Mon – 7/15: Monday actions. (2) calls for immigration.

Maybe Trump, Pence, Lindsey Graham and the rest of the silent GOP are waiting to get their very own medallions mocking the care of migrant children…

(Don’t forget to write for wolves here.)

Action #1 – Call your congressperson’s office this morning and tell them to vote “YES” on HR 2615 – “U.S. Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act”.

In June, our president cut millions of dollars in aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to spank them for the thousands of migrants seeking asylum at our border. Rational lawmakers on both sides opposed this, stating that it’s counterproductive to cut off aid to countries grappling with hunger, crime and climate change and would lead to more people trying to leave.

“As feared, a presidential tantrum will limit our nation’s ability to actually help address the challenges forcing people to flee to the U.S.,” Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said on Twitter. UnicefUSA endorses HR 2615, a bi-partisan bill that authorizes$577 million in foreign assistance to Central America and prioritizes efforts to fix the root causes that force people from their homes. The bill would also require annual progress reports on economic development and the underlying causes of poverty and food insecurity in each Northern Triangle country.

HR 2615 – Neither Brownley, nor Carbajal are cosponsors.

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep [___] to cosponsor and support HR 2615 – “U.S. Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act”.

Action #2 – Call your legislators offices this morning and tell them to vote “YES” on two bills against the child prison camps.

As Warsaw ghetto historian Emanuel Ringelblum wrote in 1942, “Even in the most barbaric times, a human spark glowed in the rudest heart, and children were spared. But the Hitlerian beast is quite different. It would devour the dearest of us, those who arouse the greatest compassion—our innocent children.” Continue reading “Mon – 7/15: Monday actions. (2) calls for immigration.” →

Sat. 7/13: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”

― Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Action – Allies: arm yourself with information and be ready to step in and help.

Tomorrow, Sunday, July 14th, our president will start terrorizing peaceful people living amongst us in order to crank up his base and dislodge a string of embarassments from the news. These may include: his 4th of July event bankrupting DC’s security fund, retroactively creating a Revolutionary War airforce, the government’s own lawyers trying to jump off the census question ship, he and Jeff Epstein having to pay 28 women to give them the time of day, or former President Jimmy Carter saying that “He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.”

What we do know is that allies who stood together with those who may be affected at yesterday’s ~~700~~ 800(!) Lights for Liberty vigils have more work to do. We’ll be asking you to make calls and write to legislators, but we’ll also ask that you use your “superpowers” when you can. Those of us who are cloaked in the invincibility of citizenship and knowledge of our laws have a responsibility to monitor the actions of our increasingly out-of-control government.

Being confronted by law enforcement in any circumstance is a stressful experience. The potential trauma of family separation or being placed in an inhumane detention camp can make it even harder for someone to think clearly. Or even breathe. Although allies can’t physically interfere with arrests, we can give people time to regain composure, document law enforcement actions, and help protect their rights. Continue reading “Sat. 7/13: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”” →

Fri – 7/12: Some inspiration for the over 700 Lights For Liberty protests being held across the nation tonight…

As of this morning, the protest count has reached over 700!!! Find your closest event here. Or come to ours here. Additional information and actions you can take here and here.

President Reagan bequeathed us a complicated legacy, including the origination of some of the worst problems we’re facing today through the same kind of lies that Trump uses every day. He did, however leave behind one true gift – this great speech on the importance of immigrants to America.

Our own Congresswoman Julia Brownley steps up, as you can see in the video below. Let’s do her proud this evening. (Call and thank her in DC (202) 225-5811 or email her.)

Continue reading “Fri – 7/12: Some inspiration for the over 700 Lights For Liberty protests being held across the nation tonight…” →

Thurs 7/11: Get ready, get set…Join us at the #LightsforLiberty vigil tomorrow.

First, a little music…

Good news!

AB-32, CA’s bill to close private detention centers within our state passed from the Public Safety Committee, thanks to Sen. Jackson and all you callers! Now it’s on it’s way to Appropriations.
This just in! The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Thursday to authorize subpoenas for documents and testimony related to the “zero tolerance” policy for illegal border crossings, detention or short-term custody of children or migrant families, and “discussions about or offers of presidential pardons to Department of Homeland Security officials or employees.”

Bad news!

