For Immediate Release
Contact: Armando Carmona, 323-250-3018, armando@tzunu.com; Viridiana Vidal, (702) 206-2110, vvidal@ndlon.org; B. Loewe, Working Families United, 773.791.4668, bloewe@onpoint.pro; Bruna Bouhid- Sollod, United We Dream, 202.850.0812, bruna@unitedwedream.org; Nekessa Opoti, UndocuBlack Network, (612) 460-0656, nekessa@undocublack.org
Before Dream and Promise Act, Migrant-Based Organizations & Labor Unions Urge Congress to Protect without Punishing their Communities
The Press Conference was held today, June 4th at 9:30 am at Area 9, US Capitol.
Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/TPSAlliance/videos/2509235512433955?s=1647469757&v=e&sfns=mo
Before the House votes on the Dream and Promise Act, immigrants and workers whose futures hang in the balance will respond to the significance of the bill, ensure accountability, and share the impact of vibrant organizing nationwide that put the proposal at the top of this session’s legislative agenda.
Groups will urge members of Congress to be courageous as TPS, DED, and DACA recipients have demonstrated when challenging the Trump administration in court and encourage legislators to vote in favor of HR 6 without harmful, anti-immigrant amendments.
The groups will also look forward to the House vote on the Department of Homeland Security appropriations scheduled for Wednesday, urging Congress to defund Trump’s Deportation Force who just toversaw the death of yet another person in ICE custody over the weekend.
After the press conference, attendees will file in to the House Gallery to witness the debate and historic vote.
Background:
The National TPS Alliance formed in 2017 when Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries from Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal convened in Washington D.C. The National TPS Alliance is formed and led by TPS beneficiaries from across the United States, combining advocacy efforts at a national level to save Temporary Protected Status for all beneficiaries in the short term and to devise legislation that creates a path to permanent residency in the long term.
United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, a powerful network made up of over 500,000 members, five branches with over 100 affiliate organizations across 28 states. UWD’s vision is to build a multi-racial, multi-ethnic movement of young people who organize and advocate at the local and national levels for the dignity and justice of immigrants and communities of color in the United States.
UndocuBlack Network (UBN) is a multigenerational network—of African, Afro-Latinx and Caribbean undocumented people—that fosters kinships, facilitates access to resources and contributes to transforming the realities of Black undocumented people, so our communities are thriving and living our fullest lives. We are made up of and led by Black currently and formerly undocumented folx. Within our network we have Dream eligible immigrants, DED and TPS holders from all the Black majority countries. Our membership spans over 20 states from California to Minnesota to New York.
Adhikaar is the only women-led worker and community center serving and organizing Nepali-speaking immigrants and refugees. Founded in 2005, the organization has been at the forefront of the fight for Nepal TPS, and uplifting their voices in the national fight for TPS.
Working Families United is a labor coalition of seven unions, representing four million workers fighting together for immigrant justice.
Together the groups have pushed for solutions that offer their members a stable future in the country they call home and the place they contribute so much to. They view the Dream and Promise Act as one pivotal and historic step in that pursuit.
###