"California lawmaker seeks to expand protections for temporary migrant workers,"

California lawmakers will consider a bill intended to expand protections for migrant workers who come to California through temporary work visa programs for jobs in agriculture, nursing, domestic care and other industries.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 1362, would require that all contracted foreign labor recruiters register with the state and follow rules aimed at preventing them from exploiting migrant workers. It would prohibit them, for example, from charging workers recruitment fees and create legal remedies for labor violations...

Anti-human trafficking advocates say that due to a lack of federal oversight, temporary visa programs are frequently exploited, with workers subject to human trafficking because of false promises and illegal schemes by third-party labor recruiters...

[Director at the Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative, Stephanie] Richard said she believes it’s crucial that lawmakers pass these protections, given the looming threat of immigration enforcement actions by the Trump administration.

“We know that business will demand more temporary workers if some of our workforce is deported, and that there will be less oversight from the federal government that will lead to more exploitation,” she said...