Fri – 12/7: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Rally plus 4 Actions!

(Original video has been removed. This link includes excerpts of the video.)

Yep, it’s true. Ammon Bundy, leader of the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and who recently claimed that his Mormon church had been infiltrated by socialists, globalists and environmentalists, is standing up for immigrants at the border. Following the tenets of his faith, he has become their outspoken defender, forcing him to leave behind his shocked militia movement and other “patriot” groups.” His father, Clive Bundy, supports his views, as do a surprising number of others across the political divide.

This holiday season is about a family of Jewish refugees, who left behind their homeland to save their son’s life. This Sunday, CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) is reaching out to people of faith and others to embrace their religious foundational traditions of welcoming and supporting the “strangers” in our midst.

It’s time to reach out, even to the most unlikely of allies, and stand indivisible in support of these asylum seekers.

Action #1 – Sunday, Dec. 9th – SOS! Sunday of Solidarity with Refugee Families. (Correction – not a rally…more of a vigil.)

Continue reading “Fri – 12/7: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Rally plus 4 Actions!” →

Sunday Dec. 2nd: Mark your calendar! We will NOT be silently complicit to crimes against humanity.

On November 25, 2018, U.S. Border Agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a group of immigrants crossing into San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico, including young children. These policies are cruel and unjustified, and must be loudly rejected as the crimes against humanity that they were. The people who were fired upon are fleeing dangerous conditions and have the human and legal right to seek asylum in the U.S.

Join Families Belong Together, along with Indivisible Ventura and all of our friends, for a Sunday afternoon rally on Dec. 2nd, 2 pm – 4 pm, at the Ventura County Government Center, to say, “STOP THE TEARS.”

Bring American flags, signs and the spirit of your own family’s history of asylum-seeking refugees.

Share this link with your friends and family and ask them to join us.

If you would like to help at the border monetarily, click here.

Continue reading “Sunday Dec. 2nd: Mark your calendar! We will NOT be silently complicit to crimes against humanity.” →

Mon 9/17: Last minute action! – Stop the census citizenship question. Comment Deadline Today, 9/17, at 11:59 EST!

Action – Remove the discriminatory citizenship question from 2020 U.S. Census! – Deadline, Today, Monday 9/17, 11:59 pm EST

“The Supreme Court in 2016 ruled unanimously that “representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote,” and the Constitution makes clear that the census has a clear purpose: to count all U.S. residents, regardless of background, as the basis for the apportionment of political power. The Census Bureau spent most of this decade responding to this mandate, leading painstaking research, technology development and question testing. With their belated interference, Trump and Sessions are upending this meticulous preparation.

The harm from this decision, if it’s not reversed, will be expensive and long- lasting.” (wapo)

Continue reading “Mon 9/17: Last minute action! – Stop the census citizenship question. Comment Deadline Today, 9/17, at 11:59 EST!” →

Sun – 8/19: Everyday morality in five acts.

We are not powerless against this government.

Our outrage over the administration’s inhumane policy of separating families became a living force. Regular people resisted this moral wrong in every way possible, writing letters to the editor, making calls, rallying, marching, blocking streets and ICE facilities, witnessing arrests – that energy was translated into actions by our legislators, our state attorneys, and organizations like the ACLU. Together we stopped this destructive administration in its tracks.

But damage as been done. And the opposition is regrouping. Here are some important things you can do.

Action #1 – Take a moment to gather energy with your community.

Join us today, Sunday, 8/19, for our potluck/fundraiser for the Immigrant Legal Defense Center. We’ll have chicken and hotdogs, a piñata for the kids. And we’ll share ideas on the battles ahead and how we can better work together.

Then, from Monday on, back to the business of resistance.

Action #2 – Call on these bills (you can take a couple of days, and repeat)

Continue reading “Sun – 8/19: Everyday morality in five acts.” →

Fri 8/3: It just takes one census question on citizenship to steal power from our state. Comment now to stop this! Deadline Tuesday, Aug. 7th.

Action – Remove Discriminatory Citizenship Question from 2020 U.S. Census! – Deadline, Tuesday, Aug. 7th, 11:59 pm EST

How to comment on this census scam:

Click here to comment. Write, submit, you’re done.
You can also submit your comment through the MomsRising.org site here. Add a personal message if you can.
If you’re interested in reading the administration’s nonsense explanation of this whole scam, click here.
If you need more inspiration, go here. (currently under construction, apparently)

Background

Why is this census so important?: It’s critical that the U.S. Census gets an accurate headcount of everyone in the United States. The population counts are used to determine:

how to allocate billions of tax dollars (hospitals, public schools, public services, etc.)
how many U.S. representatives in Congress a state should have.
Every state is allocated a number of electoral votes based to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U.S. Senate plus one for each of its members in the U. S. House of Representatives. Right now, CA has the largest number at 55.

Continue reading “Fri 8/3: It just takes one census question on citizenship to steal power from our state. Comment now to stop this! Deadline Tuesday, Aug. 7th.” →

FREE DACA Renewal Clinic – get help with your paperwork! Volunteers needed!

Volunteers and immigration lawyers will assist eligible applicants fill out their DACA renewal forms at this FREE clinic!

