Immigration lawyers and advocates say that while some applicants seek reprieves from active deportation cases, most live and work undocumented without detection, meaning they report to federal authorities in immigration for the first time.

It’s unclear how many of these workers are in California. A Homeland Security spokesperson would not release state-by-state numbers, citing “ongoing investigations.”

But California actively participates in the program; Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration says it was the first state to file a letter supporting worker protections. The state is home to nearly 1.5 million undocumented immigrant workers, representing more than 7% of the workforce.

These workers are frequently the focus of state labor law investigations, and labor rights advocates say undocumented workers regularly fear both losing their jobs and being reported to state authorities. immigration for complaining about violations at their workplace.

“This fear may prevent them from fully cooperating with labor law enforcement agencies in reporting and corroborating violations of the law,” said Daniel Lopez, a spokesman for the state labor commissioner’s office. , in a press release. “Ultimately, fewer protections harm workers and impact responsible employers. »

Over the past two years, the office, which investigates wage theft, has sent letters supporting deportation protections in 136 workplace investigations covering potentially hundreds of workers. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health sent at least 12 letters. The Farm Labor Relations Board, which oversees farm workers’ rights, sent 10, and the Department of Civil Rights, which investigates complaints of workplace discrimination, sent 60, the gates said. -speech.

The state even paid to help immigrants obtain work permits. Last year, Newsom announced $4.5 million to pay for free legal services to help agricultural workers involved in labor investigations request deferred action. The money, allocated until mid-2026, has so far determined the eligibility of more than 500 workers and 175 of them are applying for the program.

There are as many as 800,000 seasonal and permanent agricultural workers in California; it is estimated that at least half of them are undocumented.

“Agricultural areas have very limited access to immigration-related legal services,” said Jason Montiel, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services, which administers the grant to five legal aid groups statewide. “Providing farmworkers with direct access to immigration legal services when their labor rights are violated increases the likelihood that they will file labor claims and work with employment agencies.”

Spokespeople for Newsom did not respond to an inquiry about what would happen with the state grant program if federal rules changed.

Nicole Gorney, supervising attorney at VIDAS Legal Services, which receives a state grant, said she has 12 farmworker clients waiting for deferred action. She had hoped the state would expand the program to include workers in other sectors.

“There are still a lot of workers who could be eligible but who really don’t want to come out of the shadows,” she said the day after the election.

Gamez’s deferred action was granted as part of retaliation complaints he and his colleagues filed against Century Car Wash in 2018. That year, they had also filed wage theft complaints with the commissioner’s office to the work of the State. According to state records, they told the office that their managers required them to show up earlier and leave later than the companies’ hours, but that their timesheets did not match all hours worked. The car wash’s co-owners denied the allegations and told the state the timesheets were accurate.

After demanding payment from his managers, Gamez said he was fired and asked to leave in front of customers. According to state records, he and his colleagues won wage demands in 2021; a state hearing officer ruled that Gamez owed more than $20,000. But the state is still investigating allegations that the workers were fired and questioned about their immigration status in retaliation for speaking out. Last year, at the request of Gamez’s attorney, the labor commissioner’s office sent a letter to Homeland Security seeking protection from deportation for workers.

“The ongoing investigation… is being conducted by our Retaliation Complaint Investigation Unit and requires the cooperation and testimony of workers,” Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower wrote in the letter.