FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ryan Kekeris, 410-564-5884, rkekeris@iupat.org
STATEMENT: IUPAT President Williams on Providing a Pathway to Citizenship for TPS Holders
HANOVER, MD – Following the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s mark-up of the reconciliation package, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) emphasizes the necessity of providing a pathway to citizenship for approximately 2 million workers with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) through the reconciliation process. IUPAT President Jim Williams Jr. released the following statement:
“Thousands of our members are living and working in the United States under Temporary Protected Status. Tens of thousands more are living here and working in our industries as non-union workers and they are among the most heavily exploited workers in the construction trades. My union recognized long ago that we have to provide these workers a pathway to citizenship. We joined with others to form the Working Families United coalition to fight for immigration reform for union members and non-union workers from the hospitality, logistics and construction sectors. We must stop the rampant exploitation of immigrant workers in our country.
Even those who are fortunate enough to have TPS live in constant fear that the programs will be terminated. The pathway to citizenship that would be granted in this budget reconciliation package for TPS workers, DREAMers, farmworkers, and essential workers who labored throughout the pandemic is just the first step.
Now is the time to establish pathways to citizenship for these workers. We are calling on Congress to get it done.”
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THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES (IUPAT)
Represents a growing community of over 140,000 active and retired craftspeople in the United States and Canada. The IUPAT membership extends far beyond the workplace. Recognized as one of the most active unions in the labor movement, IUPAT members help shape their communities in many ways: through an abiding commitment to service, by fighting passionately for workers’ rights that benefit all working families, and through effective worker education and mobilization.
Visit www.iupat.org to learn more.