8/1/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
(Including Emails & Twitter)
Fax
legislators for free:
Or use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
Or use StampsLicked to
have messages hand-delivered to our own legislators: https://stampslicked.org/
White
House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
|
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.
NEW “PERMANENT” CHILD DETENTION
CENTERS: Since June 2018, more than 58,000 children have been
apprehended by DHS, an increase of 57% from the previous year. The Trump
administration is now looking into building a “permanent” child detention
centers, and assessing vacant properties in Central Florida, Virginia, and Los
Angeles. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article233310512.html
Let’s tell our MoCs not to
allocate any more funds for child detention. We should be working on reuniting
children with their families, not permanently detaining them.
ASYLUM ELIGIBILITY FOR FAMILY
MEMBERS: Attorney General William Barr has further threatened
people’s safety and reversed years of precedent by limiting asylum claims of
family members of people who have been directly threatened. https://time.com/5638421/asylum-relatives-new-limits/
Let’s contact the Department of Justice (202-353-1555; 950 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20530-0001; website form; Facebook; Twitter: @TheJustice Dept.) and give our
opinion on this ruling. If we know people who have been personally affected,
let’s make sure to tell their stories. Let’s also ask our MoCs to pass
legislation that clearly defines asylum eligibility.
IMMIGRATION- RACIAL PROFILING &
BUSING: From Act 4 Progress: The ACLU says that for over a year, it has documented U.S.
Customs and Border Protection agents boarding Greyhound Buses and targeting
passengers, having resulted in "the harassment and racial profiling of
people of color and families—regardless of immigration status." SIGN
the petition: http://bit.ly/2Zl0wvT,
TWEET at their parent company @firstgroupplc, Comment on their Facebook
page Greyhound
Bus and tell them to STOP fueling Trump's deportation machine.
IMMIGRATION- PRESSURING
ICE-SUPPORTED COMPANIES: From
Sleeping Giants:
This spring, Deloitte Chair of the Board Janet Foutty was the commencement
speaker at NYU Stern, where she spoke on personal responsibility and
accountability. She also serves on Stern's Tech MBA advisory board. We're now
able to confirm Ms.Foutty heads a business that has over $100 million contracts
with ICE, including work that helps ICE agents separate immigrant families,
abuse children and lock up asylum-seekers indefinitely. NYU Stern School of
Business is a top-ranked business school with a core mission is to
“develop people and ideas that create value for business and society.” They're
also home to NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Will NYU
continue to partner with Deloitte and Ms.Foutty in light of Deloitte’s key role
in human rights abuse? Help us find out: Contact: Raghu Sundaram, Dean
of NYU Stern School of Business: raghu.sundaram@stern.nyu.edu.
We can find a template message here: https://bit.ly/331LL3v
CHILD SEPARATION: According
to numbers filed with a Federal District Court charged with supervising family
separations, 911 children were separated from their families or caregivers
between June 2018, when the “zero tolerance” policy purportedly ended,
and this June; of these 481 were under 10 and 185 under 5, their separation has
averaged 68 days:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-children/over-900-children-separated-at-us-border-since-policy-halted-aclu-idUSKCN1UP2KZ
The ACLU claims that the government justifies these separations by “citing
minor criminal history, highly dubious allegations of unfitness, and errors in
identifying bona fide parent-child relationships.” Let’s tell our MoCs
and AG William Barr that we will not tolerate these separations: DoJ,
202-353-1555 or 950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington DC 20530-0001
GREYHOUND AND BORDER PATROL: “The American
Civil Liberties Union is calling on transport giant Greyhound to stop allowing
Border Patrol agents to board its buses to "racially profile and
target" people of color in a bid to identify undocumented immigrants.” https://www.newsweek.com/aclu-calls-greyhound-stop-letting-border-patrol-buses-1450884 Let’s contact Greyhound and let them know
what we think of this travesty: https://mobile.greyhound.com/contactus.html
Let’s also sign this ACLU petition on
this issue: https://action.aclu.org/
CUTS TO SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM: Over 500,000
children could lose automatic eligibility for free school lunch thanks to a
Trump proposal to cut access to SNAP benefits; Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program would no longer provide benefits to as many as 3.1 million
recipients solely because they are enrolled in food assistance programs run by
the states where they live, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue failed to
mention the impact on school lunches when he announced this rule change last
week: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/29/500-000-kids-could-lose-free-school-lunch-trump-plan/1863720001/
We must comment on this rule change by September 23rd:
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/fr-072419
CHANGE IN “DISPARATE IMPACT” REGULATIONS IN HOUSING: The rule change has not yet been posted, but Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to change the “disparate impact” regulations so that the intent to discriminate will have to be proved. We should learn more about how this change will make racial discrimination not only easier but legal, and comment when it appears in the Federal Register. For more information: https://nlihc.org/resource/huds-proposed-changes-disparate-impact-regulations-clear-oira
CHANGE IN “DISPARATE IMPACT” REGULATIONS IN HOUSING: The rule change has not yet been posted, but Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to change the “disparate impact” regulations so that the intent to discriminate will have to be proved. We should learn more about how this change will make racial discrimination not only easier but legal, and comment when it appears in the Federal Register. For more information: https://nlihc.org/resource/huds-proposed-changes-disparate-impact-regulations-clear-oira
SENSIBLE GUN LAWS: “California has among the
strictest gun laws in the country. The state has universal background checks,
waiting periods, and severe limits on the design and functionality of the
semiautomatic rifles it allows residents to own. Late last year,
lawmakers raised the minimum age for purchasing a rifle to
21. But nearby states like Nevada and Arizona have no such laws. As a
result, these border states have become hotspots for gun traffickers and
criminals eager to bring weapons into California.”
https://www.thetrace.org/2019/07/gilroy-garlic-festival-california-nevada/. Let’s
ask our MOCs to produce a national residency bill on gun sales. If the guns a
person wants to buy or their age restricts them from purchase in their resident
state, then no other state can sell those items to that person.
