Statement from Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson on Immigration Bill

Today's announcement of a roadmap to citizenship for more than 11 million aspiring Americans is a testament to the unstoppable momentum in our country to create a just and compassionate immigration policy.

Minnesota's Labor movement is committed to working with our affiliate unions and community partners to ensure that a roadmap to citizenship becomes a reality this year. 

There are, however, some details in the bill that could cause unintended, but serious, harm to immigrant workers and the broader labor market. There is still much work to do in fixing these areas to ensure we have the best, most comprehensive and inclusive bill possible. We are committed to doing that work.

Our work cannot not stop, not when families and communities continue to be torn apart. Not when employers continue to report and deport workers who stand up for themselves in the workplace. Not while DREAMers watch as their parents are seized from of their arms. We call for an immediate moratorium on deportations of people who will soon be eligible for a roadmap to citizenship.  

Everyone wants to create opportunities for ourselves and our families. Minnesotans believe in hard work, the dignity of all work, and respecting one another. What makes us Americans are our shared values and  the country we call home, not where we were born. 

We will not stop until our sisters and brothers, neighbors and co-workers can live and work with dignity and without fear. 

Together with our allies in the immigrant rights movement, faith groups and community partners, the Minnesota AFL-CIO and the more than 300,000 working families it represents is committed to fighting for justice for all working people. The time for citizenship is now.