LCLAA Stands by all TPS Recipients As we Applaud the Reintroduction of the SECURE Act to the Senate Floor
STATEMENT
Tuesday, January 9, 2021
Contact: Andrea Arenas / 202-316-1212
Washington D.C. - Senator Van Hollen (D-MD), joined Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in announcing the reintroduction of the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency (SECURE) Act. This legislation would allow qualified TPS recipients to apply for legal permanent residency and provide them with a pathway to citizenship, therefore also ending a cycle that has kept Tepesianos renewing their status every six to 18 months.
Currently, there are over 400,000 immigrants who depend on TPS in order to remain in this nation. It is estimated that of these, 131,000 Tepesianos from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti are essential workers. These working women and men have risked their lives supporting all Americans as we all struggled with the COVID-19 crisis.
TPS recipients have faced uncertainty since the Trump administration attempted to terminate the TPS program, LCLAA commends the reintroduction of the SECURE Act to the Senate floor, as we reiterate our commitment to these working families who have built and continue to build this nation.
“The re-introduction of the SECURE Act will undoubtedly help ease the suffering and uncertainty that immigrant working families have faced for the past four years,” said Yanira Merino, LCLAA National President. “Most TPS recipients have contributed to our nation´s growth and economic stability, for over a decade. Amid the current pandemic, these very women and men have, and continue to risk their lives as frontline and essential workers. LCLAA applauds this move, along with the recent re-introduction of the American Dream and Promise Act. We will continue advocating, organizing, and mobilizing until our nation’s broken immigration system is fixed and 11 million undocumented immigrants are legally recognized as citizens of this; the country they love.”
“By removing the threat of deportation and providing a path to citizenship TPS holders will finally get be able to lead a more stable and dignified life,” said Jose Vargas LCLAA Executive Director. “The reintroduction of the SECURE Act is a bold step in moving away from the previous administration’s policies which were meant to marginalize and ignore a community that has long contributed to our nation’s economic stability and advancement.”
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The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) is the leading national organization for Latino(a) workers and their families. LCLAA was born in 1972 out of the need to educate, organize and mobilize Latinos in the labor movement and has expanded its influence to organize Latinos in an effort to impact workers’ rights and their influence in the political process. LCLAA represents the interest of more than 2 million Latino workers in the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), The Change to Win Federation, Independent Unions and all its membership. Visit LCLAA on the web at www.lclaa.org, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.