This May Day/International Workers’ Day, we honor and recognize the contributions of immigrant workers to this country and honor the sacrifices they have made for economic and racial justice.
Immigrants are vital to key sectors that strengthen and grow the US economy. They make our communities stronger by caring for our children, our elders, the sick and people with disabilities, securing and cleaning our airports and office buildings, ensuring we have nutritious food on our tables, educating our children, driving our children to school, and more. Alongside millions of other workers helping to drive the economy, immigrants deserve respect, fair wages and benefits, and the opportunity to build better lives for themselves and their families.
That’s why we’re calling on the Biden administration to use their authority to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to the Central American countries that have been left out of this protection, including El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. TPS allows individuals to live and work in the US with protections from deportation if safe return to their country is impossible. Pre-existing humanitarian crises in Central America coupled with the aftermath of Hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020 have made it nearly impossible for communities to rebuild with dignity and require swift action by elected leaders to keep families in the US together and safe.
While the Biden administration has made some progress to undo Trump’s cruel and racist policies on immigration, there is still much more to accomplish and much more that was promised. Many of our friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors are at risk of being sent back to a country where their lives could be in danger. Families shouldn’t have to fear separation from their loved ones and be forced to return to these Central American countries still reeling from the effects of natural disasters and political crises.
SEIU members across the country will be out in force on May 1 to show support for the immigrant families, including people with TPS, who contribute so much to our communities and our economy – join us in Seattle or Yakima!
