Tell Congress: Do not fund hate

I just watched United We Dream’s livestream from Capitol Hill and wept as young immigrants described mothers screaming as they’re separated from their children, and deaths in detention due to callous mistreatment and lack of medical care.

Today or tomorrow Congress will vote on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding deal, which determines ICE and CBP capacity for deportations and detention, along with the six other funding bills Congress needs to pass to avoid another shutdown.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation on Capitol Hill right now about the way this bill allows ICE and CBP to detain even more of our immigrant loved ones. Can you call and let your member of Congress know that you stand with immigrants and oppose expanded detention? ☎️ 202-224-3121 ☎️

Make sure to ask for your Representative or Senator. If you don't know your members of Congress, share your zip code and the switchboard will transfer you.

You can say:

"Hi, I'm _____, and I'm a resident of _____, I want Rep./Sen._____ to know that I’m disappointed Congress is about to expand immigrant detention with the DHS funding bill this week. This bill will NOT decrease detention, and will therefore hurt immigrants. I do NOT support funding for ICE and CBP to harm immigrant communities, and I will have the Rep./Sen.’s back if he/she stands up for immigrants.”

#defundhate

Democrats could vote as early as today on a DHS budget deal that would hand Trump more than $1 billion for his wall and the power to throw more immigrants behind bars.1

Democrats should be fighting for a DHS budget that reflects progressive values. This proposal is a compromise to hate. Will you call Rep. Kirkpatrick and Sen. Sinema to demand that they reject it?

Call Rep. Kirkpatrick and Sen. Sinema: If you cave on Trump's wall, we will pay the price.

The DHS budget proposal would reportedly:2

• Hand Trump more than $1 billion for his border wall
• Increase the number of people ICE and CBP can jail each day
• Allow the Trump regime to continue to steal money from other agencies to keep more immigrants behind bars
• Arm Trump's deportation force with the latest surveillance technology

Approving any funding for Trump's wall sanctions his manufactured border crisis and attacks on immigrants.

Rewarding Trump's rogue deportation force by handing it more detention dollars is a slap in the face to immigrants and allies whose friends and family members suffered horrific abuse or died in ICE custody.

References:

1. Aida Chávez and Ryan Grim, "Immigrant rights groups trash border deal: 'Immigrant families will pay the price,'" The Intercept, Feb. 13, 2019.
2. Dara Lind, "Congress’s deal on immigration detention, explained,'" Vox, Feb. 12, 2019.

Contact your Senators:

Sen. Kyrsten Sinama

202-224-4521

https://www.sinema.senate.gov/contact

Phone (520) 670-6334

Sen. Martha McSally

(520) 670-6334

(202) 224-2235

To find out who your Representative is, just find your district and use that to look up your Rep.

More Sources:

1. VOA News, Political Impasse Turns from Border Wall to Beds in Immigration Debate
2. The Hill, Progressives say Congress must reject funding for more ICE agents
3. LA Times, Border funding fight bogs down over detention beds. Here's why
4. Buzzfeed News, A Record Number Of Immigrants Are Detained In The US. Blame Trump’s “Draconian” Policies, A Former ICE Official Says.

A vote for Dreamers today?

It’s time for a vote. A majority of Americans – and a majority of Congress – say it’s time to protect Dreamers. Today, 240 members of the House demanded a vote to protect Dreamers – now it’s up to Congressional leadership to act.

Today, Rep. Jeff Denham announced that he has enough supporters from both sides of the aisle to put four immigration bills forward for immediate votes.

Rep. Denham’s “Queen of the Hill” rule is designed to start a real debate – and find a real solution – for Dreamers. Denham and 239 other members of Congress are proposing putting four separate bills, spanning the political spectrum, on the floor for a vote.

We know Americans overwhelmingly support protecting Dreamers – they just need a chance.

Click here to sign the following petition to Speaker Paul Ryan

Right now, a majority of the members of the House of Representatives support the "Queen of the Hill" motion to put four immigration bills on the floor immediately.

