This weekend will only have Good News and some helpful links for both DACA and SB 54. We don’t need a recap to know that this has been an incredibly hard week. For those of you who are still waiting, toe poised above the water…
“The civil rights movement was messy, disorderly, confrontational and yes, sometimes violent. Those standing on the sidelines of the current racial-justice movement, waiting for a pristine or flawless exercise of righteous protest, will have a long wait. They, we suspect, will be this generation’s version of the millions who claim that they were one of the thousands who marched with Dr. King. Each of us should realize that what we do now is most likely what we would have done during those celebrated protests 50 years ago. Rather than critique from afar, come out of your homes, follow those who are closest to the pain, and help us to redeem this country, and yourselves, in the process.”
Standing up for DACA! We’re peacefully protesting everywhere! You can do it from your couch!
Or from a nearby street corner…
Locally, Conejo Valley Rally to Defend DACA drew about 125 activists who occupied all four corners at Westlake and Thousand Oaks Boulevards.
Or one not so nearby…
Locals can travel to raise a ruckus too. Members of Indivisible Ventura, Indivisible Conejo, Indivisible Ojai Valley, Indivisible Palm Desert, CAUSE, SURJ, MICOP, SEIU and others traveled on buses overnight from all over California to gather together with more local groups in Sacramento, where we raised our voices outside Jerry Brown’s mansion, on the steps of the Capitol Bldg., at the Sheriff’s Association, and inside and outside individual legislators offices.
Everything they desperately want is being negotiated behind the thick wood door of Kevin DeLeon’s office. Whether or not their families can stay together. Whether or not they can stay. Law-making and public participation right to the bone. We had to leave without knowing the outcome.
Around the country, people have joined in…
Community members held a vigil outside Ivanka’s house; immigrants and allies protested in front of the White House; and members of The Fair Immigration Reform Movement and other groups are fasting in front of the Capitol.
In New York, members of Movimiento Cosecha blocked Fifth Avenue while others protested in front of Trump Tower. #SinDACASinMiedo
Students in Colorado and New Mexico walked out of school en masse; a crowd in Kansas City, Missouri poured out in the streets to show their support; and DACA supporters flooded Joni Ernst’s office in Iowa.
United We Dream members snuck into—and took over—Trump’s DC hotel, and Mijente made a Confederate statue of Jeff Sessions—then tore it down.
Microsoft and Apple speak up for DREAMers. Microsoft offered to pay their DACA-recipient employees’ legal fees if they risk being deported. (It’s the least they can do after their corporate PAC donated more to Republicans than Democrats in 2016!
The head of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Javier Palomarez, has resigned from Trump’s National Diversity Council due to the rescinding of DACA. You can read his own statement about his decision here. You can thank him for doing the right thing here.
Chicago’s Mayor has declared the city a “Trump-free zone”, after the US president ended protection for the DACA. In a speech to young DACA recipients at Chicago’s Solorio Academy High School, mayor Rahm Emmanuel said: “To all the Dreamers that are here in this room and the city of Chicago: you are welcome in the city of Chicago.
16 state attorneys general are now suing to protect Dreamers and the Tennessee Attorney General pulled out of a lawsuit against DACA.
How can you participate?
Call. Repeat.
Making calls to your legislators is one of the most effective form of protest you can do:
For SB 54 calls: Click here.
For DACA calls to House and Senate: Click here and here.
or here. http://thesixtyfive.org/weeklyCTA
Calls for Swing votes: Get your family involved. They have phones, right?
Call key members of Congress and demand that they publicly defend DACA. Use this document.
On Tuesday morning, [or now] call these 9 AGs en masse. Use the telephone numbers attached here
Tweet! Repeat.
Tweet for Swing votes: Get your family involved.
Tweet at the 9 AGs who are threatening to sue the federal government to end DACA. Use this tool to tweet at them.
Tweet key members of Congress and demand that they publicly defend DACA. Use this document.
Email:
Tell Trump how you feel. He is a narcissist and probably won’t care, but someone will be giving him the tallies. Then call to follow up at 202-456-1111.
Write a letter to the Editor!
This is a perfect time to write a letter to the editor of your local paper to get the attention of your members of congress. You can use your letter to encourage your congressional delegate to support the bipartisan DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers. Tips here.
Follow:
https://www.facebook.com/NationalJusticeForOurNeighbors/
Protest:
Find a rally close by.
Check out this Resistance calendar for other events nearby
Keep up with information.
Compendium of DACA info here.
