Immigration and the Gig Economy: The Hands Behind Your Holiday Cheer

This Week’s Focus: Holidays, Platforms, and Immigrant Workers

As we celebrate the holiday season, it’s important to reflect on the workers behind the scenes, many of which are immigrants. This week we explore the intersection of immigration and the gig economy, mainly to understand how migrants are forced to navigate this double-edged sword—striving for better lives amidst legal and economic uncertainty.

From the survival strategies gig work offers to the exploitation it often entails; we delve into the complex realities of this work force. We also raise critical questions like how to balance the flexibility of gig work with fair protections, and how immigration policies can better reflect the realities of platform labor. Today’s article examines these challenges and calls for solutions that prioritize human dignity paired with economic fairness.

This holiday season, as we enjoy family gatherings, the joy of gift-giving, and the convenience of doorstep deliveries, let’s pause to consider the hidden hands making it all possible. Many of the goods and services we rely on during these festive times are picked, packed, or delivered by immigrant workers. While some may have arrived with legal documentation, others are navigating a precarious existence in the shadows of society, driven by the hope of a better life.

With its promise of flexibility and quick income, the gig economy has become a lifeline for these individuals. Yet it’s also a space rife with challenges like legal ambiguities, exploitative practices, and systemic inequities.

Governments struggle to align gig work with immigration and labor policies. Labor visas often exclude platform workers, whose self-employed status conflicts with employer-sponsored pathways​. Moreover, lax oversight allows exploitative practices like “account renting,” where undocumented workers pay a fee to use other verified platform accounts—a practice fraught with abuse​.

In today’s article, we delve into the intersection of immigration and the gig economy—not to debate immigration policies, but to shed light on the lives of the workers who power this sector and reveal how the gig economy has become both a survival strategy and a site of exploitation for migrants, many of whom find themselves in legal and economic limbo.

A Growing Underground Economy

In cities like New York, the underground gig economy is booming. Many migrants arrive eager to work but face a long and expensive path to legal employment. With limited options, they turn to off-the-books jobs in food delivery, construction, and housekeeping​. An article in the NY Post documents the case of Pedro, a Peruvian immigrant living in a shelter, who delivers food in Manhattan by “renting” an UberEats account for $100 per week. His earnings support his family while he works grueling hours without legal protection​.

The same article also tells the story of Sandra, a Venezuelan immigrant, working in a bar while living in a Queens shelter with her family. Her daily earnings were critical for buying food her children could eat, as shelter-provided meals didn’t meet their needs. Like many others, Sandra’s story highlights the difficult balance migrants must strike to survive​.

While platforms like DoorDash and Uber claim strict policies against account sharing, enforcement is weak. This creates a shadow market where undocumented workers can access gig jobs but at a cost—both financial and personal​.

Gig work provides immediate opportunities for migrants who might otherwise face barriers like language skills or credential recognition​. Unlike traditional jobs, gig platforms often don’t require extensive background checks or formal qualifications, making them an attractive option for recent arrivals​.

Yet, this accessibility comes with a price. Migrants in gig work are often classified as independent contractors, which excludes them from benefits like sick leave, unemployment insurance, and minimum wage protections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many were deemed “essential” but excluded from relief measures. For undocumented workers, the stakes are even higher, as they risk deportation alongside exploitation​.

The Hidden Costs of Convenience

This of course is not only related to food delivery apps.

An investigation by the New York Times reveals how Alo Yoga and Bella+Canvas, while riding the wave of pandemic-fueled demand and celebrity endorsements, relied on staffing agencies to sustain their rapid growth. As business doubled to surpass $1 billion, these companies expanded operations into warehouses and turned to agencies like BaronHR to recruit workers, many of whom were undocumented migrants​.

BaronHR, while facilitating flexible labor solutions, was deeply implicated in systemic exploitation. Workers faced bounced paychecks, withheld wages, and unsafe conditions. One migrant recounted how cashing paychecks was “always a headache” due to financial mismanagement. Luis E. Perez, BaronHR’s founder, pleaded guilty to $60 million in tax crimes, yet described his agency as “an employer in name only,” where clients dictated terms and conditions​.

This outsourcing reflects a broader pattern in the gig economy: companies distancing themselves from labor violations by relying on intermediaries. One manager noted some clients just wanted “a warm body,” with little regard for legal status. David Weil, a former Labor Department official, cautioned that such practices allow businesses to compete on “the basis of wage theft,” eroding labor standards across industries​.

Despite legal scrutiny, agencies like BaronHR continue to rebrand and evade accountability, leaving workers exposed to exploitation while companies avoid direct responsibility. The findings highlight the hidden human toll behind on-demand services and rapid corporate growth.

Scrutiny on Gig Platforms: Addressing Migrant Labor Concerns

In response to allegations of undocumented migrants working as food delivery drivers, three Republican senators—Marsha Blackburn, Mike Braun, and Ted Budd—have demanded accountability from major platforms like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub. This inquiry follows reports that some migrants, unable to secure legal work permits, are renting or sharing accounts to earn a living. As Senator Braun stated, “The danger to Americans — and specifically consumers using your services — is real,” citing concerns over unverified drivers delivering food to households​.

