Lawyers react to proposals to protect undocumented workers

COSTA CENTRAL, Calif. (KION) According to local immigration lawyers, if the deportation protection plan for undocumented people is approved, it could leave many undocumented families without jobs.

The proposals in these memos could have a negative impact on the local economy as there could be less hiring and job losses.

Ariadna Renteria, an immigration attorney from Santa Cruz County, said that while there is an intention to protect the working conditions of undocumented immigrants, the second objective is to protect the labor market.

According to Renteria, that could cause local employers to implement more restrictions when hiring their workers.

"A lot of times what happens is that a series of black market labor virtues are created, where the employer tries to cover himself," Renteria said, "So that can have an impact on the labor supply and also that can have an impact on the way employers hire individuals."

At the same time, Renteria sees the positive side of the proposal, which is that it would protect workers who faced labor abuses.

This is just a memorandum. It means that leaders have 60 days to develop policy proposals to implement the change.

To read more about the proposals click here.