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Labor Unions Praise Senate Introduction of SECURE Act

Permanent Protections for TPS, DED Holders is a Top Issue for Labor.
It’s Right for the Country, Right for the Economy, and the Right Thing to Do.

Today, labor unions applaud Sen. Van Hollen, Sen. Cardin, and Sen. Feinstein’s introduction of the SECURE Act. The bill will ensure a stable future and permanent protections for the approximately 400,000 TPS and DED holders from more than a dozen nations whose legal immigration status has been terminated by the Trump Administration.  

 

The Working Families United coalition issued the following:

It should be common sense to ensure that the people who have contributed so much to our nation’s economy have a stable future. Passing the SECURE Act is urgent and necessary. It’s right for the country, right for the economy, and right for our unions’ families.

No one benefits if TPS holders lose their status. Most TPS holders are skilled professionals with deep roots in their communities and decades of training on their jobs.  Securing their place in the U.S. is about securing a crucial workforce for the construction, hospitality, and food processing industries.

If Congress does not act, the cost to TPS holders is complete upheaval for their lives and careers. The cost to our nation will be billions of dollars in lost taxes, lost Social Security contributions, and turnover costs to employers. Terminating TPS would send shockwaves through the entire economy as mortgages default, workers are pulled off the job, and project delays pile up.

Our unions are proud to see the Senators propose real solutions that safeguard the best interests of the country and the workers who contribute to it every day.

With the introduction of the SECURE Act, momentum for permanent protections is visibly growing in Congress. The Senate bill’s counterpart in the House, H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, now has 221 co-sponsors and is expected to come to a vote in the coming weeks. See a breakdown of the tax contributions and spending power of TPS holders and Dreamers on this interactive map.

Working Families United is a coalition of seven labor unions, including the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, UNITE HERE, the Ironworkers, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers,  the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Teamsters, and Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA). Together we represent four million members fighting for immigrant justice.

WFU formed in 2017 in response to the pending crisis caused by President Trump’s termination of Temporary Protected Status for 400,000 immigrant workers and their 275,000 US citizen children.  Our members like Wilna Destin of UNITE HERE and Donaldo Posadas of the Painters Union are plaintiffs in separate class action lawsuits for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan as well as Honduras and Nepal.  Meanwhile the coalition urges Congress to pass the Dream and Promise Act in the House and its counterparts in the Senate, the DREAM Act and the Secure Act, to provide permanent protections and a path to citizenship for Dreamers and TPS holders from all affected nations.