers remain in the US, they will be given work authorization.  After the two-year reprieve, the workers must return to their home countries.