7/25/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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(Including Emails & Twitter)
Fax
legislators for free:
Or use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
Or use StampsLicked to
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White
House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
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CONTINUED IMMIGRATION ATROCITIES: As the awareness grows of the Trump
administration-made humanitarian crisis, there are many ways we can help. Suggestions in previous editions of Rogan’s
List are still appropriate to work on.
US CITIZEN HELD IN DETENTION: After being held for over three weeks, 18-year-old
Francisco Erwin Galicia, a US citizen, who was taken into the custody of ICE
and CBP on June 27, 2019, has been released.
https://www.themonitor.com/2019/07/24/exclusive-emotional-reunion-mother-greets-edinburg-teen-wrongfully-detained-3-weeks/ Let that sink in. Now that we are
sufficiently horrified, let’s contact our Members of Congress and
demand an investigation into this with a plan that other citizens will not be
detained in this manner. Let’s also tell them that our immigration system is
utterly dysfunctional, and it is long past time for reform
DETAINED CHILDREN IN UNLICENSED
FACILITIES: “The Trump administration is pumping $3 billion into the
federal network of shelters for migrant children. Officials want to move them
out of Border Patrol facilities, where children say they're crammed into cells
without enough food or other necessities.”
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/01/737761304/trump-administration-to-put-3-billion-into-network-of-shelters-for-migrant-child
DHHS has no running or contracting unlicensed
temporary emergency shelters for unaccompanied minors. Let’s tell our MoC
that we want them to co-sponsor and support Shut Down Child Prison Camps Act (HR 1069/S.397)
EXPEDITED DEPORTATIONS: The Department of
Homeland Security announced that it will be initiating an “expedited removal”
policy, subjecting any immigrant who cannot prove that they’ve lived in the
U.S. for two continuous years with immediate deportation without benefit of a
court hearing. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-gets-expanded-power-to-swiftly-deport-more-undocumented-immigrants/
and https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-49079495
and http://americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/primer-expedited-removal
Does this mean that even citizens
need to carry documentation? This is a
blatant denial of due process rights and the ACLU has threatened to sue. https://thehill.com/latino/454147-aclu-promises-lawsuit-over-expedited-immigrant-removal-expansion.
Let’s provide a public comment against this:
https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DHS-2019-0036-0001&mc_cid=4c7ab90496&mc_eid=d8fe862b46
and Let’s
donate to the ACLU for their continuous front-line efforts to challenge
Trump’s continued horrific and inhumane immigration policies.
CAUSES OF CENTRAL AMERICAN IMMIGRATION:
As
Desmond Tutu once said, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling
people out of the river. We need to go
upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”
That is why the House passed the United States-Northern Triangle
Enhanced Engagement Act (H.R.2615)
which requires a report on the root causes of migration from Central America. https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9812559-181/thompson-increased-attention-helping-improve It is now in the Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations. Let’s contact the members of
that committee and impress upon them our intent that this legislation is moved
to a vote. Let’s also tell our own
senators that this legislation is essential to working out this particular
immigration issue.
ALLOW CONGRESSIONAL ACCESS TO DETENTION
CENTERS: Congresswoman Debbie
Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has filed the Help Oversee, Manage and Evaluate Safe
Treatment and Ensure Access without Delay, (HOMESTEAD) Act, which prohibits the
administration from preventing members of Congress from entering any detention
facility. https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article233009967.html.
Let’s tell our MoCs to support and pass this bill as soon as possible. It is
Congress’s role to provide oversight into these centers, and the reports of
current conditions are too disturbing to ignore.
SUBSTANDARD MEDICAL CARE AT PRIVATE IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES: A recent advertisement for a doctor to work in a detention center did not require the physician to be Board Certified and offered a salary that was far beyond the norm of what most physicians in similar settings would make. https://www.npr.org/2019/07/22/744206063/job-posting-for-doctor-at-an-immigrant-detention-facility-catches-peoples-attent. With all the talk about the budget and the deficit, let’s make sure to tell our MoCs that we can save taxpayer money by closing down these private prisons, which cost 300% more than government-run facilities.
ELECTION SECURITY: “Senate Republicans blocked two
election security bills and a cyber security measure on Wednesday in the wake
of former special counsel Robert Mueller warning about meddling
attempts during his public testimony.” https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/454635-gop-blocks-election-security-bills-after-mueller-testimony
Not only does the Senate need to pass
these bills, but it also needs to pass the Securing America’s Federal Elections
(SAFE) Act (H.R. 2722)
which has already passed the House. It
is now common knowledge that the Russians have and will continue to interfere
with our elections. Let’s contact our senators
and ask them what they are doing to secure our elections.
FOOD STAMP CUTS: The administration announced new
regulations in how states must determine eligibility requirements for food
stamp recipients, which could lead to as many as 3 million people losing their
food stamps. https://www.npr.org/2019/07/23/744451246/3-million-could-lose-food-stamp-benefits-under-trump-administration-proposal
and https://time.com/5632313/trump-food-stamps-new-regulations/.
Let’s make a public comment from our heart:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/07/24/2019-15670/revision-of-categorical-eligibility-in-the-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap
Then, let’s express our concerns to both our MoCs and our state representatives
and ask them what they can do to make sure that those in poverty, especially
children, the elderly, and the disabled, do not go hungry.
