Immigrants rights activists, Teamsters rally in Wilmington over Temporary Protected Status changes

WILMINGTON, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Immigrant rights activists and Teamsters teamed up for a rally in Los Angeles.

Hundreds of protesters drove to the Port of L.A.'s Wilmington Waterfront Park. They were there to protest workers losing their Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

The TPS program allows people from countries facing upheaval or natural disasters to work and live in the U.S. on a renewable temporary basis. The Trump administration rescinded the program for several African, South and Central American countries.

The Teamsters, composed of warehouse workers and truck drivers, have thousands of TPS holders who are members of the union. Now those workers are faced with having to decide by September 2019 whether to return to their home countries or go into hiding here in the United States.

The port truck drivers and warehouse workers are on their third day of a strike. They are protesting the classification of drivers as independent contractors and claim the logistics companies owe them back wages.

The two groups were showing support for one another's cause.