Fund Families, Not War: Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Community Leaders Call for New National Priorities
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) will join Massachusetts Peace Action and Dorchester community leaders for a press conference calling for a fundamental shift in our nation’s priorities—away from war, militarism and repression and toward our families and the urgent human needs of our communities.
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As the United States continues its war with Iran, the Trump administration is proposing to increase total defense resources from roughly $1.05 trillion this year to $1.5 trillion next year—an increase of approximately $445 billion, or 42 percent, in a single year.
At the same time, families across Massachusetts are struggling with the costs of housing, food, health care, child care and other necessities, while immigrant communities face an increasingly aggressive campaign of detention and deportation.The press conference will particularly highlight the impact of attacks on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and immigrant families in Dorchester and across Massachusetts. Approximately 45,000 TPS holders live in Massachusetts, while more than 300,000 Haitian nationals nationwide have depended on TPS protections.
TPS holders and other immigrant workers are our neighbors, friends, parents and co-workers. They care for children, older adults and people with disabilities; work in hospitals, nursing homes and home care; operate businesses; pay taxes; and contribute enormously to the cultural and economic life of Massachusetts.
Removing these workers from their jobs and communities not only inflicts tremendous suffering on them and their families—it hurts the entire Commonwealth and further strains health care, elder care, disability care, child care and other sectors already facing serious workforce shortages.
Congresswoman Pressley, Co-Chair of the House Haiti Caucus, has been a leading congressional advocate for TPS holders and immigrant families and has fought efforts to terminate protections for Haitians and other TPS recipients.Speakers will connect these attacks on immigrant communities with the broader question of our national priorities. At a time when Washington is proposing a $1.5 trillion military budget, enormous resources are also being committed to immigration enforcement, detention and mass deportation.
We will call for a different vision of security—one centered on the ability of families to afford housing, health care, food and child care; the right of people to live and work without fear of being torn from their communities; and the resolution of international conflicts through diplomacy rather than ever-greater investments in war.
Address Provided upon RSVP