This is the will of the House and the will of the vast majority of Americans. The time is far past for Dreamers to get a fair up and down vote in the House. Please, enact Queen of the Hill and call for a vote today.

-Jeremy Robbins, New American Economy

Encourage your Representative to vote to protect the Dreamer today:

Find out who your Representative is here

Find your Representative here 

Sample Script: 

Hi, my name is _______ and I’m a constituent. 

I’m calling today because the repeal of DACA has created an urgent crisis. Nearly 20,000 Dreamers have already lost their work permits and deportation protections since President Trump eliminated the DACA program, and 122 more will continue to fall out of status every single day until Congress passes a permanent legislative solution to protect them.

There are enough bipartisan votes from both Democrats and Republicans to protect Dreamers in both the House and Senate. Congress must take decisive action to prevent 800,000 Dreamers from being fired from their jobs, ripped out of classrooms, and deported to countries they can’t even remember.

You can fix this — now. 800,000 hard working young people are waiting for you to act and it is urgent that we pass permanent protections for Dreamers.

Tell Congress: Protect Dreamers. Defund Hate.

The petition to Congress reads: “Protect Dreamers, cut funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, and block funding for Donald Trump’s southern border wall in the next omnibus bill.” Add your name:

Donald Trump wants more than $20 billion to wall off our borders and lock up and deport more immigrants.1 We must speak out now to stop them. Congress needs to approve an omnibus spending bill to fund the government and keep it running by March 23. With Dreamers still in danger of deportation and Donald Trump’s lawless deportation forces tearing immigrant families apart daily, we must make sure that Congress permanently reinstates the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in the bill and blocks any budget proposal that would ramp-up the criminalization and deportation of immigrants. Democrats and Republicans of good conscience must make a choice: Will they use their power to defund Trump’s hate in the omnibus bill or help him expand his racist agenda? Speak out now to make sure they do the right thing. Tell Congress: Protect Dreamers and cut funding for Trump’s deportation machine. Click here to sign the petition. We can no longer treat funding for immigration detention and enforcement as business as usual. Every dollar Congress appropriates for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a dollar that will fuel Trump’s deportation machine and arm and mobilize his rogue enforcement army. ICE is hunting down immigrants at hospitals, schools and courthouses. Its agents are even arresting and detaining Dreamers and green card holders.2,3 Now, immigration enforcement agents are targeting immigrant activists who are speaking out against Trump’s authoritarian regime. ICE agents have deported Haitian activist Jean Montrevil and have detained and threatened to deport other prominent immigrant activists including Maru Mora Villalpando, Eliseo Jurado and Ravi Ragbir.4,5 By unleashing this dangerous deportation force to terrorize immigrants and undermine resistance movements, Trump’s xenophobic administration is threatening our nation’s values and our democracy.6 Congress must obstruct any budget proposal that would expand ICE and CBP and push for pro-immigrant policies in the omnibus bill. The March spending bill could be the last best chance for Congress to pass legislation that would permanently protect Dreamers from deportation. As in previous budget fights, Democrats in the Senate have the power to include the bipartisan DREAM Act in this must-pass bill. But to save Dreamers and cut funding for Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, we must speak out now to demand that Democrats fight back and Republicans of good conscience stand with the immigrants in their states, not the Trump regime. Tell Congress: Protect Dreamers and cut funding for Trump’s deportation machine. Click here to sign the petition. It’s important to remember that ICE and CBP have a long history of neglect, overreach and abuse. ICE’s mismanagement and neglect of the immigration detention system has resulted in a network of hundreds of jails riddled with reports of abuse and human rights violations. ICE agents have reportedly subjected immigrants in their custody to excessive solitary confinement and medical neglect that has led to immigrant deaths, physical abuse and sexual assault.7 Like ICE, CBP agents also have a troubling history of misconduct. More than 95 percent of all cases of alleged misconduct by CBP agents – including allegations of physical abuse and sexual assault – have resulted in “no action taken” by the agency.8 CBP is notorious for violating the rights of immigrants and people of color in the massive “100-mile border zone” over which it has jurisdiction.9 What Democrats and Republicans of good conscience do on March 23 will not only determine how much power Trump’s deportation machine will have over the next few years, it will also show the rest of the country whose side they are on. Whether they do their jobs and stand up for every person in their state – not just the ones who were born in this country – or side with a racist who is trying to uphold white supremacy on the backs of immigrants is up to us. Tell Congress: Protect Dreamers and cut funding for Trump’s deportation machine. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/immigration_omnibus?t=8&akid=27583%2E3130208%2E7xHrpX - Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Dean DeChiaro, "More Funds Sought for Wall, Detention Beds," Roll Call, Feb. 12, 2018. Samantha Schmidt, "ICE detains a Polish doctor and green-card holder who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 40 years," The Washington Post, Jan. 22, 2018. Jamie Lynch, "DREAMer speaks out on immigration, gets arrested by ICE," CNN, March 2, 2017. Juliane Hing, "ICE Is Going After People Who Were Once Off-Limits," The Nation, Jan. 19 2018. Maria Sacchetti and David Weigel, "ICE has detained or deported prominent immigration activists," The Washington Post, Jan. 19, 2018. Cesar Vargas, "Trump’s Anti-Immigration Machine Is Chipping Away At The Fourth Amendment," HuffPost, Feb. 27, 2018. Anna Núñez, "Inhumane Human Rights Violations Found at U.S. Immigration Detention Centers," America's Voice, Dec. 19, 2017. Marie Solis, "New Border Patrol report shows “no action taken” in more than 95% of misconduct cases," Mic, Aug. 5, 2017. ACLU, "The Constitution in the 100-mile border zone," accessed March 2, 2018.

