Building on the Protect All Workers campaign, SEIU and partners joined together to introduce Protect All Immigrants, a new national campaign to ensure immigrant workers' health, safety and financial security amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Immigrant workers are on the frontlines, risking their health and the safety of their families to keep the nation running, but so far millions have been left out of congressional relief packages. The Protect All Immigrants campaign demands that the government and corporations protect all people, regardless of immigration status.
Ana - a janitor, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holder and member of SEIU Texas from Houston - said, “I continue to go to work to keep the building clean and sanitized so that when staff return to work they won't be in danger of getting the virus. The president does not see that workers like me sacrifice their own health, especially the sanitary services. But instead, this president wants to take away my TPS status.”
Tina Nguyên, a home care provider and member of SEIU Local 2015 from San Jose, Calif, said “When I leave my house to get cleaning supplies, not only do I worry about being exposed to the virus, I have to look out for racist people who want to attack me because I’m Asian. We need to raise our voice about this. This needs to stop.”
Marie Chery - an airport worker, TPS holder and member of 32BJ SEIU in Miami, Fla. - said “What would happen to my children if I got deported? I have two children who are US citizens. It would be unfair for them to have to leave their country. But if they stayed here, who would take care of them? It is important for our government to include ALL immigrant workers in the coronavirus rescue package and extend TPS for workers like me.”
Times of national emergency requires us all to move beyond business as usual. We must come together as a nation and demand that our elected representatives at all levels act with urgency to protect all workers, no matter their race, where they are from or their immigration status. But we must also demand that the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful corporations and industries show leadership by looking past their bottom lines to do what’s right for workers. Protecting all workers, including the millions of tax-paying immigrants in our country, is a patriotic and moral requirement at this moment and always.
