FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONFERENCE: Miami Welcome the “Journey for Justice” National TPS Tour Bus
WHEN: October 24, 2018, 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Little Haiti Cultural Center, 212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami, FL 33137
Family Action Network Movement (FANM) and Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) invite you to join us on October 24, 2018, to welcome the “TPS Journey for Justice Tour Bus” which will travel across the country to visit over 50 cities in a span of 12-weeks. The movement to save Temporary Protected Status – a program that protects over 450,000 people from deportations – has grown particularly in response to the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the life-saving program as part of his ongoing attacks against immigrant communities.
The Tour Bus will consist of over 50 TPS holders, from various countries that are currently designated TPS – El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Nepal and Somalia – and will join local committees and collectives that have come together to participate in the growing national call to keep families together and fight for permanent legal residency. The goal of the caravan is to lift the collective voices against the termination of TPS, the cruel dehumanization of families at the southern border and against the criminalization of immigrants throughout the United States.
Marleine Bastien, Executive Director of Family Action Network Mouvement said ”I salute the courage, resilience, and determination of these brave TPS holders. Join me in welcoming them to Miami this Wednesday. They left their jobs, family, and friends to embark on this 50-state journey because they know that :” Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope……daring those ripples to build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance….” Robert F. Kennedy
Maria Rodriguez, Executive Director of Florida Immigrant Coalition said, “We call on all elected officials to collectively champion TPS by challenging DHS’s decision to unjustly terminate TPS, which protects immigrants from countries ravaged by natural disasters or war and allows them to live and work in the United States. These are people who in many cases have been in this country for decades. Their families stand on the verge of being cruelly separated if Congress refuses to act. We are encouraged by most recent court decision from Ramos v. Nielsen and hope it can give some TPS holders and their families a moment of celebration as we continue to fight for a permanent solution on Capitol Hill."
Florida is home to over 50,000 TPS holders from Haiti (~35,000), Honduras (~9,000), and El Salvador (~6,000). Over 30,000 U.S.-born children in the U.S. have parents from Haiti, Honduras, and El Salvador who have TPS. For 12 weeks, TPS families will ride a bus across the country and throughout the way, the justice riders will participate in vigils, community assemblies, know-your-rights sessions, forums, roundtable discussions, concerts, demonstrations, leadership-development activities and meetings with political candidates and elected officials.
FANM's mission is to empower low to moderate income families socially, financially, and politically and to give them the tools to transform their communities.
The Florida Immigrant Coalition is a statewide alliance of over 60 member organizations, including farmworkers, students, service providers, grassroots organizations and legal advocates, who come together for the fair treatment of all people.
For more information contact Rhenie Dalger at rdalger@fanm.org or 786-280-9062.
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