WASHINGTON, DC - As hundreds of protesters gather in San Diego today to protest the firing of 550 janitors as a result of a Department of Homeland Security I-9 audit, Eliseo Medina, International Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

The Department of Homeland Security should immediately halt the enforcement of the I-9 audit impacting San Diego janitors until Congress passes an immigration reform bill. In San Diego, 550 janitors are losing their jobs due to a recent I-9 audit. These workers are exactly the people that immigration reform is designed to help. Many have been in this country for decades and have paid their taxes, own homes and worked hard to provide for their families. It goes against the spirit of the movement for commonsense immigration reform to target these law-abiding workers instead of criminals.

"We are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to stop persecuting these workers as Congress considers immigration reform legislation."

"

###