HUMAN RIGHTS UP FOR DISCUSSION: “Prominent human
rights organizations, presidential candidates, Democratic senators and
religious leaders are sounding the alarm over the Trump administration’s new
Commission on Unalienable Rights. A trio of letters sent Tuesday to Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo, and obtained by NBC News, accuse the State Department of
sidelining rights of women and the LGBTQ community in favor of
religious liberty.” https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/human-rights-groups-lead-chorus-alarm-over-new-trump-administration-n1032656 Let’s join our voices and tell Pompeo what
we think about limiting human rights: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/u-s-department-of-state
ELECTION/VOTING
POSTCARDS TO VOTERS: "A year ago, Postcards to
Voters conducted a pilot program with the objective to determine if sending
handwritten postcards to Democrats in Florida to encourage them to sign up for
vote by mail (VBM) would result in an increase in vote by mail signups."
Spoiler: it works! We can read an analysis for Pasco County, FL,
here: https://www.facebook.com/TonyTheDemocrat.org/posts/2086419354992473 And we
can sign up to postcard by texting JOIN to (484) 275-2229 or emailing
Join@TonyTheDemocrat.org.
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES (AND HELP) NEEDED: While the Democratic presidential field is
currently flooded with candidates, not so for many other downticket races. In fact, Resistance
Labs’ Contest Every Race has
determined there are 520,000 elected offices and Democrats are not competing in
75% of them. Here's the ask: Sign up to
be a volunteer researcher with Resistance Labs! Make phone calls or do web
research for at least 2 hours a week this summer: Here's the ask: Sign up to be a volunteer
researcher with Resistance Labs! Make phone calls or do web research for
at least 2 hours a week this summer. (h/t
Chop
Wood/Carry Water)
FIGHT GERRYMANDERING—Democratic majorities in State
legislatures and governorships are bulwarks against extreme Republican
gerrymandering—because it is States that draw Congressional districts. Fair
representation for voters who favor a progressive agenda depends on Democrats
gaining and holding power at the State level. Sister District Project is
working to get Democrats elected and re-elected in 2019 in the states of
Virginia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. If we are able, let’s donate now
to their 2019 Candidates Fund: https://sisterdistrict.com/candidates/
GET EXPERT TRAINING AND SUPPORT TO LEAD VOTER
REGISTRATION DRIVES: If we are
looking for effective ways to fight Trump and the Republicans, we can check out
leading our own Field Team 6 voter drive in a targeted district or state,
helping Field Team 6 can scale up enough to win the Battle of 2020 - and
take back the White House, flip the Senate, and expand our House
majority. Field Team 6 has taken a lot of the guesswork out of voter
registration by determining pivotal races, key places and times to register
voters. If we sign up, we will get training and support to give
us the foundation we need to lead a voter drive with confidence. We can find out about leading a Field Team
6 Voter Drive here:
STATE
SPECIFIC ISSUES
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
LEMONADE STANDS FOR MIGRANT
FAMILIES: The Lawyer Moms Foundation https://www.lawyermomsfoundation.org/ is
organizing Kids Take a Stand—lemonade stands set up all over the country on
Saturday, July 27, and Sunday, July 28, to raise awareness of the plight
of migrant families and to raise funds to support the Rio Grande Valley Rapid
Response https://www.rgvrapidresponse.com/ and
KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) https://supportkind.org/ . Let’s take a look
at the Kids Take a Stand toolkit and set up a lemonade stand with our families:
SIGN
UP FOR CANDIDATE TRAINING: Emily’s List is offering a
Candidate training on Saturday, July 27 in Philadelphia from 9:30 am to
2:30 pm. We can find out more about the event, Run to Win 101, a free
half-day training for pro-choice Democratic women thinking about running for
elected office and sign up, if we choose to, here: https://secure.emilyslist.org/page/s/20190713_email_RunToWinPhiladelphia
NATIONAL NETWORK ASSEMBLY: The first
National Network Assembly, made up of hundreds of local grassroots leaders and organizers
from around the country is happening in Des Moines, IA, August 22 to 25. https://mailchi.mp/thedemlabs/nationalnetworkassembly
There will be workshops, sessions, and meetings in
which participants will strategize, plan, and learn skills to take home to
their groups. The 2019 National Network
Assembly will strengthen the
connective tissue between grassroots groups by bridging multiple networks and
organizations that
represent over 1,000 leaders across all 50 states. We can find more information, register to
attend, and donate to the scholarship fund here: https://www.nationalnetworkassembly.org/
We can use this document to invite others to attend: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oKWdGLESqQYFVIa3JXQrtsXO9zrZv7ihCdGfnmSZ0-M/edit
READING/WATCHING
Female presidential candidates
face big double standard — and it shouldn't be that way - https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/carol-cain/2019/07/20/female-presidential-candidates-clothing/1771670001/
When Trump attacks, the base
turns out — for both parties - https://www.rollcall.com/news/campaigns/trump-attacks-base-turns-parties
Trump Says U.S. Economy Is
'Best It Has Ever Been,' But Facts Tell A Different Story - https://www.forbes.com/sites/yuwahedrickwong/2019/07/19/cheap-credit-and-lack-of-competition-gums-up-the-u-s-economy/#525336ae50c7
What we learned from Robert
Mueller: Seven hours, zero bombshells and everyone declares victory - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/24/robert-mueller-testimony-terse-conclusion-trump-russia-probe/1798408001/
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We can stay up to date on Congress by checking out their
schedules. a) The House publishes a weekly schedule at The Weekly Leader (published and dated Friday)
as well as daily schedules at The Daily Leader. b) The Senate updates
their schedule daily at the Senate Floor Schedule
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