Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Statement by San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez On Immigration Bill


SAN DIEGO - Today’s announcement of a roadmap to citizenship for more than 11 million aspiring Americans is a testament to the unstoppable momentum in our country around creating a just and compassionate immigration process.

San Diego’s labor movement is committed to mobilizing our community to ensure that we will have a roadmap to citizenship in 2013.

As may be expected in a first response to an issue as complex as immigration, there are details in the bill that could cause unintended, but serious, harm to immigrant workers and the broader labor market. We still have much work to do to fix these aspects and mobilize our community to ensure we have the best, most comprehensive and inclusive bill possible.

Our work does not stop now, not when our families and communities continue to be torn apart. Workers who stand up for themselves in the workplace are being deported by employers while DREAMers watch as their parents are seized out of their arms. We call for an immediate moratorium on deportations of people who will soon be eligible for a roadmap to citizenship.

All people want to create opportunities for ourselves and our families. Working people in San Diego and around the country believe in hard work, in the dignity of all work, and in respect for one another. What unites us as Americans is our belief in shared values and in the country we call home, not where we were born.

We will not stop until our sisters and brothers, neighbors and co-workers, and fellow community members can live and work with dignity and without fear.

Together with our allies in the immigrant rights movement, faith groups and community partners, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council and the more than 200,000 working families it represents are committed to fighting for justice for all working people. The time for citizenship is now.

###

San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council

The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO includes 135 affiliated labor groups in the region with a membership of more than 200,000 working families. Founded in 1891, the Labor Council advocates for more jobs, better jobs and better lives for all of San Diego’s workers – union and non-union.


No comments: