CHICAGO — On Wednesday, Jan. 17, a broad coalition of faith, labor, and community allies will rally and march to defend immigrant rights ahead of Friday’s federal funding deadline, when Congress has the biggest opportunity yet to protect hundreds of thousands of immigrant families by passing a clean DREAM Act and saving Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Last year, the Trump Administration rescinded both the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and TPS protections for Haitians and Nicaraguans. The administration announced it would do the same for 200,000 Salvadoran TPS recipients earlier this month. Passage of a clean DREAM Act and saving TPS would shield more than 1 million immigrants from deportation, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for decades. Marchers will urge Congress to protect immigrant families from the Trump Administration’s heartless decisions and are ready to hold elected officials accountable in the 2018 midterm elections if they refuse to do so.
WHAT: Rally and March for a clean DREAM Act and to Protect TPS
WHO: ICIRR, SEIU Local 1, Communities United, Centro Romero, faith and community allies
WHERE: Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington, Chicago
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 17, 5:30 p.m.
BACKGROUND: The Trump Administration announced it would end the DACA program in June last year. In November, the Administration announced it would not renew TPS for 2,500 Nicaraguan and 4,500 Haitian immigrants, and earlier this month declared the same for 200,000 Salvadoran TPS recipients. Now, it is up to Congress to protect immigrants by passing a clean DREAM Act and saving TPS for hundreds of thousands of immigrant working families or face the consequences at the ballot box in November.