WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 15, 2019) — Statement released today from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Trump administration’s declaration of a national emergency:

The scapegoating and political brinkmanship of the past few months is not the way to govern. From missed paychecks to economic uncertainty, more than 1 million hardworking federal employees and contractors have carried the burden of politicians’ mess. We may have avoided another shutdown, but political tactics of this administration persist and Congress still must provide back pay to federal contractors.  

The fact is, this is not an actual “emergency” and building a border wall is not the solution to our broken immigration system to anyone who is serious about fixing it. Furthermore, a punitive enforcement agenda attacking immigrants stands to hurt all workers and our entire country. A serious approach starts with legislation that will keep families united, protect all workers’ rights, restrict temporary worker programs and give recipients of temporary protected status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program a pathway to citizenship.

Instead of declaring a national emergency out of a manufactured immigration crisis, the administration should move forward and focus on issues that matter to working families.