LOS ANGELES, CA— María Elena Durazo, UNITE HERE General Vice President for Immigration, Civil Rights, and Diversity, is urging the United States Department of Justice to act with urgency on appealing the recent injunction against President Barack Obama’s executive policy on immigration.

“We must continue our fight and demand immediate action,” Durazo said on Tuesday. “President Obama should be held accountable for showing immigrant workers the dignity and respect they deserve, and this means moving with firmness throughout this legal process.”

On Monday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration initiatives, upholding a lower court injunction restraining the plan. The court’s delay has left millions of hardworking undocumented immigrants around the country at a standstill, given that many of them face the threat of deportation.

Christian Torres, a DACA recipient and UNITE HERE organizer who advocates for university and airport cafeteria workers, says many are upset with the ruling because it threatens their ability to work and live in the country. “We are all frustrated,” Torres said. “We don’t know what is going to happen. Many of us are just waiting to return to our regular lives.”

DAPA allows for undocumented immigrants who have lived in the country since 2010 and who have children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to temporarily remain in the country without criminalization. The expanded DACA program allows for undocumented immigrants who arrived to the country before the age of 16 and before 2010 to receive a renewable three-year work permit, also allowing them to temporarily remain in the country without criminalization.

Contact: Ramiro S. Fúnez, [email protected]

UNITE HERE is a labor union that represents 270,000 working people across North America. Our members in the U.S. and Canada work in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation and airport industries. Past and present, immigrants have been at the center of our Union’s work to end poverty and change lives.