Hundreds of UNITE HERE Workers Taking Injustice to Mar-A-Lago Tuesday Morning

New York, NY – The termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 50,000 Haitian immigrants by the Department of Homeland Security is inhumane and wrong for these 50,000 Haitian workers, their families and American-born children, and the economic viability of the tourism and hospitality industries in the United States.

“Today DHS and the Trump administration turned 50,000 Haitian immigrants who are legal workers through the TPS program, and decided to take away their livelihoods and turn them into targets of deportation,” said Maria Elena Durazo, general vice president of UNITE HERE. “UNITE HERE represents thousands of Haitian TPS residents who are union hotel workers in places like Miami, Orlando, New York City, and Boston. These TPS holders have lived and worked in this country for nearly a decade ad have American-born children and deep roots in their communities. The Trump administration and DHS are criminalizing 50,000 legal workers and ripping tens of thousands of dedicated, committed workers from the hospitality industry. The need for a pathway to citizenship for Haitian TPS holders and TPS residents from other countries has never been stronger, and we will continue fighting for an acceptable resolution at the congressional level in the coming weeks.”

UNITE HERE under Vice President Durazo has run a high-profile TPS campaign for the past seven months, flying union members with TPS into Washington, DC for multiple lobby days, coordinating a national day of TPS actions by hospitality workers in two dozen cities, and running a robust digital campaign.

Tuesday, hundreds of UNITE HERE workers from Orlando and Miami will converge on Mar-A-Lago at 11am to confront Trump on his willingness to rip apart 50,000 families as his own celebrates Thanksgiving. Wendi Walsh, secretary-treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 355 in Miami, says, “tomorrow, hundreds of UNITE HERE and other union workers and Haitian immigrants from Southern and Central Florida will confront Mar-A-Lago to tell Trump that as his family gathers for the holidays, we will not allow him to quietly destroy 50,000 other families. UNITE HERE has and always will stand shoulder to shoulder with our immigrant workers, and tomorrow Florida immigrants will be heard around the country.”

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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