‘The driver always loses out’: This is how immigrants who work for apps survive

While he worked as a driver for Lyft, Elías went out each day without knowing how much money he would earn. He had two options: set himself a goal of working eight hours and settle for whatever he earned in that time, or set a goal of earning, say, $100 during the day, no matter how many hours it took. He had no guarantees. No fixed salary, no health insurance, no accident protection. And it was even less certain that he would get back home without being stopped by immigration officials. “That was the worst part,” he says. “You go out to work, and any tiny little thing could mean the end. A blown light bulb, a wrong turn, and the police can stop you. If you don’t have your papers in order, you can screw up your life over a hundred bucks.”

Elías is a 32-year-old Cuban who arrived in Texas through the humanitarian parole program. When the Trump administration eliminated the benefits available to people who entered the country this way, Elías lost his work permit and driver’s license. Like many immigrants in similar situations, he decided to make a living with a rented account on the Lyft app, without legal status, working with fear. “Those apps don’t give you anything. They’re a trap. But that’s the way it is,” he says.

Although exact figures are lacking, it is estimated that between 3.5 and 4.5 million immigrants in the United States work for apps like Uber, DoorDash or Lyft. Data from the Pew Research Center and McKinsey indicate that 45% of those working on these platforms are immigrants. In New York, the figure can reach 90%, according to the Independent Drivers Guild. This type of employment is known as the gig economy. Many see it as a way to earn extra income. Others, as a means of survival.

Now, the anti-immigrant policies promoted by President Donald Trump add an extra layer of vulnerability. Several Latino drivers tell EL PAÍS that they feel more at risk of being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while working for these apps than if they were in a regular workplace.

“I was doing this because I had nothing else. It was my only income. But you can’t live like this, on the streets all day knowing that if the police stop you, they can deport you,” says Elías, who asked that his real name be withheld for fear of immigration authorities. In fact, all the delivery drivers interviewed for this story asked that their real identities be withheld for fear of reprisals.

“You have to drive in such a way that you more or less go unnoticed,” opined a 21-year-old Venezuelan. “You’re constantly at risk of being caught.” Another 25-year-old Venezuelan woman said she stopped working for Uber Eats out of fear: “I know people who have been deported because they were stopped while driving. I’ve never been stopped, but it’s better not to take the risk.”

The worker takes the blame

According to the Pew Research Center, in 2021, 16% of American adults had earned money through these apps at some point, and at least 9% had done so during that year. Flexibility is one of the most common reasons people are drawn to these types of jobs, although they offer limited benefits. According to the study, 23% of platform workers say they rely on them to cover their basic needs. Meanwhile, 35% consider them an important source of income, although not necessarily the only one.

The vast majority of them work under deplorable conditions. “You don’t get vacation time or days off or anything. And if something happens to the passenger, you’re responsible. The app isn’t responsible for that,” Elías asserts.

A recent Human Rights Watch report notes that companies like Amazon, Flex, Uber, and Lyft impose opaque, unequal, and often abusive working conditions. Workers, classified as “independent contractors,” lack fundamental protections such as minimum wage, health insurance or workers’ compensation.

Antonio, a Colombian who has been delivering packages for Amazon Flex for two years, says that once, while working, his car broke down. “I had to call a tow truck and pay for the repairs and everything. The only thing technical support told me was to deliver the packages the next day before 10 a.m. They paid me as if I had delivered the packages on time. But they didn’t give me any support.”

In the case of Amazon Flex, each package has a barcode that must be scanned upon pickup at the warehouse. Antonio has experienced that, upon arriving at the destination indicated by the app, he doesn’t have the box he’s supposed to deliver. “In those cases, you notify technical support, and they take it off the route. But the customer can say they didn’t receive the order, and that’s where the problem starts, because they can flag you down and demote you,” he explains.

One of the most worrying aspects for Human Rights Watch is the use of algorithms that assign tasks, set rates, and penalize behavior without any transparency. This lack of information leaves millions of people in an unstable position, where the blame always falls on the worker.

According to Antonio, his rating as a driver on the app has suffered for reasons beyond his control. It’s no longer “excellent,” but “good.” “Tomorrow,” he explains, “if I have another problem, they can block me. And then I can’t work for them anymore. People I know have complained about having their accounts canceled for no reason, about being penalized for things that weren’t their fault. And it’s always us who lose. The one who always loses is the driver,” he adds.

To address these conditions, a bill introduced in the federal Senate at the end of last July proposes requiring these digital platforms to issue weekly pay reports, including hours worked, hourly pay, deductions applied, and the percentage retained by the company. It also proposes requiring them to submit public reports to the Department of Labor. For the first time, the bill, called the Empowering App-Based Workers Act, would establish rights and transparency for those who work on these apps. However, given the Republican Party’s control of both chambers, the proposal has little chance of passing.

A living wage

Antonio lives in Texas and he is 58 years old. He was laid off from his old job because he didn’t speak enough English, so he started working at Amazon Flex with the idea of setting his own schedule. He says he tries to complete two delivery shifts each day, each lasting about four hours. But they’re hard to find.

He wakes up at five in the morning to compulsively refresh the app, hoping to find an offer that will pay him at least a dollar for every mile he drives. “It’s not that simple,” he explains. “If you’re lucky, you get a block of $120 or $130. If not, you get the basics.”

On average, he drives eight hours a day. That earns him, at most, $130 per day. But that’s not always the case. There are days when he doesn’t even get a block. Besides, “the app doesn’t let you work more than 40 hours a week. That’s the maximum you can do, even if you want more.”

In the end, when you discount gasoline, maintenance, and car tires, the profit you’re left with is much smaller.

According to a Human Rights Watch survey, in Texas, app workers earn an average of $5.12 an hour. “Approximately 70% below a living wage,” the organization says.

“On a good day, I’d make $120. But if you calculate it, what you’re left with isn’t much. Between gas, eating out and all that, it came to seven or eight dollars an hour,” Elías notes. “I tried to get a dollar a mile. But they almost never gave you that. They gave you less. And sometimes you’d accept a good ride, only to have it ripped off along the way. They’d tell you another driver would take it. And you’d already wasted gas and time.”

Elías left Lyft a few months ago out of fear of the current immigration policy, although, he says, he likes driving passengers around and would do it again if the conditions were better. That’s why he says he supports the new bill in Congress, which, among its proposals, establishes that the worker must receive at least 75% of the fare paid by the customer. Antonio also thinks it’s a good idea, although he doesn’t think anything would change if it were approved. “The platforms will always look for ways to continue making more while paying less,” he says. “As I said, in the end, the one who always loses out is the driver. We’re the ones who provide the car, the time, and everything. And we don’t even have anyone to complain to.”

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