国立アメリカ歴史博物館さんのインスタグラム写真 - (国立アメリカ歴史博物館Instagram)「25 years ago today, a multiagency task force led by the California Department of Industrial Relations raided a seven-unit apartment complex in El Monte, California. Hidden behind the complex's fences, they discovered one of the most horrendous U.S. sweatshops in modern times. Law enforcement officers arrested eight operators of a family-owned garment sweatshop and freed 72 Thai nationals who had been brought into the country illegally. The workers, most of them women, had been held captive behind fences topped with razor wire and forced to sew garments 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for almost no wages. The raid revealed a case of modern-day slavery that shocked the nation. Today, historians see the El Monte raid as a landmark moment in United States labor and immigration law history. In the years that followed, law enforcement officers working the case pioneered new techniques to fight exploitation. Government officials and activist organizations used the publicity around the case to promote workplace and business reforms. Last but not least, the lives of the 72 Thai workers who were freed during the raid were dramatically altered. Instead of deporting the workers, federal prosecutors arranged for S visas, arguing that the workers would be material witnesses and give testimony. Visas in hand, the workers organized to sue not only their captors but also the manufacturers and retailers who had ordered the garments. Most of the workers from El Monte later became U.S. citizens. Use the link in our bio to learn more about the raid and its legacy for the nation: https://s.si.edu/el-monte-raid #AmericanHistory #AsianAmericanHistory #ImmigrationHistory #CaliforniaHistory #FreedomStruggle #ElMonte #TDIH #OTD」8月2日 22時30分