Current U.S. immigration law requires migrants to wait 180 days after applying for asylum to receive work permits, leaving many reliant on informal employment. Food delivery has become a popular option for its accessibility, but this practice raises questions about platform oversight. The senators’ letter pressed the companies for details on their identity verification processes and the number of accounts suspended for policy violations.

The platforms have responded, defending their security measures. DoorDash asserted, “There is no place on the DoorDash platform for those that can’t or won’t verify their identity,” while Uber emphasized its strict policies, including background checks and mandatory account ownership. Despite these assurances, the scrutiny highlights the tension between platform accessibility and labor regulation in the gig economy​.

Migrants and Gig Work

The gig economy is both an opportunity and a challenge for migrant workers, who disproportionately populate these roles in urban centers globally.

The paper “Migration, Migrant Workers, and the Gig Economy” by Katta et al. aims to unpack the intersection of immigration and gig work, emphasizing how the platform economy both offers opportunities and exacerbates vulnerabilities for migrant workers​.

The study investigates the role migration plays in sustaining platform economies, and how labor and migration policies shape this relationship. It also examines whether reclassifying gig workers as employees would address the root causes of labor precarity for migrants​.

The authors draw on an interdisciplinary dataset, including the following: Surveys and ethnographic data from over 1,000 gig workers across nine countries, examining their migration status, income levels, and job stability. Case studies analyzing labor market participation rates among migrants, with a focus on platform sectors such as food delivery, transportation, and domestic work. Quantitative data from studies showing regional disparities —for example, in Toronto and Vancouver, over 60% of ride-hailing platform workers were identified as migrants​.

The paper highlights several critical patterns:

Institutional Barriers: Migrants face segmented labor markets where race, gender, migration status, and language skills create layered disadvantages. Platforms often serve as a gateway to earning an income but rarely provide pathways to upward mobility​. Surveys showed that 80% of migrants faced institutional barriers, such as lack of work permits or language proficiency, which led them to depend on platform work​.

Dependence on Gig Work: Migrants disproportionately rely on gig platforms due to barriers to formal employment. This reliance often forces them to tolerate precarity and exploitation​.

Income Disparities: Migrants working on gig platforms earn on average 20–30% less than non-migrants in similar roles, partly due to fees paid for “account renting” or lack of access to peak-hour shifts​. While platforms offer immediate income opportunities, they frequently lack stability and protection, leaving migrants in a state of economic and social vulnerability​.

Prevalence of Migration in Gig Work: In many of the studied cities, over 50% of gig workers were migrants. In Berlin, the percentage was 70%, while in Shenzhen, 65% of ride-hailing workers were rural-to-urban migrants​. In China, the study found a 40% higher likelihood for rural migrants to join gig platforms compared to urban residents, reflecting systemic exclusion from traditional labor markets​.

Long Hours with Low Security: Across the dataset, migrant workers averaged 60–70 hours per week, with fewer than 10% reporting access to any form of social or legal labor protection​.

These findings point to critical structural issues requiring policy intervention. Katta et al. argue for:

Formal Integration: Expanding legal recognition of gig work and integrating it into labor protections could reduce income inequality and exploitation.

Targeted Support: The disparities highlight the need for support systems addressing the unique vulnerabilities of migrants, such as financial assistance during legal status transitions.

Cross-Border Regulations: Transnational frameworks could harmonize protections for migrant workers, addressing systemic gaps across countries.

The paper shows that systemic challenges of labor segmentation and migration governance require holistic policy interventions.

Balancing Perspectives on Migrants and the Gig Economy

The Migration Policy Institute’s policy brief, Bridging the Gap between the Gig Economy and Migration Policy, highlights the interplay between migration and platform work while offering policy recommendations to address challenges at this nexus.

The gig economy has transformed traditional labor markets, offering flexibility and low entry barriers for migrants. Many migrants enter gig work due to language barriers, lack of credential recognition, or the need for rapid economic integration. The policy brief highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the gig economy’s role as a lifeline for displaced workers while exposing gaps in worker protections and social benefits.

The benefits of the gig economy for migrants are evident:

Economic Entry Point: Gig work offers immediate income opportunities for migrants who may otherwise face hurdles in formal employment sectors. Examples include migrant healthcare workers in Canada using platforms while waiting for credential recognition.

Flexibility: Platforms provide schedule flexibility, enabling migrants to balance other responsibilities, such as education or caregiving.

Integration Potential: Bridging programs could combine gig work with skills training, offering migrants pathways to better jobs.

Pandemic Resilience: During COVID-19, gig platforms provided critical income for many migrants while ensuring continuity of services for societies in lockdown.

But there are also challenges:

Precarity and Exploitation: The brief rightly points out that gig work often lacks social protections. Migrants, particularly those in temporary or unauthorized statuses, may face heightened vulnerabilities, including unstable incomes and limited access to welfare systems.

Integration versus Entrapment: While gig work is seen as a stepping stone, the lack of upward mobility risks trapping migrants in low-wage, low-skill jobs.

Economic Displacement: The brief acknowledges fears of downward pressure on wages due to migrant participation in gig work.

