Press Release | Immigration

Broken Immigration System Hurts Working People

Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Trump administration’s immigration policies:

America’s broken immigration system is causing real pain for working families. Instead of embracing a real, comprehensive solution, the kind championed by the labor movement, some politicians in Washington instead are pushing two bills that actually would make the problem worse. These bills fail to protect families, slash channels for permanent immigration and expand abusive temporary work visa programs, and we will fight against them.

To add insult to injury, the Trump administration is using enforcement overreach to terrify immigrant workers and is directly threatening our freedom to stand together and fight in unions for fair pay and treatment. When our government puts a target on the backs of workers, we all share in the suffering.

Nothing embodies our broken immigration system more than the unnecessary pain and suffering of our immigrant brothers and sisters as families are torn apart at the border. Any system that allows politicians to terrorize working people and devastate families, obviously, is broken and must be fixed.

The labor movement is steadfast in our commitment to achieving permanent and comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship and ending a system that hurts working people.

Contact: Gonzalo Salvador, 202-637-5018