Washington, DC.- This was a historic week for our LGBTQ and Immigrant community after the U.S. Supreme Court delivered two unprecedented rulings. On Monday in a 6-3 decision, the justices made illegal for businesses across the Nation to fire employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. In another turn, the Supreme Court struck down the attempt to terminate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on Thursday. The 5-4 vote, has ruled to temporarily keep the status that changed the lives of around 700,000 “Dreamers”. La Clinica del Pueblo has the following statement:

“This was a great week for our LGBTQ and the immigrant community. The Supreme Court has sided with our most vulnerable communities and these rulings give us hope in times of uncertainty. The decision from the Supreme Court to protect gay or transgender employees from employment discrimination is a big victory for our LGBTQ rights movement. Also this week, we celebrated the decision to maintain the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This program will remain in place providing protection for thousands of immigrants that were brought to this country when they were infants. La Clinica del Pueblo advocates for healthcare as a human right and we envision our community united and organized to end health inequities based on immigration status, gender, or sexual identity. As an organization, we stand with our “Dreamers” and their families, their courage taught us that everything is possible and they deserve to stay in the place they call home. We also admire the strength of our LGBTQ community that had to wait five decades to see this change.

We applaud these remarkable victories, but they are temporary relief. When it comes to our LGBTQ community there still is a lot of work to be done to achieve equality. In the case of our immigrant community, it is time that Congress acts now to pass legislation that will include not only the “Dreamers” and their parents but the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US. It is unacceptable that both communities, that contribute to the economy and make the difference in times like this, still live in the shadows without access to the basic needs including health. We will continue to support our LGBTQ community and their fight advocating for equality. We will also remain close to our Dreamers because we strongly believe that no human being is illegal.”

The Supreme Court ruling prohibits sex discrimination in housing, healthcare, education, and credit. The court’s decision overwrites the anti-trans regulations recently issued by the Trump administration under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.,

According to the Center for American Progress, an estimated 29,000 DACA recipients are healthcare workers, When it comes to essential workers, about 200,000 “Dreamers” are in efforts to slow the coronavirus outbreak.