KINGSTON – The Workers’ Rights Law Center in Kingston is finding that in today’s economic times, more and more immigrant labor rights are being trampled. The organization held a community forum Monday evening in an effort to seek new members to “join the battle for immigrant justice locally and nationally,” said Law Center Executive Director Milan Bhatt.

“The reality is, especially during tough economic times, we’ve seen employers go further and further in terms of curbing the basic labor rights of workers,” he said. “We’ve seen raids in recent months that have affected members of our community and we have seen an absence at the federal level of a real commitment and action in terms of introducing a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would address the issues facing immigrants in a more broad and holistic manner.”

Bhatt, whose group spoke out against the arrests of a dozen workers at a company at Stewart Airport last December, said it was his understanding some were deported and others remain in limbo as their immigration hearings are still pending.