For Immediate Release: March 19, 2021
Contact: Bridgette Gomez at press@wearehome.us and Janelle Erickson at jerickson@hilltoppublicsolutions.com

 

We Are Home, CUSP, and NTPSA Launch a Mobile Billboard Truck demanding YES on The Dream and Promise Act and The Farm Workforce Modernization Act

 

Washington, DC –  On March 17 and 18, We Are Home joined Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP), a collaborative anchored by African Communities Together (ACT), Adhikaar, Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), and UndocuBlack Network (UBN), in their direct action outside Union Station Washington, D.C. of a mobile LED display billboard truck demanding a YES vote on The Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) and The Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 1603) in the House of Representatives. The action also featured calls to action from the National TPS Alliance (NTPSA).

This strategic placement urged communities to call on their representatives to pass The Dream and Promise Act and The Farm Workforce Modernization Act. The mobile LED display played videos including a promise from President Biden to protect TPS holders, following up on the promises the Biden administration and Congress made to millions of immigrants when they took office this year. Both bills passed on Thursday, March 18, a historic step in collectively providing a pathway to citizenship to over 5 million immigrant youth, TPS holders and farm workers. 

“The passage of The American Dream and Promise Act within the first 100 days of the 117th Congress signals the overwhelming support for the legislation and a commitment to make good on overdue promises. We call on the Senate to take up and swiftly pass this legislation into law.” 

— Amaha Kassa, Executive Director, African Communities Together 

“Securing permanent residency for all 11 million undocumented people including immigrant youth, TPS holders, and DED holders is critical. The bill provides stability for upwards of 4.1 million long-term residents of the United States who have made this country their home. We represent TPS holders all across the country who have longed for protection.”

Rima Meroueh, Director, National Network for Arab American Communities

“Previous administrations have targeted vulnerable immigrant communities which fostered a climate of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear. TPS and DED have grappled with life in limbo and been denied freedom of movement; many holders in particular have not been able to visit their home countries outside the United States for decades.”

— Guerline Jozef, Executive Director, Haitian Bridge Alliance.

“TPS holders are critical essential workers on the frontline of our economic recovery from the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The passage of H.R. 6 is part of the strategy to secure citizenship for our communities alongside similar efforts including The Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 1603) that also passed the House of Representatives today.”

— Pabitra Khati Benjamin, Executive Director, Adhikaar 

“It is imperative that the Senate focus on providing swift permanent protections for us through a lens of justice. We will not accept criminalizing provisions or enforcement, detention allowances or encroaching border policies. As a collaborative of Black, Brown and Asian immigrant communities, we know that many of the most vulnerable members of our community are disparately impacted by over-policing.”

— Patrice Lawrence, Co-director, UndocuBlack Network

More images can be found here.  

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We Are Home​ is a nationwide campaign fighting to ensure that “we the people” includes all of us​. Our mission is to transform America’s inhumane immigration system. We must undo the damage of the last four years and build a new immigration system that is fair, humane, functional, and centered in racial justice, and respects all people, regardless of race, religion, or birthplace. And we must immediately enact legislation that creates a roadmap to citizenship for every immigrant who calls this country home. We Are Home is co-chaired by Community Change/Community Change Action; National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA)/Care in Action; Service Employees International Union (SEIU); United Farm Workers (UFW), and United We Dream.

About Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) and its Core Organizations:

Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) is a collaborative of grassroots immigrant community organizations working together to win permanent status for our members and communities, and build a more inclusive immigrant rights movement that centers the needs and experiences of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and API immigrants.

The UndocuBlack Network (UBN), founded in 2016, is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources and contributes to transforming the realities of our people so we are thriving and living our fullest lives. UBN has chapters in New York City, the DC/MD/VA area, and Los Angeles, CA. 

Adhikaar (Nepali: rights) is a New York-based non-profit, organizing the Nepali-speaking community to promote human rights and social justice for all. We are a women-led workers’ center and community center focused on workers’ rights, immigration rights, access to affordable healthcare and language justice. 

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We connect African immigrants to critical services, help Africans develop as leaders, and organize our communities on the issues that matter.

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization based in Southern California that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and connects migrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women, LGBTQAI+ individuals and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. Since 2015, HBA has provided services to asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, in U.S. detention, and during U.S. immigration proceedings. 

National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) is a national consortium of independent Arab American community-based organizations. The Network’s primary mission is to build the capacity of Arab American non profit organizations that focus on the needs and issues impacting their local community while collectively addressing those issues nationally.