Dozens of UNITE HERE TPS and DACA Holders Will Join Other Unions, National TPS Alliance, for National Day of Advocacy Around TPS

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, two dozen UNITE HERE union members whose TPS and DACA status allows them to work as hotel housekeepers, casino bartenders, and food service workers across America will travel to DC and participate in a national day of advocacy to congress around TPS and DACA. The dozens of impacted UNITE HERE workers are flying in from thirteen different cities, including in key electoral swing states of Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, and Florida, to meet with federal lawmakers to share their personal stories and urge immediate congressional action to pass permanent solutions on TPS and DACA.

“Having TPS allowed me to come out of the shadows and secure a work authorization that means I can work in a good union job at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, where my coworkers and I have a say in our wages and working conditions, and I’m able to support my family and pay taxes,” said Nery Martinez, a UNITE HERE Culinary Union member and Salvadoran TPS holder. “My wife is also on TPS and we have two beautiful children who are American citizens because they were born here. I’m flying to Washington, DC to tell Congress that if TPS is not renewed, we will lose our jobs, we will lose our ability to support our children, and our lives will be destroyed because our children would lose both of their parents.”

UNITE HERE will be joining IUPAT, UFCW, LIUNA, SEIU, the Teamsters, the Ironworkers, and the Bricklayers Union for the day of congressional advocacy organized by the National TPS Alliance, through labor-funded immigration group Working Families United and with the backing of the national AFL-CIO.

“Our immigrant members on TPS and DACA are the epitome of the American dream,” said D. Taylor, International President of UNITE HERE. “There are eleven million people living in the shadows in America, and hundreds of thousands of hardworking, honest, long time workers who have spent decades paying taxes, building families with American children, and contributing to make our society great. It’s crucial that congress act now to create a pathway to citizenship for workers on TPS and DACA.

UNITE HERE represents thousands of immigrant workers, including many workers on TPS and DACA who will lose their work authorizations without congressional action to protect TPS designations terminated under Trump.

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UNITE HERE represents 270,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries in the U.S. and Canada, including many immigrant, DACA, and TPS members. Learn more at www.unitehereimmigration.org