The government is searching in five U.S. cities for properties large enough to imprison up to 500 hundred kids (fortune). Properties with 20-year leases... No, guys, the Flores agreement stated 20 DAYS!
ICE just did what Congress told them not to do…they opened up three new for-profit immigration detention centers in the last few weeks.(mother jones)

What you can do on…Join in on Friday for the Lights for Liberty vigil.

Throw your friends and family in a car and join us! Almost 50 community groups will be participating in a peaceful protest for LightsForLiberty, this Friday 7/12, at the ICE offices in Camarillo. Facebook post here. It’s an evening vigil,from 7-10, so bring a flameless candle (law enforcement has asked for no real flames.) Continue reading “Thurs 7/11: Get ready, get set…Join us at the #LightsforLiberty vigil tomorrow.” →

Mon 7/8: AB-32 is now in Public Safety. Call Hannah-Beth again today and tell her to keep up the fight against the private prison business.

Your calls to Senator Jackson were heard! Do it again!

“Bank of America to cut ties with companies that help run immigrant detention centers, private prisons.” (USA Today)

“We must address the complete scope of what’s going on in these Wall Street-run corporate detention facilities. California should not be home to companies that are profiteering from the tearing of innocent children from their families. This is inhumane and goes against who we are as Californians and Americans.

“It’s time California takes a stronger stand for the humane treatment of those being detained or incarcerated in our state and be a model for others across the nation. We are better than this and we cannot and must not be silent during this inflection moment in our history.” – Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland)

Action – Call State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson TODAY and tell her to again vote “YES” on AB-32.

Last Tuesday, Senator Jackson helped push this bill through the Senate Judiciary Committee. It’s now in the Senate Public Safety Committee, and she’s on that too! Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 9th, she, along with fellow senators Skinner, Moorlach, Bradford, mitchell, Morrell and Wiener, have on opportunity to help outlaw private prisons in CA, including immigrant detention centers, and all the human misery that come with them, by voting “YES” on AB-32. Continue reading “Mon 7/8: AB-32 is now in Public Safety. Call Hannah-Beth again today and tell her to keep up the fight against the private prison business.” →

Tues 7/2: Immigration judges and ICE are deliberately using high bail to fill up jails. Tell our legislators to stop this abuse and and have a SALE on BAIL!

Action – Ask your legislators to lower minimum bail from $1500 to $100 and to recycle that $1500 into a maximum bail cap.

Advocates say that one of the most effective ways of reuniting children and families is to pay their bail. The minimum bail to rescue a guest of our concentration camp system starts at $1500 a head per federal law and has no upper limit, reaching as high as $250,000. Under Trump, both immigration court judges and ICE officials are increasingly denying bond requests altogether, or setting them at amounts in excess of $10,000, deliberately making them unaffordable for many immigrant families. With all the overcrowding, why so much? After all, CA sets minimum bail for citizens (pg. 14) at $50 for infractions and $500 for misdemeanors. High bail keeps asylum seekers and others locked up in increasingly inhumane conditions at taxpayer expense or forces their families to use predatory bail bond companies with high upfront fees, mandatory ankle monitors and monthly charges. It also sucks away money they need to hire lawyers to help them plead their cases. Let’s ask legislators to fix this nightmare system, reduce the minimum bail and cap the maximum, and get people back with their families.

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to ask Rep./Sen. [___] to sponsor legislation to reduce the legal minimum bail required from $1500 to $100 and institute a maximum cap of $1500 for those who pose no danger to the community and little flight risk or who comply with FreedomforImmigrants.org’s bond program requirements. Continue reading “Tues 7/2: Immigration judges and ICE are deliberately using high bail to fill up jails. Tell our legislators to stop this abuse and and have a SALE on BAIL!” →

Tues 7/2: CA Senate Judiciary Committee is voting on AB-32 at 1:30 pm today! Call Hannah-Beth this morning and tell her that we want out of the private prison business too.

“Bank of America to cut ties with companies that help run immigrant detention centers, private prisons.” (USA Today)

“We’ve all seen the current humanitarian crisis play out along the southern border. No human being deserves to be held in the horrific conditions we’ve been seeing in these for-profit, private facilities. It’s clearly not enough to focus our legislation on prisons alone.

