Washington, D.C. (March 17, 2021) – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – made the following statement today: 

LIUNA commends Speaker Pelosi and bill sponsors, Representatives Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), and Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) on passage of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act, and for championing the cause of hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers and their families.

 

The cancellation of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program and the program for Dreamers known as DACA by the previous Administration has caused much uncertainty and hardship for immigrant workers. TPS holders and Dreamers have lived and worked in our country - building careers, paying mortgages, Social Security, and taxes – in some cases for decades. The human cost of ordering them to return to unstable countries is incalculable. The economic cost to our nation is in the billions.

 

For the construction industry, the impacts are particularly concerning. As many as a third of TPS holders – including thousands of LIUNA members - work in the construction industry. The loss of so many skilled workers would only further exacerbate the skilled worker shortages reported by contractors and construction industry associations.

 

We urge the Senate to follow the House’s lead and move forward quickly on the American Dream and Promise Act to provide a path to permanence for both TPS holders and Dreamers.

 

###

The half-million members of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of workers who are proud to build the United States and Canada