WHY ARE 1199SEIU HEALTHCARE WORKERS CAMPAIGNING FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM?
May 21, 2019
Many of these people include 1199 members, who came to the US decades ago and have been working in healthcare ever since.
As a diverse union with members from all over the world, we recognize the invaluable contributions of immigrants and know that immigrant’s rights are human rights. Extremist politicians in Washington DC are trying to strip away long-standing legal protections from over a million people.
What is TPS And DACA?
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a long-standing humanitarian provision that allows people to live and work in the US temporarily due to extreme conditions in their home country, such as:
Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program put in place by the Obama administration to protect young immigrants who came to the US as children, about 800,000 people who meet certain criteria. Here are some criteria for qualification:
WHO ARE TPS/DACA HOLDERS, AND WHY ARE THEY AT RISK?
A TPS holder could be a healthcare worker who was living in Haiti when the earthquake struck in January 2010. They fled to the US when their homes and livelihoods were destroyed. Many DACA recipients are the children of 1199SEIU members who came over from El Salvador with their parents to escape armed conflict under the TPS program.
Years later, these same people could now be 1199SEIU healthcare workers, or their children. These families could now be forced to leave with no realistic prospect of rebuilding their life in their home countries.
TPS EXPIRATION DATES
Despite recent TPS renewals by the Trump administration as part of an agreement to end the government shutdown, TPS for many others still in jeopardy. All TPS protections are due to expire within the next 12 months with no certainty they will be renewed. Here are the current termination dates for all of the TPS countries, as of April 2019
THE ATTACK ON DACA AND THE FIGHT TO SAVE IT
DACA has faced numerous legal challenges since Republicans took power in 2016. Here are some of the notable attempts to undermine DACA:
What Can We Do To Help
I’M AN 1199ER AND A TPS HOLDER/ DACA RECIPIENT. WHAT DO I DO?
• Consult with an immigration lawyer about other avenues to preserve legal status.
• Find out what actions you should take to protect yourself in case you lose your status.
• You can find organizations that provide free legal advice near you by entering your zip code here: iamerica.org/find-legal-help
BUT HOW CAN I HELP PROTECT MY COWORKERS?
Legal challenges to protect the estimated 1 million people facing deportation in 2019 are running out of time.
We need Congress to pass a #CleanDreamAct with provisions for TPS holders now! Immigrants are #Heretostay