SEESAWS BRIDGE THE WALL: “A set of fluorescent pink seesaws
has been built across the US-Mexico border by a pair of professors seeking
to bring a playful concept of unity to the two sides of the divide.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/30/pink-seesaws-reach-across-divide-us-mexico-border Let’s thank Ronald Rael, a professor of architecture
at the University of California, Berkeley (https://ced.berkeley.edu/ced/faculty-staff/ronald-rael),
and Virginia San Fratello, an associate professor of design at San José State
University (http://www.sjsu.edu/design/design_programs/interior_design_program/intd_faculty/virginia_san_fratello/)
for their creative way of showing us all that walls can be breached in the name
of friendship.
KEEP CALLING RESISTANT REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVES: Those of us in
Red districts with Republican Representatives may wonder what good our calls
and protests do when our Reps do not listen to our concerns, duck townhalls,
and avoid accountability at every turn. The good news is that they can have a
much stronger effect than we dreamed, driving these resistant Republicans out
of office completely. As one of the several Republicans fleeing Congress this
week says: “Every day there is some
indefensible tweet or comment to defend or explain. It is exhausting and often
embarrassing.” We can read more about the rash of Republicans deciding
not to run for re-election here, then take heart to call, visit, tweet at and
protest against our most recalcitrant representatives, knowing that no matter
how hard they try to ignore us, our voices are being heard: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-republican-congressman-retires-mike-conaway-2020-election-gop-a9029126.html
CONGRESSIONAL RECESS:
The House is already on break and the Senate will follow at the end of
this week. They will return following
Labor Day. While they are in their
home districts, let’s reach out to them to see how we can best meet up with
them: in person, at a townhall,
etc. Let’s be creative!
ADOPTEE CITIZENSHIP ACT: ““Due to a loophole in the Child
Citizenship Act, thousands of internationally-adopted children, who were raised
by American parents, have been denied the same rights of citizenship as
biological children,” Sen. Hirono said. “These adoptees were raised as
Americans in American families and would have received the stability and
security that the Child Citizenship Act provided if they had been under the age
of 18 when that law went into effect. The Adoptee Citizenship Act would fix
this loophole and right this wrong.”” https://bigislandnow.com/2019/05/30/senators-introduce-adoptee-citizenship-act/ This bill, The Adoptee Citizenship Act (H.R. 2731)
has been referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. Let’s reach out to those committee members
(https://judiciary.house.gov/subcommittees/immigration-and-border-security-116th-congress)
and help
them understand how important this is so how essential this is to so many now-adults
who were brought here as children and through no fault of their own do not have
the necessary paperwork to have the rights and privileges of a U.S. citizen. Let’s
also let our own reps know that we want them to co-sponsor and support this
bill.
ELECTION/VOTING
2020 ELECTION ACTION—If we’re going to win in 2020,
we have to get to work now. Swing Left is holding a Weekend of Action August
3-4. On the agenda: registering voters and gearing up to win in 2020, up and
down the ballot. Let’s sign up and get involved: https://swingleft.org/take-action
STATE
SPECIFIC ISSUES
STATES
(MANY): MEDICAID EXPANSION: A study by economists has just been
published at the National Bureau of Economic Research which finds that states
that adopted the Medicaid expansion experienced a lower mortality rate than
states which did not (https://www.nber.org/papers/w26081). Based off of their
data, it is estimated that had all the states in the U.S. opted for Medicaid
expansion, over 15,000 deaths could have been prevented (https://bit.ly/2SxWOfN, https://lat.ms/2OepR9G). With
Medicaid expansion, the federal government covers 90% of the costs, with states
picking up the remainder. Let's see where our state stands, and if
Medicaid expansion has not been passed, let's urge our state legislators and
governor to pass it ASAP: https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map/
CA:
ATTEND INLAND EMPIRE RESISTANCE TRAINING:
This Saturday, August 3rd, a coalition of activist groups,
including Mi Familia Vota, Swing Left, NOW, and Field Team 6 have teamed up to
present a day of inspiration, training, and action at the Caesar Chavez Center
in Riverside. We can attend a supercharged rally and get hands-on
how-tos in crucial skills that will help flip seats nationwide this year and
build the 2020 blue wave (canvassing, phone & text banking, voter
registration...) then meet and sign up with local flipping-focused
orgs.
Sign up
and more details are here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resistance-boot-camp-volunteer-fair-inland-empire-tickets-62357094749 We can also sign up to volunteer to help out
at the event if we like here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0a4fadab2ca1ff2-volunteer3
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
WEBINAR W/ACTIVISTS FROM
PUERTO RICO: Today at 6:00pm
ET, The
Majority, an intersectional coalition of organizations, will be hosting a
webinar with Puerto Rican activists. Voices From Puerto Rico will look
at the history, future, and lessons from current struggles. Let's sign
up and attend:
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
Have We No Decency? A Response
to President Trump - https://cathedral.org/have-we-no-decency-a-response-to-president-trump.html
Russian election-hacking probe
proved that it’s way past time to free Reality Winner - https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/reality-winner-whistleblower-exposed-russian-election-hacking-20190730.html
Photo Of Mother Pleading With
Mexican Soldier Draws Attention To Migrant Patrol - https://www.npr.org/2019/07/24/744934308/photo-of-mother-pleading-with-mexican-soldier-draws-attention-to-migrant-patrol
George Wallace’s daughter:
‘I’ve never seen anything like it’ - https://www.al.com/news/2019/07/george-wallaces-daughter-ive-never-seen-anything-like-it.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.