For Immediate Release //
August 17, 2018
Contact:
Armando Carmona, 323-250-3018, armando@ndlon.org
Viridiana Vidal, (702) 206-2110, vgonzzali@gmail.com
Nat’l TPS Alliance Launches “Journey for Justice” Across the United States
Los Angeles, CA // Nationwide – TPS holders from across the country, allies, leaders, and elected officials gathered in Los Angeles City Hall this morning to launch the “TPS Journey for Justice,” a 12-week national voyage to defend TPS families and demand a pathway to permanent residency. In collaboration with the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA) and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), TPS holders will travel across the country and visit over 50 cities to highlight the socio-economic contributions of TPS holders and the urgency in preventing the next wave of family separations.
“Ending TPS betrays the very heart of who we are as Angelenos and Americans,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Our country should not be in the business of threatening to separate citizen children from their immigrant parents. As the riders in the ‘TPS Journey for Justice’ remind us, these men and women strengthen our economy, culture, and society, and they must be allowed to remain in their homes and communities.”
The movement to #SaveTPS has grown in number and force. In response to the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status for nearly 450,000 beneficiaries, TSP holders are organizing among themselves to demand dignity and respect.
“As a mother of two US citizen children, a homeowner and a TPS holder, I am joining the ‘TPS Journey for Justice’ because immigrant families cannot succumb to fear, regardless of the political circumstances we face,” said Milagro Rivas, member of the National TPS Alliance. “This journey is an attempt to lift our voices and challenge the cruel dehumanization and criminalization of immigrant families throughout the United States.”
“Taking away TPS protections will create a humanitarian crisis unlike any we’ve seen in recent history. We are witnessing the state-sanctioned separation of more than three hundred thousand mixed-status families,” said Martha Arevalo, Director of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA). “We ride for dignity, we ride for respect, we ride for justice!.”
“We aim to liberate everyday Americans from their fear of immigrants. We refuse to entertain the lies that are being told about our communities and adamantly reject the acts of hate and criminalization aimed at terrorizing immigrants across the country” said Pablo Alvarado, Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
Other notable parrticipants in the Journey for Justice launch where Councilmember Curren Price, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CD-34), Assemblymember Wendy Carillo (AD-51), Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (AD-53), representatives from the Teamsters, Unite Here Local 11, Rusty Hicks, AFL-CIO, and others.
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