Call now: Tell your Members of Congress "Let Dreamers stay!"

The clock is ticking for Dreamers.

Every day an estimated 122 Dreamers are losing their right to legally work, study, and even drive in the United States. Call your Members of Congress and demand a solution that lets Dreamers stay and contribute to the only country many of them have ever known.

Deporting Dreamers is as harmful to our economy as it is heartless:
1.3 million young people are DACA-eligible
They are paying more than $3 billion in taxes and are using more than $13 billion in spending power to fuel our local economy
DACA-eligible entrepreneurs earned $658.7 million in business income in 2015 alone

Click here to make a call to Congress using statistics for your state.

Congress needs to act now.

Take Action:

1) First, enter your address and zip code below.

The contact info for your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators will appear.


2) Once their numbers appear, call your Representative and tell them the following:

"I'm [Name] and a constituent of Representative [Name]. I urge him/her to support a solution for Dreamers now. Dreamers have proven that they're law-abiding, hard-working young people by submitting to rigorous background checks and serving in the military or working towards a college degree.

In the United States, 1.3 million DACA-eligible young people are paying more than $3 billion in taxes and using more than $13 billion in spending power to fuel our local economy.

These are exactly the kinds of immigrants we should be supporting, not deporting. Let’s fulfill our promise to allow these outstanding young immigrants to fulfill their potential and work towards their American Dream. Thank you."

3) When you're done with your Representative's office, call your two Senators at their numbers and tell them the following:

"I'm [Name] and a constituent of Senator [Name]. I urge him/her to support a solution for Dreamers now. Dreamers have proven that they're law-abiding, hard-working young people by submitting to rigorous background checks and serving in the military or working towards a college degree.

In the United States, 1.3 million DACA-eligible young people are paying more than $3 billion in taxes and using more than $13 billion in spending power to fuel our local economy.

These are exactly the kinds of immigrants we should be supporting, not deporting. Let’s fulfill our promise to allow these outstanding young immigrants to fulfill their potential and work towards their American Dream. Thank you."

For Arizona residents:

I have had better luck calling local offices.

