¡Viva Carmen Ramirez! – 3 actions to take in her name.

Action #1: Tell Governor Newsom to publicly support the Vision Act!
Action #2: Pass H.R. 1177/S.348 – U.S. Citizenship Act NOW!
Action #3: Carmen cared about families and children. Ask to pass H.R.2766/S.1375 – Families Belong Together Act in her name.

Last week, our much loved and respected Ventura County supervisor Carmen Ramirez tragically died in a traffic accident. She tirelessly spoke at every local event in support of environmental justice, homeless rights, abortion rights, immigration rights and the needs of the communities she served. Before becoming the first Latina in county history to become an elected supervisor, and the first Latina chairwoman of the board, Ramirez had been, for a time, the president of the Ventura County Bar Assn. and was later elected to the State Bar of California’s board of governors— now called the board of trustees. She also served as a longtime board member for the Center for Civic Education, a nonprofit that promotes the study and practice of democracy, and was appointed to the Commission on State Mandates by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012.

She had so much more planned, and now it’s on us to carry it through.

Action #1: Tell Governor Newsom to publicly support the Vision Act!

Continue reading →

Tell your senators to cosponsor H.R. 6 – The “American Dream and Promise Act.”

Action #1: It’s been two years. Let’s get it done!

UPDATE: H.R. 6 JUST PASSED THE HOUSE ON 3/18! CAll and EMAIL scripts have been adjusted for senators.

We first published this post on March 14, 2019, almost exactly two years ago. Since then, the public’s support for Dreamers has continued to grow. Nancy Pelosi stated in 2020 – “Eighty percent of the American people support our Dreamers.” The Pew Research Center puts it at 3 out of 4. Let’s get this done.

H.R. 6 provides permanent protection and a path to citizenship to a possible 4,438,000 DREAMers, individuals eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and legal DREAMers eligible for permanent residence. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, this version’s author, states: “This legislation would enable millions of undocumented young people to fulfill their God-given potential, give back to their communities, and ultimately obtain U.S. citizenship. It would also serve our national interest by reducing the deficit, contributing to our country’s economic growth, and enabling our armed services to meet their recruiting goals. I have introduced the newest version of this bill as HR 6, The Dream and Promise Act, which includes protections and a path to citizenship not just for Dreamers, but for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) beneficiaries as well.”

However, it can be made even better. Nicole Austin-Hillery, executive director of the US Program at Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated “… the bill contains harsh and unnecessary provisions based on youth offenses that would amplify the racial injustices in the criminal legal system and make the bill less inclusive…” Their coalition sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee urging them to remove these criminalization bars. Said Austin-Hillery: “Congress should be focused on ensuring all immigrant youth who have only known the United States as home no longer have to live in fear of an uncertain future. The juvenile justice system recognizes that young people are different than adults and treats them as such. We urge Congress to do the same.” [Resources: (HRW/NJJ&DPC/Sentencing Project/& more letter) (HRW/Indivisible/& more letter)(National Immigration Project report lists criminalization bars)(Description of immigration legislation bills here]

Minimal script – call: I’m calling from [zip code] to ask Sen. [___] to support H.R. 6 – The “American Dream and Promise Act of 2021.” I’m also asking that in the interests of racial justice, [he/she] eliminate criminalization bars and other barriers to relief from this legislation, as they are counter to the purpose of the Dream and Promise Act, which is to protect ALL immigrant youth from deportation.

Continue reading →

Wed. 9/11: #DefundHate. Make this call.

This week marks the anniversary of one of the greatest tragedies in American history. When the forces of hate took human form, turned planes into weapons and destroyed over 3000 lives.

Hate has again taken human form, in the malignant leaders of our own government. Every day, we see crimes against humanity being sponsored with our own tax dollars. That we are seriously arguing as whether or not a facility is a concentration camp, shows how far we’ve fallen. That we sit quietly, while young children are dying or being terrorized in our custody, shows that we are not who we think we are.

Continue reading “Wed. 9/11: #DefundHate. Make this call.” →

Thurs 3/14: Tell your Rep. to cosponsor H.R. 6 – “The Dream and Promise Act.”

Action: Ask your representative to fight all forms of family separation, starting with H.R.6.

H.R. 6 provides permanent protection and a path to citizenship to 2.5 million immigrants, including Dreamers, people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and it does it without punitive trade-offs, like cutting family immigration, border wall funding or new enforcement policies. MIRA Executive Director Eva A. Millona states: “The Dream and Promise Act is a breath of fresh air. It sends a strong message to Dreamers and TPS and DED holders: We know this is your home. We know how much you contribute to this nation – and we stand behind you.”

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to thank Rep. [___] for cosponsoring and supporting H.R. 6 – “The Dream and Promise Act of 2019.”

Rep-check here. 207 congressmembers (!!!) have already cosponsored this, including our own Julia Brownley and Salud Carbajal.

