The Biden administration will expedite the deportation relief process for immigrants in the United States illegally who witness or experience labor abuses, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notification to Congress.

The administration plans to streamline the process for workers to seek deportation protection in labor abuse cases to shield them from possible employer retaliation, with an announcement set for Friday.

The new policy springs from broader principles for immigration enforcement within workplaces outlined by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in an October 2021 memo.

Mayorkas in the memo called for “delivering more severe consequences to exploitative employers” and for new policies to make workers more likely to cooperate with labor investigations.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance in July 2022 that explained how whistleblowers can request deportation relief.