Sen. John McCain

Phoenix Office
P. 602-952-2410
F. 855-952-8702

Tucson Office
P. 520-670-6334 
F. 855-952-8702

https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

Sen. Jeff Flake

Phoenix Office
P: 602-840-1891
F: 602-840-4092

Tucson Office
P: 520-575-8633
F: 520-797-3232

https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-jeff

Call Democratic leaders: No more delays or excuses. Protect Dreamers and save CHIP.

The next chance for Democrats to secure permanent protection for Dreamers and funding for children’s health care is just a few days away. Call today to make sure Democratic leaders stand up and fight. Click below for a sample script and the number to call:

Democratic leaders will not stand up for Dreamers or children unless we force them to act. In December, 31 Democrats helped Republicans fund the government for a few weeks without any protections for Dreamers and only temporary funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).1,2 That was not just a failure by each of those Democrats, but also a massive failure of leadership. Dreamers whose Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status is expiring right now and children who are already losing their health care cannot wait any longer for relief. Democrats have the power to force a vote on the DREAM Act and secure funding for CHIP as the budget fight comes to a head again on Jan. 19. Help flood the offices of Democratic leaders with calls to make clear that failing again to protect Dreamers and restore CHIP is not an option. Call Democratic leaders: Time to fight. Lead your caucus in blocking any spending package that does not include a clean DREAM Act and funding for CHIP. Click here to start your call. For each day that Congress waits to pass the DREAM Act and fully fund CHIP, more lives are ruined and families torn apart. DACA gave many people brought to the United States as children by their parents the ability to work and live in the country. Since Donald Trump ended the program, more than 15,000 Dreamers have lost their legal status. And 122 more a day become targets for deportation while Congress waits to pass the DREAM Act. Donald Trump recently made clear that any permanent legislative solution to protect Dreamers from deportation would come at the cost of greenlighting his border wall and punishing immigrant communities by shredding the fabric of the country’s immigration system with cuts to the diversity visa lottery and family-based immigration.3 We cannot allow Democrats to cave and accept any compromise bill that would protect Dreamers but waste billions of taxpayer dollars to help Trump fulfill his xenophobic campaign promises. CHIP gives more than 9 million low- and middle-income children access to lifesaving health care. Republicans allowed it to expire in September. Now, more than a dozen states are preparing to shut down their CHIP programs completely.4 Congress approved temporary funding for CHIP in December. We must keep pushing until it restores the program completely. To keep Dreamers safe and millions of children healthy, we need Democratic leaders to do their jobs, keep their commitments and use their leverage now. Can you help flood their offices with calls demanding that they hold the line on a clean DREAM Act and CHIP? Call Democratic leaders: Time to fight. Lead your caucus in blocking any spending package that does not include a clean DREAM Act and funding for CHIP. Click the link below to start your call. https://act.credoaction.com/call/dreamchip_demleaders/?t=7&akid=26866%2E3130208%2E40HnP - Nicole Regalado CREDO Action Click below for a sample script and the number to call: References: CREDO, "Democrats who voted to deport Dreamers graphic," posted Dec. 21, 2017. Tara Golshan, "The 2017 government shutdown fight, explained," Vox, Dec. 21, 2017. Andrea Germanos, "WH Regurgitates Anti-Immigrant Wish List as Trump Doubles Down on Making Dreamers Bargaining Chips," Common Dreams, Jan. 6, 2018. Phil Galewitz, "CHIP funding could run out as soon as this month in some states," CNN, Jan. 5, 2018.

CALL TO ACTION - Demand that Rep. McSally Protect Dreamers NOW

Thursday, January 18th Indivisible will be joining forces with Mi Familia Vota-Tucson outside of Representative Martha McSally's congressional office from 4:00-5:00 p.m.

4400 E. Broadway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85711

We stand united in demanding the passage of a clean DREAM Act!

Last week Martha McSally unveiled her worst-kept-secret: she's running for Senate. Not so fast, Martha. You're still our representative, and we intend to hold you accountable. We've watched over the past year as her stances on immigration and border policies have morphed into whatever she thinks will get her the Republican nomination for that coveted Senate seat.