For the most up-to-date info on defending DACA, follow our friends United We Dream and sign up for alerts on defenddaca.com
Need a DACA primer about the lies in what the White House said on Tuesday about their decision before you reach out to your MoC? Associated Press did a fact check
Four Lies Jeff Sessions Told to Justify Ending DACA (Vox)
New Poll: 76% of Americans, Including 69% of Republicans, Back Legal Status for Dreamers (America’s Voice)
Indivisibleguide.com has a nifty map showing how many DACA citizens are in each state as well as some good background information.
Donate:
Movimiento Cosecha, United We Dream
Help Fund DACA application fees for Recipients in need
Help Fund the fight to protect DACA recipients.
Help pay Protesters legal fees.
Teachers:
The American Federation of Teachers has put out a booklet, Protecting Our Students: For those of us who work in school settings with DREAMers and other undocumented children or know others who do, let’s share and use this guide.
Allies:
Share a story of how a DACA recipient has positively contributed to this country. Use the hashtag #DefendDACA.
Lawyers:
The most pressing need between now and October 5, 2017 is to help individuals with current DACA status expiring between now and March 5, 2018. Click here to volunteer. You don’t don’t have to be an immigration lawyer. They will train you.
Online Training Sessions: There is still time to register for a DACA clinic volunteer training session with Lawyers For Good Government. Sessions for volunteer lawyers are being held at 8pm Eastern / 5pm Pacific on Monday (9/11) and Tuesday (9/12). The trainings, which will focus on the completion of DACA renewal applications for current DACA status holders, will be led by an immigration lawyer from AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers Association). The link is below:
www.lawyersforgoodgovernment.org/daca-webinar-registration
They are also recruiting and training state and city-level Immigration Volunteer Coordinators to help connect volunteer lawyers with DACA clinics and working with AILA and other organizations to maximize opportunities for volunteers to assist at DACA clinics wherever and whenever help is needed.
Immigration is a federal practice and therefore you can volunteer in any state regardless if you are licensed to practice in that state IF you are licensed in any state
Free Help with DACA paperwork – Pass this on!
Vanessa Frank, Immigration Attorney, will be providing free DACA renewals to all Ventura County residents who qualify, while funds last. An anonymous donor has stepped forward and will cover the $495 filing fee. Her office will be do the work pro bono. They are getting flooded with calls and messages. Please call the office and leave a message and they will have someone call you back as soon as possible.
(805) 641-9300
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1410023685718469&id=162588613795322
She is also putting on a DACA clinic on September 16th and needs volunteers. You do not need to be bilingual to help out. (805) 641-9300 More details to follow.
Other options:
Mexican Consulates are providing funds and support for renewals at all the 50 consulates in the US. The nearest consulate is in Oxnard.
3151 W. Fifth St #E-100 – Oxnard, CA 93030 Tel: (805) 984-8738 * Fax: (805) 984-8747 E-mail: consul@consulmexoxnard.com
California isn’t your state? Click here.
Check out this Resistance calendar for other events nearby.
Sept. 23rd. – Carecen DACA Renewal & Citizenship Workshop. 2845 W 7th St, Los Angeles, California 90005
News from other protests!
Nurse Alex Wubbels stood up for her patient’s rights even when physically menaced by an out-of-control law enforcement officer. She was incredibly brave. Write a postcard of support to her here: University of Utah Hospital, 50 N Medical Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
A New York official is trying to rename “Trump Park”. A bill set to be introduced by Assembly Member Nily Rozic directs the commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to change the name of the park to “Heather D. Heyer State Park”. “The renaming would acknowledge that its current designation does not reflect the goals of uplifting and unifying New Yorkers,” says Nily Rozic. A new name might inspire some upgrades too.
Reverend Robert Lee IV (a descendant of Robert E. Lee) has left his congregation due to their discomfort with how publicly he spoke out against confederate statues. His statement on his departure can be found here. Postcards for Kate has suggested writing to him to say thanks via a publication where he is a columnist: Rev. Robert Lee IV, c/o Statesville Record and Landmark, 222 E. Broad St, Statesville, NC, 28677 We can also let his former congregation know that an opportunity to live their mission has been missed.
The 118-mile march from Charlottesville reached D.C. this week, where marchers set up a permanent vigil. Watch this great highlights from the journey.
The National Cathedral will remove stained glass windows memorializing Confederate generals, and Yale finally renamed Calhoun College, formerly named after a white supremacist, to Hooper College, after Rear Adm. Grace Murray Hopper, “a boundary-smashing computer pioneer.”
It will take sustained action to remove all the bits and pieces honoring the Confederacy’s mythical “Lost Cause” from our public spaces. Letters to the editor of your local paper can be an important tool in these campaigns. The Southern Poverty Law Center has provided directions for writing a letter to the editor about Confederate monuments in our communities, including a map to find the monuments nearest to us, suggested language and feedback forms. We can check them out at this link: https://www.splcenter.org/news/2017/08/15/send-letter-its-time-take-down-confederate-monuments.