We must address the complete scope of what’s going on in these Wall Street-run corporate detention facilities. California should not be home to companies that are profiteering from the tearing of innocent children from their families. This is inhumane and goes against who we are as Californians and Americans.

Action – Call State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson THIS MORNING and tell her to vote “YES” on AB-32.

Today at 1:30, our Senator Jackson, along fellow members of the Senate Judiciary Committee (Senators Borgeas, Durazo, Gonzalez, Jones, Monning, Stern, Umberg and Wieckowski) have on opportunity to help outlaw private prisons in CA, including immigrant detention centers, and all the human misery that come with them, by voting “YES” on AB-32.

Minimal Script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Sen. [___] to vote “YES” on AB-32.

Contact:
State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (SD-19): SAC (916) 651-4019
Not your people?: findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.

Thurs 6/27: Yeah, they’re concentration camps…so now what do we do?

Action #1 – If you haven’t called your legislators on HR 2415/S.1243 – Dignity for Detained immigrants” yet – start here.

Go to this link and follow the instructions in Action #3 on that page to make a 10-second call to your legislators.

Action #2 – Check out local activities!

Activities listed here.

Action #3 – Congress’s final funding bill must comply with humanitarian basics.

Both houses have passed their bills for funding addressing the humanitarian crisis at the border. Both versions include stipulations regarding migrant care and prohibit the use of the funds for a border wall. However, the Senate bill offers the Pentagon funding and has fewer rules on how agencies can appropriate the funds. The House bill has many more restrictions on how the administration can use the money and contains clear standards for the care of children. It also bans the HHS secretary from waiving requirements for facilities designated as “emergency influx shelters”, which is how the administration has gotten around the 20 days maximum of the Flores Settlement. This is how some kids in Homestead, Florida have ended up detained for as much as 8 or 9 months. Next, our legislators have to reconcile the two versions.

Continue reading “Thurs 6/27: Yeah, they’re concentration camps…so now what do we do?” →

UPDATE: Friday deadline 6/28 – Sign-up sheet for those interested in carpooling &/or a bus to detention centers for July 12th – Lights of Liberty.

Action – Fill in this poll by Friday if you’re interested in carpooling and/or a bus to Adelanto or Otay Mesa Detention Centers for July 12th!

Poll link here.

In Ventura County, a coalition of immigrants’ rights advocates and allied organizations is considering joining these protests in three locations:
1. The High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, near Victorville (about a 90-minute drive);
2. The Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego (about a four-hour drive);
3. A protest in Camarillo, outside an ICE facility and across a freeway (DO NOT FILL OUT POLL.)

Continue reading “UPDATE: Friday deadline 6/28 – Sign-up sheet for those interested in carpooling &/or a bus to detention centers for July 12th – Lights of Liberty.” →

Monday – 6/24: Someday, a young person will ask you what you did during the time of concentration camps. Mark your calendars – 3 local actions – Join in!

There is a philosophy, in both Judaism and Islam, that is paraphrased “whoever destroys a life, it is as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he has saved an entire world.” 33 worlds are now gone.

(Go here for today’s LEGISLATIVE actions.)

“What did you do, grandpa?” – when our country ran amok, when we put scared, desperate men, women and children into freezing cages, when we pulled screaming toddlers from their parents’ grip, when we fed them inadequate or rotten food, or trapped them in vans, or carried their bodies out of our facilities.

Over the last week, we’ve read ferocious arguments on Facebook over the term “concentration camp“. We’ve seen “READ HISTORY!” hurled at each other on Twitter. We watched “Never Again” being reduced from the robust internal tripwire it should be to a verbal tombstone.

Yes, social messaging is a crucial issue in our modern political world. Everyone should be reminding their media circles that we can’t let shame or denial keep us from hearing the warning 6 million souls are screaming to us. There are also active things we can do to help drive that message, to connect with other resisters and to help affected people directly. Here are some options…

Action #1 – June 29th – “Know Your Rights” Workshop

This event, and another offered on July 9th in a different location, are sponsored by Buen Vecino and will be conducted in Spanish. If you’re interested to becoming a Know-Your-Rights educator in English, Spanish or in other languages, check out buen-vecino for further information.

Continue reading “Monday – 6/24: Someday, a young person will ask you what you did during the time of concentration camps. Mark your calendars – 3 local actions – Join in!” →