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: Dreamers are not pawns, and their right to citizenship cannot be tied to funding for a wall, or increased militarization along the border. While we fight to defend the status of more than 800,000 Dreamers, ALL 11.5 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States deserve protection, and a path to citizenship.

Stand up for our friends, our community, and their DREAMS!

JOIN US!

- Indivisible

NOTE: If you would like to show support with a phone call to Rep. McSally, you can find a script and numbers by clicking on this link or scrolling down. lol

Tell Your Member of Congress to Take the Dreamer Pledge

On Sept. 5, Trump announced that he was terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This Obama-era program provides relief from deportation for an estimated 800,000 young immigrants. Because Trump terminated DACA, over 10,000 Dreamers are estimated to have already lost their protections, and nearly 1,000 more will lose DACA each week and become vulnerable to Trump’s deportation force.

Ask your members of Congress to become Dream Heroes now! (Follow this link for the contact information of your representatives.)

Who are Dream Heroes? They are members of Congress who pledge to protect Dreamers. Congress needs to pass a government funding bill this week - and the DREAM Act must be part of that bill. There is bipartisan support for the Dream Act in both the Senate and House, and this is our last chance this year to protect DREAMers from Trump's deportation machine. The pledge is that they will only commit to vote on a “continuing resolution” that has the Dream Act attached. Call your MoC and tell them: A vote on a continuing resolution without the Dream Act, is a vote to deport Dreamers.

- Indivisible

 Review Script

Caller: Hello! My name is [name] and I’m calling from [place in state]. Could you please tell me whether the [Senator/Congressman] supports protecting Dreamers as part of the Continuing Resolution?

If MoC supports DREAM in the CR

Staffer: Yes! The [Senator/Congressman] is totally opposed to the decision to end DACA and won’t vote for a Continuing Resolution unless it includes the DREAM Act.

Caller: I’m glad to hear that. Will the [Senator/Congressman] pledge to be a “Dreamer Hero” and protect Dreamers from deportation? The Dreamer Pledge is a public commitment to do everything he/she can to pass the DREAM Act as soon as possible, including withholding [her/his] support for the Continuing Resolution unless it includes the DREAM Act.

Staffer: I’m not sure.

Caller: Please ask the [Senator/Congressman] to make a public commitment so Dreamers know he/she is standing with them. 27 members of the House and 6 members of the Senate have already taken the Dreamer Pledge, and an additional 34 Republican Members of Congress signed a letter saying that “we must pass legislation that protects DACA recipients from deportation” by the end of this year.

If MoC doesn’t support DREAM in the CR

Staffer: The [Senator/Congressman] doesn’t think that a legislative fix for DACA is an emergency; the president gave us until March to address this program, and we have more urgent concerns right now.

Caller: There are at least six senators and dozens of representatives— including Republicans—who disagree with you. Because Trump terminated DACA, over 10,000 Dreamers are estimated to have already lost their protections, and nearly 1,000 more will lose DACA each week and become vulnerable to Trump’s deportation force. For those young people and their families, this is an emergency and we must take this opportunity to protect them by including the DREAM Act in the Continuing Resolution.

Staffer: I’ll pass your thoughts along to the [Congressman / Senator].

Caller: Yes please do, and please take down my contact information so you can let me know what the [Congressman / Senator] decides to do.

Note from Jana of Desktop Activist Tucson:

I just got a hold of Rep. McSally's staffer at her D.C. office. (202- 225-2542)  When I asked the staffer if Rep. McSally would withhold her support of the Continuing Resolution unless it includes the Dream Act, she said she didn't know and she would look it up. Please, follow up on my call by urging Rep. McSally to do that. (Helpful script above.) I also spoke to Sen. Flake's staffer in Tucson. (520-575-8633) He didn't know the Senator's position on that. Please, call and urge Sen. Flake to withhold his support for the Continuing Resolution unless it includes the Dream Act.

#DREAMACT #Protectdreamers #DREAMERS