On Oct. 12, construction worker Delmer Joel Ramírez Palma was working on the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans when the structure collapsed, killing three workers and injuring dozens more. Ramirez Palma sustained serious injuries, but survived.

Two days after the collapse, Ramírez Palma was placed in detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While in ICE custody, Ramirez was interviewed three times by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is investigating the collapse at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Ramirez, who is married with three children, was deported to his native Honduras on Friday, November 29.

We call on you, as Secretary of Labor, to make every effort to bring Mr. Ramirez Palma back to the U.S., so that he may assist OSHA in this significant investigation, and so that other workers throughout this country, regardless of documentation status, will know that the Department has their back when they assert their right to a safe and healthy workplace.

In addition, we call on you to publicly state that the DOL will not report workers to ICE while investigating health and safety, wage and hour violations or other workplace issues, and will take all necessary action to prevent deportations of workers who are material witnesses to employer violations of U.S. labor and health and safety laws.

For a complete copy of the letter to Secretary of Labor Scalia, please copy and paste this link into your browser: https://tinyurl.com/BringHomeJoel