This week the New York Times broke a shocking story about collusion between ICE and a Mississippi contractor caught trafficking Indian guestworkers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New evidence alleges that high level executives at Signal International worked closely with ICE to quash organizing efforts by the workers, who complained of dismal working conditions and abusive treatment. Instead of investigating labor violations, ICE worked with Signal to arrange for private deportations of these workers.

The story goes back to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when defense contractor Signal International trafficked over 500 Indian guestworkers to labor camps in Mississippi and Texas. As was widely reported in the summer of 2008, Signal recruited the workers through criminal fraud and coercion.

Workers had to pay $20,000 each for false promises--including the promise of permanent jobs and a chance to bring their families to the U.S. Once they arrived to the U.S., however, these workers were forced to work long hours in slave-like conditions.

But when the workers started to organize to defend their basic civil rights, Signal retaliated with armed guards. And--as the new evidence alleges--they tried to wipe their hands clean of the complaints by working with ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to put the workers through a private deportation.

While we've seen this kind of blatant abuse of temporary immigrant workers by other abusive employers, ICE's participation in the case is chilling. Simply put: something is deeply wrong when our government puts the needs of dishonest businesses ahead of the rights of workers.

That's why SEIU is joining the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and other allies to urge Congress to conduct hearings to find out if ICE's interference in labor disputes is isolated to this shocking incident--or more widespread.

At the same time, SEIU will continue to pressure the Department of Homeland Security to hold accountable the employers who abuse our immigration system. The bottom line is that any immigration enforcement system should be part of--not in conflict with--a broader strategy to lift wages and standards for all workers. DHS should coordinate with the DOL to enforce labor standards and reduce and deter some of the most egregious employment practices--like those we have seen with Signal.

Read more about the case of ICE colluding with Signal to squelch labor rights in the New York Times and in the Huffington Post.