Dedicated to Justice
February 11, 2026
In honor of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on January 15th, 1199SEIU came together with partner organizations at Riverside Church in Manhattan to rededicate modern activism to his radical and courageous vision.
The civil rights icon would have been 97-years-old this year, had he not been assassinated in Tennessee more than five decades ago at the age of 39.
In the face of relentless attacks on immigrants, civil rights and our social safety net, it is time to ask: How would Dr King respond to this moment?
Cassandra McGuire, an 1199 nursing home member, shared her perspective as an immigrant from the Caribbean.
“I came to the US from Grenada more than 30 years ago. That was a very different time. I was able to get citizenship here through my father,” she said.
“I used to feel safe in this country. But we know that ICE doesn’t care if you’re a citizen or not or whether you have committed any crime. I have friends who do not yet have green cards and some of them are considering self-deporting because they are afraid of being grabbed off the streets by these goons. There is a campaign of terror going on now with news of people being sent to El Salvador and other countries without any due process.”
At the nursing home where McGuire works in Brooklyn, many of her co-workers are from Haiti and have been relying on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to maintain their legal position.
“They don’t talk about it,” she said. “But you can see the fear in their eyes. I didn’t even know about TPS before. But now that I’m learning about it, I can’t see any reason why it should be taken away.
“This man in the White House is attacking everyone, if he feels like he is not getting his way. He is trying to make people believe that immigrants are taking jobs from people who were born here. The truth is that many of the jobs done by immigrants are jobs that those born here don’t want to do. We are the ones caring for the elderly, children and the disabled — the most vulnerable in society.”
1199 President Yvonne Armstrong also spoke, saying: “1199 is a proud union of immigrants. I am a proud immigrant from Jamaica, who came to this country and began my journey at 1199 as a dietary worker in New Rochelle Hospital, 50 years ago.
“My story is not unusual. Here in New York City, over half of all healthcare workers are immigrants. Three out of every four homecare workers are immigrants. Without immigrants, our healthcare system would fall apart.”
The Reverend Al Sharpton added: “The challenge of King Day is not simply to remember Dr. King, but to live his courage in the times we are in right now. If we do not change the times in which we live, then we do not have the right to honor him. Dr. King was not a statue. He confronted power, challenged injustice, and stood with working people.”
*The US government initially designated Haiti for TPS more than 15 years ago following the devastating earthquake on the island. It has been renewed ever since because conditions in Haiti have been deemed too dangerous to remove it. However, the current Republican-controlled administration has revoked TPS from several countries, including Haiti, since taking office. As this edition went to press, TPS for Haiti was due to be terminated on February 3. But ongoing court battles waged by immigrant rights advocates may result in that date being postponed.