Similar to many countries around the world, the US bares the responsibility of the poor treatment of immigrant laborers. Farm laborers, especially, are often marginalized in the media as much attention is given to those workers in an industrial or commercial setting. In a recent article in the Daily News,  the US Senate has failed to support the US House of Representatives in passing a fair labor act for farm workers.

In a New York Times article called, “State of Shame” Bob Herbert looks at the plight of the underpaid, overworked and often gruesomely exploited immigrant farm workers in New York. In another article in Newsday, Kerry Kennedy illustrates the work of her father Robert and the horrific conditions of farm workers in New York. Sadly, most of what Robert Kennedy fought for remains unchanged today.

This exploitation is nothing new and it happens across many states. With a large number of confusing visa classifications for entry into the US, it is easy to slip into the loophole of a “cheap labor” candidate. In the past foreign workers have been granted work visas and left to humiliating conditions. A recent movie H-2 Worker reveals the systematic exploitation of Caribbean laborers by the Florida sugar industry from World War II through the 1990s.

It was only a few years ago when I first visited the USA on a J-1 “cultural exchange” visa and felt the effects of my labor being exploited. I was working in Western Pennsylvania as a naïve student straight out of high school being paid under minimum wage and no overtime for 10-12 hours a day, sometimes in the cold snow with a lack of proper protective gear. Apparently my visa allowed for this to happen…. When I approached human resources they threatened to send me home. I had spent a lot of money for my “American Experience.” The visa process alone costs hundreds of dollars and I had no choice but to stick it out so I could pay back what I spent on the program. This was not an experience I would wish to have again. My first impression of the US was far from a land of freedom.

Labor abuses do not only effect the adult population of immigrants. Many of their children feel the effect of this exploitative system as well. In a previous article in the New York Times, police raided an agricultural plant in Iowa state where 57 child immigrant laborers working with hazardous chemicals and prohibited tools like knives and saws with no safety training at all. The investigation brought to light the violation of every child labor law in Iowa.

So what is the answer to this mighty mess? Is there a way forward for immigration reform? In a recent article President Obama promised to create a path to citizenship for the 12 million immigrants trapped in our broken immigration system. He acknowledged the need to renegotiate trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that have resulted in the forced migration of an additional six million unauthorized workers from Mexico to the U.S.

In another article in the Wall Street Journal stated that in lieu of World Day Against Child Labor, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis reaffirmed the Obama administration's commitment toward combating exploitive child labor globally by continuing to provide $60 million for programs to address the issue.

So it goes to show that labor exploitation happens, even in the freest of nations and even to privileged people like you and I. Stand up for your rights! Support the International Labor Rights Forum and support workers rights.