Dinosaurs marched outside the White House to protest proposed budget cuts that could lead to the “extinction” of service programs like AmeriCorps.
Good News for the Environment!
Think Halloween candy: Mars has committed $1B to stop the climate crisis. Postcards for Kate suggests writing the Mars CEO a thank you: Grant F. Reid, Mars, Inc., 6885 Elm St, McLean, VA 22101
Progress for the Russia investigation!
Good News for Elections!
Thanks, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), for your bipartisan message that gerrymandering is a threat to Democracy and that the US Supreme Court should uphold the lower Federal Court’s decision that redistricting in WI violated our Constitution. In their friend-of-the-court brief, the senators describe the effects of hyper-partisan redistricting and special interest influence in Washington, and call on the Court to adopt a new standard for assessing the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering. Americans do not like gerrymandering,” the senators write. “They see its mischief, and absent a legal remedy, their sense of powerlessness and discouragement has increased, deepening the crisis of confidence in our democracy.
Good News for Health Care!
After the government cut the advertising budget for the Affordable Care Act by 90%, a awesome member of Indivisible took matters into her own hands. She formed the Indivisible ACA Signup Project, and their ACA advertising reached over 5 million people—and you can help spread the word about enrollment!
Click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/153329925218556/
Good News for Harvey survivors!
JJ Watt is using his platform to raise money for those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Initially he’d hoped to raise $200k, but has now raised over $27 million with the generosity of 160,000 donors.“You can’t get back home, you can’t physically help out in any way,” Watt said. “I’m watching it on TV and seeing all these people help out, seeing people get in boats and help, seeing water rush down streets that I drive down every day … I said, ‘How can I help?'”
The Islamic Society of Greater Houston is sheltering displaced residents in mosques and distributing goods to people in need.
Good News for the media!
Good News for the fight for reasonable judicial picks!
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) opposed the nomination of conservative Justice Stras to the 8th Circuit Court by refusing to blue slip him. This is a powerful procedural move and helps hold Republicans accountable. If you don’t remember who he is, check him out, along with all the other horrors Trump has proposed for lifetime appointments to our court system here. If you haven’t made calls on them yet, add it to your to-do list.
Good News for for basic kindness and dignity!
Lunch at New York City public schools will be available free of charge to all 1.1 million students beginning this school year, Carmen Fariña, the schools chancellor, said on Wednesday in the basement cafeteria of a Hell’s Kitchen elementary school. This move has been long sought by food-policy advocates and many members of the New York City Council, who said that some students would prefer to go hungry rather than admit they cannot afford to pay for lunch. Nationally, the practice of “lunch shaming” — holding children publicly accountable for unpaid school lunch bills — has garnered attention. About 75% New York City public school students are already qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. The new initiative will reach an additional 200,000 students and save their families about $300 per year. The full price for a school lunch is $1.75 per day.” This is a great example of kindness for all other public school districts to emulate.
Illinois’ governor signed a new law to help transgender and intersex people add their correct gender to their birth certificates—as well as the law banning “gay panic” defenses in court that we reported on a few weeks ago.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a series of reforms to protect New York City renters, including the creation of the Office of Tenant Advocate.
Good News for immigrants!
Yet another federal judge has ruled against elements of the Muslim ban.
The first lawsuit against the Muslim ban was settled, and the agreement requires that the government must send a list of free immigration lawyers to everyone initially barred from entering the country.
Illinois becomes a Sanctuary State, which means that police can’t detain anyone for ICE unless a federal judge has issued a warrant. It’s a commonsense move, and a sorely-needed example of decency.
Good News for workers!
On Labor Day, fast food workers went on strike and other workers and allies held #Fightfor15 protests in cities across the country to advocate for living wages and union rights. The turnout in Chicago was beyond amazing. Check it out
Tyler LaRiviere / Chicagoist
According to a report by ProPublica and NPR, Florida companies have been getting out of paying workers’ comp to injured undocumented workers by turning them in! It’s quite the scam, and Republican State Senator Anitere Flores, the president pro tempore of the state Senate and chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee, is rightly horrified and intends to work to fix Florida statute 440.105 which is being used to justify this immoral action.
Good News for reality!
It’s official—there is zero evidence that Trump Tower was ever wiretapped… and Trump is a liar
(Thanks to Allison & Stephanie, Rogan’s List, Jen Hofmann, Shannon & Jane, Postcards from Kate, our compatriots in Indivisible, my Facebook feed and the vast wide avenues of the internet)
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 