“We are disgusted to hear that President Trump has chosen to add to his portfolio of family separations by enacting a travel ban to the United States for people from 19 other countries. These countries, including Afghanistan, Eritrea, Haiti, the Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan, are the home countries of many Americans who are deeply woven into our union and into our communities here in Seattle.
People who come from these countries are our friends, neighbors, coworkers, and union siblings. Many are essential workers who do the real, hard, everyday work that keeps Seattle running. They keep our transit systems safe, clean downtown buildings and tech campuses, help elders navigate the airport, provide healthcare, provide childcare, educate children, and do their very best to provide safe, stable, and joyful lives for their families.
In targeting these countries, Trump is choosing to put bans on people who need help. People whose home countries are unstable, and who risk it all to come to the United States, not because they want to, but because they must. Because their lives and their futures depend on it.
In targeting these countries, Trump is expanding his attack on working class people. We must understand this very clearly. Trump is leading a fascist power grab that concentrates money and power in the hands of the very few, and spreads harm and hardship to the many. A travel ban on people from black, brown, and Muslim countries is part of this plan. Detaining green card holders is part of this plan. Deporting workers and separating families is part of this plan. Cutting Medicaid is part of this plan. The list goes on.
The plan will not work. Working people are too deeply connected. Our everyday lives are interwoven. Our futures are interwoven. Our children grow up together, seeing their parents work together, rally together, and take action together, to make this country a better home. Our union stands beside the working people from these 19 countries and everyone who is in harm’s way of the MAGA regime. An injury to one is an injury to all. When we fight, we win.”
Zenia Javalera
SEIU6 President