Via WaPo:

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka delivered a pep talk Tuesday to immigration advocates who arrived in Washington, D.C. this week to stage a hunger strike, pledging that the nation’s largest collection of labor unions will fight to stem deportations so immigrants can stop “feeling like your community is under attack, under siege, all the time.”

Trumka addressed about three dozen immigrants from New Orleans and Springfield, Mass., at the AFL-CIO headquarters. The immigrants had earlier demonstrated outside the White House to protest the Obama administration’s deportation record. The labor union boss has been an outspoken supporter of the immigrant groups and has joined the call for President Obama to use his executive powers to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants being removed from the country.

“What’s happening right now is unacceptable,” Trumka told the immigrants. “Thank you to those participating in the hunger strike for calling attention to this untenable, unacceptable situation.”