The Role of Platforms and Policy

There are many stakeholders in this discussion: the migrants, governments, but also the platforms.

It’s clear that the gig economy depends heavily on immigrant labor. In cities worldwide, migrants make up a significant portion of delivery drivers, ride-hail operators, and temporary workers​. This reliance raises critical questions: Should gig work be recognized as formal employment? How can governments and platforms ensure fairness without disincentivizing participation?

Current policies often fail to address these realities. Labor visas are typically tied to employer sponsorship, leaving gig workers ineligible. This exclusion perpetuates a cycle of vulnerability, as migrants turn to gig work out of necessity but find themselves unable to transition to more stable employment​.

The lack of regulation also opens the door to exploitation. In one study, a food delivery worker in Belgium broke his leg while using a rented account. Without proper documentation, he struggled to prove his employment status and access work accident insurance​. Such stories highlight the urgent need for reforms that protect gig workers regardless of their immigration status.

The gig economy has rapidly become a critical sector for urban labor markets worldwide, and migrant workers are its backbone. In their paper “Migration and Migrant Labour in the Gig Economy,” Van Doorn et al. highlight the pressing need to explore how platform-mediated gig work intersects with migration policies and labor market vulnerabilities. The research was prompted from the increasing prevalence of migrants in gig economies and the absence of comprehensive research into how these workers navigate uncertainty amid structural inequalities.

The study addresses two core questions:

How does platform work shape and reflect the structural vulnerabilities of migrant labor?

To what extent can the reclassification of gig workers as employees address the risky and uncertain conditions of migrant gig workers?

Van Doorn et al. conducted action research projects in six cities across four continents—Amsterdam, Bangalore, Berlin, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and New York. The methodology included the following: Hundreds of in-depth interviews with migrant gig workers, focusing on their experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms. Shadowing workers to understand daily routines and informal organizing practices. Engaging gig workers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to contextualize labor conditions.

The study integrated these qualitative insights with data from labor market studies, including an International Labour Organization (ILO) survey that found over 70% of platform delivery workers in Argentina and Chile to be migrants.

The paper’s main points are not much different, but they go deeper:

Structural Vulnerabilities: Migrants face compounded vulnerabilities due to precarious legal statuses, language barriers, and exclusion from national welfare systems. The study illustrated cases like food delivery workers in Germany, where undocumented migrants earned below minimum wage and lacked insurance coverage.

Selective Formalization: Platforms blur the boundaries between formal and informal work. While they offer tools like payment processing and scheduling, they avoid enforcing formal employment relations. For migrants, this creates a paradox: gig work is accessible but inherently unpredictable.

Geographic and Sectoral Variation: In cities like New York and Berlin, platforms relied heavily on migrant labor, often sidestepping regulations. In contrast, Indian and Chinese platforms predominantly engaged domestic migrants, reflecting localized patterns of labor segmentation.

Ambivalence Toward Employment Status: While reclassification could extend rights to many workers, undocumented migrants risk exclusion from platforms under stricter regulatory frameworks.

The study critiques the overemphasis on reclassification as a panacea for gig economy issues.

Instead, it advocates for Integrated Policies: Bridging employment, immigration, and social welfare laws to protect all workers, regardless of legal status. I’m sure this is going to be highly debated in the US, for example.

But we can see where the debate can be won on both sides.

On the one hand, without these low-income/low-skilled gig economy jobs, undocumented migrants will have to live in even lower poverty, and potentially rely on jobs that are even riskier, or be driven toward criminal pursuit, while also increasing inflation (but this may be beside the point).

On the other hand, you may say that without these jobs the US may attract fewer undocumented immigrants.

This will be a very unsubstantiated argument. Most of the “gig” economy is still done, by and large outside of platforms. Gardening, painting, construction, and agriculture attract the majority of undocumented workers. One would argue that the more formal “platform based gig work” is safer, more documented, and better organized.

Conclusion

The story of immigration and the gig economy is a story of resilience and complexity. It’s a story of individuals striving to carve out dignified lives in systems that often fail to see them as more than economic inputs.

As a society, we must grapple with difficult questions: How do we balance the flexibility and accessibility of gig work with the need for fair protection and upward mobility? How do we craft immigration policies that acknowledge the realities of platform labor without perpetuating cycles of precarity?

The answers will be far from simple. This requires governments, platforms, and communities to collaborate in ways that prioritize human dignity alongside economic efficiency.

And while the rise of the gig economy presents both challenges and opportunities, to create a fairer system, stakeholders must act on the following:

Policy Innovation: Governments need to adapt immigration systems to include gig workers, offering pathways to legal status and protections.

Corporate Responsibility: Platforms must enforce transparent terms and safety measures for all workers, including those undocumented.

Community Support: Local organizations and unions can help migrant workers organize and advocate for their rights.

Ultimately, the challenge is to create a world where migrant workers are not just the invisible backbone of our economy but recognized contributors to its growth—and beneficiaries of its opportunities.

This is not just a matter of policy or regulation; it’s a matter of recognizing the shared humanity that binds us all.

Especially during the holidays.