¬Immigration attorneys!
¬ Scholarships for DACA fees available! See info below.
¬Get your DACA renewed while you can, laws are changing.

Monday, August 6th, 5:30-7:30 pm
Knights of Columbus, 136 S. Ojai St, Santa Paula

Flyers in English (here) and Spanish (here). Print them, clip the tags apart, hand them out, and plaster them all around Ventura County!

To sign up to volunteer, call (805) 650-1044. If you’ve never participated before and haven’t taken the training course, come at 5:00 pm for the training session. People with Spanish language skills are most appreciated, but not required.

DACA renewal fee waivers

Continue reading “FREE DACA Renewal Clinic – get help with your paperwork! Volunteers needed!” →

Sat 6/30: Trail of tears – A very condensed history of why Central Americans are coming here.

(MAP:news.nationalgeographic.com) Updated 7/02/18

Action: Come to the protest rallies this Saturday.

Go here to find the nearest to you.

This just in – future action!

The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is drafting a plan that would totally overhaul asylum policy in the United States.

Under the plan, people would be barred from getting asylum if they came into the US between ports of entry and were prosecuted for illegal entry. It would also add presumptions that would make it extremely difficult for Central Americans to qualify for asylum, and codify — in an even more restrictive form — an opinion written by Sessions in June that attempted to restrict asylum for victims of domestic and gang violence.

When the regulation is ready, it will be published in the Federal Register as a notice of proposed rulemaking, with 90 days for the public to comment before it’s enacted as a final regulation.

WE WILL BE READY!

WHY are Central Americans coming here?

No, don’t go “lalalalalala – TLDR!” It’s actually really interesting, and there’s lots of foreshadowing of our future under Putin’s influence and Trump’s tender mercies in what we did to Central America over the last 60 years. Election influencing, bribes, puppet leaders, money laundering, targeting “enemies”, repressive law-making. It’s all one big drama and we’re not the heroes. If we’re angry at what’s happening to us, we should be angry at what happened to them.

Continue reading “Sat 6/30: Trail of tears – A very condensed history of why Central Americans are coming here.” →

Wed. 6/27: Ryan’s bill goes down in flames. Game not over.

Flyer for Families Belong Together – Ventura here. More information here or here.

#1 – “House Rejects “Compromise” Immigration Bill – Overwhelmingly.”

The House overwhelmingly rejected Ryan’s so-called compromise bill, 121-301. But no champagne cocktails for us yet, we’re afraid. It lost because it just wasn’t mean enough.

An amendment to allow Dreamers to sponsor their parents for legal status stopped a lot of GOP “moderates” (?!) from voting for it.
Many conservatives who voted against the compromise bill wanted the far crueler Goodlatte bill the House had rejected last week, 193-231.
House GOP working on a narrow bill to house families together while the parents are going through criminal proceedings for the misdemeanor of first-time illegal border crossing, instead of in criminal custody, and eliminated the 20-day cap on administrative custody for accompanied children. (not good.)

Continue reading “Wed. 6/27: Ryan’s bill goes down in flames. Game not over.” →

Mon 6/25: Sophie’s choice: Asylum edition

#1 – Join a June 30th protest! Please wear white!

Join in to protest Donald Trump’s “Zero Tolerance” family separation policies and practices, and that all separated children be returned to their parents with no conditions. We demand the de-criminalization of asylum claims, no matter where the border was crossed and that credible threats to women and children be restored as legitimate reasons to ask for asylum (NYTimes)(CNN).

Local actions – Go to as many as you can! Click on links for more information:

Ventura – Ventura Country Government Center – 2:00 pm
Oxnard – Collections Shopping Center – 10:00 am
Ojai – Libbey Park – 12:00 pm.
Carpinteria – Peace Corner – 3:00 pm
Santa Barbara – De La Guerra Plaza – 11:00 am
Not near enough? Look here. If there isn’t one in your town, start one here.

Continue reading “Mon 6/25: Sophie’s choice: Asylum edition” →

Thur 6/21: Goodlatte’s terrible immigration bill is dead! Ryan’s terrible immigration bill is still alive.

(Quote from Slate)

There’s still a call to make…

2:12 p.m.: Goodlatte’s un-American H.R.4760 – “Securing America’s Future Act of 2018” bill went down 193-231. Every Democrat and 41 Republicans voted against Goodlatte’s bill, it was that horrible.

2:08 p.m.: House Republican leaders are delaying a vote on Ryan’s terrible “compromise” immigration bill (see below) until Friday as they try to scare up the required 218 votes.

Call your legislators now and tell them you assume that they’ll vote “NO” on this one too, that they will not compromise on any “zero-tolerance” policy and that they need to demand that one set of hostages, the Dreamers, needs to be rescued now with a clean Dream Act.

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to tell Rep. [__] that not only to vote ‘NO’ on Ryan’s horrible immigration bill, but to also demand a clean Dream act along with the end of this administration’s inhuman “zero tolerance” policy.
Continue reading “Thur 6/21: Goodlatte’s terrible immigration bill is dead! Ryan’s terrible immigration bill is still alive.” →