Contact
Rep. Julia Brownley: email, (CA-26): DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
or Rep. Salud Carbajal: email. (CA-24): DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
Who is my representative?: hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com

Continue reading “Thurs 3/14: Tell your Rep. to cosponsor H.R. 6 – “The Dream and Promise Act.”” →

Sun 12/2: Day of Tears – Not in our name. Rally and Actions.

Today, we take to the public square to remind our neighbors, that amongst the crush of holiday pre-sales to celebrate the birth of a refugee child some 2000 years ago, grave injustices are happening to refugees at our own border right now.

And today we say…Not in our name.

Action #1 – Come to the rally!

2 pm – 4 pm, today, Sunday at the Ventura County Government Center, at the corner of Victoria Ave.and Telephone Rd. More information here.

Action #2 – Call your legislators to protect refugees

Continue reading “Sun 12/2: Day of Tears – Not in our name. Rally and Actions.” →

Saturday’s Families Belong Together Rally – “Where else would I be?”

After thanking them for attending our rally Saturday evening, people gave the same answer…”Where else would I be?

We had people for whom walking and standing was a difficult business. But still they came, to stand on the unforgivingly hard sidewalk. “Where else would I be?

We had people who were protesters back when Vietnam was the issue, and people who came out for the first time. “Where else would I be?

Every generation has its defining issue, where people of conscience speak out for those who can’t. Our president has left no part of our democracy unscathed, but it will be the deliberate weaponization of family destruction, with the welfare of children casually dismissed as collateral damage, that will forever mark this administration’s reign.

And for that, we will resist. Where else would we be?

(One participant shared these great photos with us. If you others you’d like to share, please send to indivisibleventura@gmail.com)

Continue reading “Saturday’s Families Belong Together Rally – “Where else would I be?”” →

Fri/Sat – 7/27-28: We have a lot to do for the economic and terrorism refugees on our border, so let’s get started…

This is part 1. Part 2 will be posted on Monday.

Action #1 – Join us at Families Belong together rally this Saturday!

There are things happening now we will not normalize and we will not forget.

Join us this Saturday, July 28th, from 6-8 pm at the Ventura Co. Government Center! Here are the links for information. RSVP and share, share, share on Facebook. If you’re too far away to join our rally, check here to see if there’s one closer to you.

“As a court-ordered deadline to reunite all eligible families the Trump administration separated at the border elapsed, one in three children still remained away from their parents, with no clear indication when they would be reunited.” (CNN)

The Trump administration stated that more than 900 parents are not eligible for reunification and they’d already deported more than 450 parents without their children. This is unacceptable, and we must continue to work together to demand that the Trump administration immediately reunite all families, end family incarceration, and end the 100% prosecution policy that created this crisis and chaos.

We DEMAND that Congress establish a task force dedicated to family reunification.
We DEMAND that families be provided counseling and any other services they require to deal with the trauma inflicted on them by our own government.
We DEMAND that this administration and its various agencies; indeed, ANYONE who had anything to do with this policy, be held accountable for this humanitarian disaster.
More talking points to review here.

Action #2 – Contribute to the “I AM A CHILD” movement.

The I AM A CHILD March in DC on Thursday paid homage to the historic I AM A MAN photo from 1968 when Memphis sanitation workers went on strike for their humanity. This new movement is to remind Americans that ALL children are human beings and deserve to be with their parents. Continue reading “Fri/Sat – 7/27-28: We have a lot to do for the economic and terrorism refugees on our border, so let’s get started…” →

Monday 6/18 update – How to help the kids.

There’s a lot you can do to help support the children and their families. We’re keeping a listing here that we’ll update daily up here at the top.

Monday update 6/18 – added: (1) legislative call and a matching petition, (1) call to a US attorney to find his bravery and a communication storm to two companies who are planning to make money on this misery..

First, recharge your fighing spirit here. Then read Bill Moyer’s beat “A 15-point Guide to Surviving Authoritarianism” here. Memorize the last line…“EVERY authoritarian, totalitarian and fascist regime in history eventually failed, thanks to the PEOPLE.”

Keep calling your elected representatives!

Keep up the pressure on their office staff, who will remind their bosses to get this done. The Resistance is not fighting alone. More of our society is finally rising up and joining in. (Southern Baptist Convention, Evangelical Immigration Table, Anti-Defamation League, CATO)
Latest calls and tiniest scripts (30 seconds or less) here.

#1 – Monday 6/18 – ‘NO’ on un-American/anti-family/anti-business immigration bill H.R. 4760 / Call/ Petition by June 22nd (Friday)

Goodlatte’s bill H.R.4760 – “Securing America’s Future Act of 2018” is the un-American mash-up of white supremacists’ dreams. It hurts farmworkers, will deport more Dreamers, and keeps children in detention longer. It also funds a border wall, reduces legal immigration by 40%, eliminates diversity visas, and includes language that no state (Hey, we’re looking at you, CA!) or local government entity can limit a state, or local government official from assisting ICE. Even the right wing hates this bill as it is estimated to cost our economy $319 BILLION! Continue reading “Monday 6/18 update – How to help the kids.” →