Press Release | Immigration

Ending Temporary Protected Status Would Hurt All Working People

Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the administration’s decision to terminate TPS for working people from Nicaragua and leave Honduran TPS holders in limbo:

The Temporary Protected Status program has enjoyed bipartisan support for decades because it provides broad benefits to our economy, as well as to people from countries suffering from disasters, violence and upheaval. For the labor movement, TPS has been a vital program to ensure working people have rights on the job and the freedom to negotiate together for fair pay and conditions.

TPS holders are members of our families, our unions and our communities who have made positive contributions to our society for decades. Stripping hundreds of thousands of working people of their rights and forcing them into the shadow economy will directly undermine our ability to raise wages and fight for equality at work.

America’s unions will stand strong in defense of these hardworking men and women. We urge President Trump to extend these vital humanitarian protections, and we call on members of Congress to pass immediate legislation to give working people with TPS a well-earned path to citizenship.

Contact: Carolyn Bobb (202) 637-5018