California bill would combat worker exploitation and labor trafficking | Opinion
Each year, tens of thousands of workers come to California on legal temporary visas ready to do hard work that puts food on our tables and fills critical labor gaps. But few people realize — including many well-meaning lawmakers — that the exploitation often begins long before those workers ever step foot in the state.
I run a nonprofit labor recruitment agency called CIERTO. We recruit workers ethically in Mexico and Central America, using a model recognized by the International Labour Organization and the U.S. government. But I’ll be honest: Doing it the right way is not the norm.
We meet workers who’ve been charged thousands of dollars in illegal fees by recruiters just to work legally in California. Some pay up to $10,000. Many go into debt, sign contracts they don’t understand or face blacklisting or deportation if they speak up. This happens in rural towns, border cities and remote villages — well outside the reach of any state or federal labor inspector.
One woman I met assumed she would need to pay us a bribe to avoid being trafficked or abused. She had 60,000 pesos (about $3,000) hidden in her bag, believing she had to pay to stay safe. She had heard of women being trafficked if they didn’t pay. Her own brother, who had worked in the U.S. under H-2A visas, had always paid to avoid problems. When we told her there were no fees, she cried.
My experience recruiting workers ethically is why I support Assembly Bill 1362, authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, D–San José. The bill doesn’t create a new agency or burden ethical employers, it simply says that if you’re hiring a recruiter to find workers abroad, that recruiter should be registered, bonded and transparent about the job offer. Workers should get a written contract in their own language, and they should know their rights before they get on a bus or plane — not after they arrive and are trapped in debt.
Recent federal actions have only made this more urgent. The Trump administration dismantled the U.S. State Department’s anti-trafficking office, eliminating key oversight and survivor support functions just as the risk of abuse rises. At the same time, new federal guidance restricts immigrant access to workforce programs, pushing vulnerable workers further into the shadows.
With federal protections unraveling, California has a responsibility to lead.
Some opponents of AB 1362 say existing federal laws already provide protections. But those protections don’t cover overseas recruitment. A recruiter in rural Guatemala doesn’t answer to California or federal labor officials. Even if they did, by the time a violation is discovered, the damage is often done, the debt has been paid and the fear has taken root.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, the majority of trafficking cases involving foreign nationals in the U.S. involve workers on legal temporary visas — especially H-2A agricultural workers. And those cases are just the tip of the iceberg. A recent federal lawsuit in Michigan shows how easy it still is for recruiters to charge illegal fees, confiscate passports and use threats to keep workers silent.
As a recruiter, I want to compete on a level playing field. We invest time and money to ensure our recruitment is clean. But bad actors undercut that effort — charging fees, making false promises and turning a blind eye to abuse. AB 1362 helps fix that by making transparency the standard across the board.
Businesses hire me to bring them qualified workers, yet unethical recruiters often double-dip: charging workers illegal fees even though the employer is already paying. This violates the law and harms both sides — the employer ends up unknowingly associated with forced labor practices, and workers arrive deep in debt, often unaware the fees are unlawful in the first place.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about basic fairness. No one should have to risk trafficking or fraud just to take a legal job. California has the tools to stop that abuse before it starts.
Joe Martinez is executive director and co-founder of CIERTO, where he works with governments, NGOs and employers to strengthen ethical recruitment systems and prevent labor trafficking across North America.
This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "California bill would combat worker exploitation and labor trafficking | Opinion."