Tennessee/ North Carolina — September 25, 2018 — The Trump Administration has canceled Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs for seven countries, affecting more than 350,000 people. This is a devastating blow to our communities, but Alianza Americas and its member organizations are stepping up to engage and mobilize TPS recipients to speak up and reach out to local allies in communities across the country.

As part of a coordinated national effort to raise awareness and build support for TPS recipients, Alianza Americas is carrying out a series of house meetings and community forums as part of a “Casa por Casa for Permanent Residence” tour in six cities in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Tennessee

There are 3,400 TPS holders from El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti in Honduras living in Tennessee. Another 3,200 U.S.-born children have a parent who is a TPS holders from those countries.  Tennessee would lose an estimated $ 123.3 million of its annual gross domestic product without TPS holders, according to analysis from the Center for American Progress.

Media are invited to participate in the following “Casa Por Casa” tour activities:

• TPS Community Forum: September 25, 10 a.m., at Los Portales Mexican Restaurant (6448 Nolesville Pike, Antioch, TN 37013). The forum is co-organized by Casa Michoacán and Alianza Americas.
• House Meetings: September 27,in Nashville, TN organized by Club Manos Inmigrantes de Ayuda, with support from Alianza Americas. Community leaders will visit homes of local TPS holders. Contact Verónica Zavaletato coordinate possible interviews with families.

North Carolina

North Carolina is home to 5,900 TPS holders from El Salvador, 6,200 TPS holders from Honduras, 1,000 Haitian TPS holders. At least 11,600 U.S.-born children in North Carolina have a parent who is a TPS holder, according to analysis from the Center for American Progress.

Media are invited to participate in the following “Casa Por Casa” tour activities:

• TPS Community Forum: September 30, 4:00 pm at the Hispanic Center of Durham (2000 Chapel Hill Rd, #26A, Durham, NC 27707).
• House Meetings: October 1, 2 and 3 in Durham at 12pm & 6 pm, Raleigh and Henderson. Community leaders will visit the homes of local TPS holders. Contact Yanira Ariasto coordinate possible interviews with TPS beneficiaries.
• TPS Community Forum: October 2, 7-9pm at San Rafael Catholic Church (5801 Falls of Neuse Rd, Raleigh, NC). The forum is co-organized by Casa El Salvador, Latino Commission on AIDS, and Alianza Americas.
• TPS Community Forum: October 3 at the United Church of Chapel Hill (1321 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Chapel Hill 27514). The forum is co-organized by LILA Latinx LGBTQ Initiative and Alianza Americas.

Alianza Americas is a network of 50 immigrant-led organizations representing more than 100,000 families across the United States. It is the only US-based organization rooted in Latino and Caribbean immigrant communities that works transnationally to create an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable way of life. Learn more at alianzaamericas.org.

LILA Latinx LGBTQ Initiative is a nonprofit organization committed to the outreach, education, advocacy and empowerment of the Latino LGBTQIA community. It is the first non-profit organization based in North Carolina specifically founded for the Latino LGBTQIA community.

El Centro Hispano, Inc. works to strengthen the community, build bridges and advocate for equity and inclusion for Hispanics/Latinos in the Triangle Area of North Carolina.