During President Bush’s trip to Central and South America, he made several stump speeches that promote his guest worker program to discourage illegal border crossings and offer “cheap labor” to corporate America. Largely ignored by the U.S. mainstream media, it is the dark side of this much-touted program that often results in gross exploitation of foreign guest workers.

For example, hundreds of guest workers were recruited from India after paying from $15,000 to $20,000 to obtain H2 visas [intended for unskilled or skilled laborers, not professional or degreed employees] to work in the United States on a temporary or seasonal basis. They are petition-based visas, meaning that a U.S. employer must submit a request for the workers by obtaining a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor and receiving approval of an I-129 petition from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Many took loans at exorbitant high interest rates and others spent their entire life savings to get these visas with promises of lucrative jobs, green cards and permanent residency in the United States.

They were told that they would be housed in comfortable hotels and paid a handsome salary. On arrival, they had their passports and visas seized and were told they could not seek employment elsewhere. The “hotels” turned out to be large containers, housing 24 workers who had to share two bathrooms. A strict ban on outside visitors was enforced. Two hundred eighty-eight workers were employed by Signal International at their shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and about 200 in Texas, living under the same conditions. They were paid sub-standard wages, contrary to what they had been promised, and charged exorbitant rents for their sub-standard housing.

Driven by utter despair, the workers decided to go public to protest their appalling working and living conditions under threats of job termination. Mindful of the adverse publicity, Signal International told seven of the workers that their jobs have been terminated and they would be sent back to India. On hearing the news, one of the workers, Sabu Lal, became so despondent that he tried to commit suicide by slashing his wrists.

Saket Soni, spokesman for the Alliance of Guest Workers for Dignity, explained that Signal International is one of hundreds of employers, who have used the guest worker program to entice cheap imported labor, to undercut wages across the industry and maximize company profits.

Last month, more than 30 Mexican workers in Sulphur, Louisiana held a press conference to protest their working conditions. Guest workers have invoked the resentment of African Americans who have been displaced in favor of imported cheap labor.

Courageously, the Indian workers at Signal International have now formed their own union. They are demanding reinstatement of the fired workers, the immediate release of imprisoned workers, refund of their visa money obtained under false promises, and a restitution of back wages.