400 USCIS Workers in Laguna Niguel are Threatened

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At the intersection of immigration and economic justice sits the US Citizenship and Immigration California Service Center in Laguna Niguel.

Right now, the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to close that office and lay off 400 employees, many of whom have been working there for decades. Highly skilled union workers in California will be replaced by non-union workers earning $15,000 per year LESS in Texas.

A preponderance of the Laguna Niguel workers are immigrants who have made their life’s work helping other immigrant families re-settle in the United States through USCIS.

Career stability means that worker families are able to contribute to the communities where they live and work. 

And a skilled, experienced workforce can more effectively address an enormous backlog in applications resulting from a politicized immigration system. That system subjects asylum seekers to an onerous, expensive, time-consuming, and emotional federal process in order to attain legal status here in the U.S.

An endless search for cheaper labor has devastated manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Now it threatens these immigration workers.

All workers deserve fair compensation where they can make ends meet working not more than one full-time job. They deserve affordable family healthcare and a secure retirement. This is what a just economy looks like. 

Sign on today to a community letter calling on USCIS to:

  • Reverse the decision to lay off these 400 vital, experienced USCIS workers.
  • Honor the right of these and other federal workers to unionize without facing intimidation, coercion, or surveillance.
  • Honor their right to a safe and secure workplace where workers are included in the decisions that impact them.
  • Provide employment with fair wages that allow workers to make ends meet while working only one full-time job, with affordable family healthcare, and with a secure retirement.
  • Comply with all local, state, and federal laws.

Solidarity With Immigrant Siblings is Sacred

Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice educates, organizes, and mobilizes religious leaders and community members to walk with our immigrant siblings promoting dignity and respect for every one regardless of documentation status.

We can stand with them, because people like you support an organized and connected interfaith movement for a more just and sacred society.

Support CLUE’s immigration program today and extend an embrace of welcome.