For Immediate Release: August 9, 2021

Contact: press@wearehome.us

We are Home Statement on DOL Secretary Walsh Roundtable with Immigrant Leaders in Nevada

Washington, DC- Today, Department of Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh met with a group of immigrant leaders and impacted individuals in Las Vegas, Nevada to discuss the urgent need for citizenship. The roundtable was coordinated by the We Are Home campaign and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN).

Bridgette Gomez, Campaign Director for the We Are Home campaign said: 

“Citizenship for America’s workforce is an investment in the American economy. Immigrant youth, TPS holders, farmworkers and essential workers are a key component of our labor force, our economy and are indispensable to our communities throughout the country and especially in Nevada. As the Senate takes up the budget reconciliation bill in Congress that includes citizenship, Sec. Walsh heard from affected individuals who would benefit directly from Congressional action on immigration. Those who participated in today’s roundtable made it clear that citizenship will benefit not just immigrant families and small businesses, but American communities in Nevada and across our country as a whole. It is time for citizenship for America’s workforce and this is the year.”

Laura Martin, Executive Director, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) said:

“Nevada has one of the highest rates of US-born citizens living with at least one undocumented family member. And 1 in 7 children live with at least one undocumented parent. Winning citizenship for Nevada’s working families would mean giving them a path to an improved quality of life that eliminates the constant fear of deportation. Workers of various statuses are already contributing billions of dollars in federal and state taxes. It’s now time for Congress to invest in Nevada’s working families the same way they have invested in our communities by passing citizenship in the reconciliation package.”

We Are Home is a nationwide campaign to fight for immigrant communities on three fronts: prioritizing and demanding a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in America; a moratorium and overhaul of interior enforcement; and broad affirmative relief from deportation. 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 Foundation; and United We Dream.

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