Tell Congress: Protect military families from deportation

The petition to Congress reads: "Don't let Trump deport military families. Pass the Military Families Parole in Place Act." Add your name:

For decades, thousands of immigrants put their lives on the line to defend the United States and gain citizenship. In fact, nearly 130,000 troops from more than 30 countries have become citizens through military service since 2001.2 But under Trump, immigrant veterans and active duty service members and their families are all under threat. The Trump regime is planning to gut a program that protects immigrant military families from deportation. Speak out now to demand that Congress pass legislation to fight this attack and keep military families safe. Tell Congress: Pass the Military Families Parole in Place Act. Click here to sign the petition. CREDO is fighting for an America where citizenship is accessible to all and doesn't require immigrants to be extraordinary or put their lives in danger to prove their worth. But at the same time, we know we have to counter the attacks Trump is hurling at our communities now. Trump's latest attack would gut USCIS' Parole in Place program, which allows undocumented family members of active duty military to stay in the country while they adjust their immigration status. Sen. Duckworth's Military Families Parole in Place Act would safeguard this program by making it law.3 Under the Trump regime, immigrant veterans and active duty service members face huge threats at home.4 During the chaos of Trump's mass raids over the summer, Navy sailor Enoch Orona told NPR that his greatest worry was whether ICE would deport his mother, an undocumented immigrant, during his third tour of duty.5 Passing the Military Families Parole in Place Act would provide much needed relief to soldiers like Orona, and thousands of immigrant military families like his. Tell Congress: Pass the Military Families Parole in Place Act. Click the link below to sign the petition. Tell Congress: Pass the Military Families Parole in Place Act. Click here to sign the petition. - Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Franco Ordonez, "Trump Wants To Withdraw Deportation Protections For Families Of Active Troops," NPR, June, 27, 2019. Ibid. Camilo Montoya-Galvez, "Senators move to protect program for immigrant military families that Trump may end," CBS, Nov. 6, 2019. America's Voice, "Active Duty Service Members, and Their Families, Face Increasing Immigration and Naturalization Obstacles Under Trump Administration," Oct. 28, 2019. Franco Ordonez, "Facing Deployment While Fearing That Family Members Will Be Deported," NPR, July 12, 2019.

Tell Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Nita Lowey: No Slush Fund for ICE and CBP

No slush fund for ICE and CBP

The petition to Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Rep. Nita Lowey reads: "Defund hate. Cut 302(b) discretionary funding for ICE and CBP." Add your name:

Every year at the start of the budget process, the House Committee on Appropriations allocates a pot of non-military discretionary funding to each of the committee's 12 subcommittees, including Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and CBP's budgets.1 Normally, the committee chair divides any increase in this slush fund money to each subcommittee equally. But nothing is normal right now.  As chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Democrat Rep. Nita Lowey has the power to cut funding for ICE and CBP. We need to make sure she uses it. As chair, Rep. Lowey is holding the purse strings. We must make clear to her that progressives are watching and demand that she cut funding for ICE and CBP now and at every step of the budget process. Tell Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Nita Lowey: No slush fund for ICE and CBP. Click here to sign the petition. Donald Trump is waging war on immigrants and refugees. Clear, decisive action from Democrats in the House of Representatives is one of our strongest lines of defense. Trump is going to extremes to fund his anti-immigrant agenda. He stole from FEMA to supercharge ICE.2 He declared a fake national emergency to steal billions of dollars for his border wall even after Congress approved $4 billion to build it.3 And just yesterday, Trump's pick to run DHS announced his plan to inflate the department's immigration enforcement budget before Congress even begins fiscal year 2020 budget negotiations.4 ICE tried to up its budget by manipulating the negotiations process last year, but CREDO members and our allies stopped it from happening. This year, we're in an even better position to fight back. Democrats took back the House of Representatives in November because progressive voters turned out en masse. They sent the youngest and most diverse group of representatives to Congress with a mandate to confront Trump's white supremacy head on and push for policies that put people before politics and corporate interests. Advocating that Democrats who now hold key leadership positions do everything they can to defund Trump's deportation force and racist agenda is an opportunity we cannot afford to squander. That's why we're mobilizing earlier in the budget process. Grassroots activism at this stage is very uncommon, which means that organizing now can have a big impact. Add your name to demand that Rep. Lowey stand with us and restrict discretionary funding for ICE and CBP. Tell Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Nita Lowey: No slush fund for ICE and CBP. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/no-ice-slush-fund?t=9&akid=32440%2E3130208%2EK9dN2d - Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Detention Watch Network, "Tell Chairwoman Lowey to Cut Funding for ICE & CBP," accessed April 30, 2019. Camila Domonoske, "Trump Administration Transferred $9.8 Million From FEMA To ICE," NPR, Sept. 12, 2018. Peter Baker, "Trump Declares a National Emergency, and Provokes a Constitutional Clash," The New York Times, Feb. 15, 2019. Priscilla Alvarez, Geneva Sands and Phil Mattingly, "Acting homeland security secretary says administration will ask Congress for more border funds this year," CNN, April 30, 2019.

Tell Congress: Reject Ronald Vitiello's nomination as head of ICE

There are thousands of children still in detention at this moment thanks to Ronald Vitiello

Petition to the Senate: "Reject Ronald Vitiello's nomination to become permanent director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement." Add your name:

The Senate is poised to approve Ronald Vitiello – one of the key players in the Trump policy of tearing families apart – as the permanent head of ICE.1 Even Republican members of Congress saw through Trump's fear-mongering and embarrassed him by rejecting his declaration of a state of emergency at the southern border. So now, the Trump administration is fostering and playing up a sense of crisis in order to justify his authoritarian power grab – orchestrating a nightmare scenario by misallocating resources for political gain. The Senate could vote on Vitiello's nomination any day now, but some Republicans are wavering after the ICE employees' union expressed concerns. We need to speak out now. Tell the Senate: Reject Ronald Vitiello's nomination as permanent head of ICE. Click here to sign the petition. There are thousands of children still in detention at this moment thanks to Ronald Vitiello. We've watched ICE tear gas mothers, children and even toddlers in diapers, children die of severe neglect in ICE and CBP custody, and border agents turn away thousands of migrant refugees escaping violence. We've also watched the Trump administration sabotage the asylum process, divert funds, and illegally deploy the military to the border – all to manufacture a sense of crisis. Ronald Vitiello, as the acting director of ICE since June 2018, is a key cog in this despicable campaign who:2 Implemented and defended Trump's family separation policy. As acting head of ICE, he carried out Trump's orders. He tried to downplay and minimize the horror of separating children from their families in media appearances, and told senators that the policy would continue. Characterized immigrants in a racist way as bearers of crime and disease and called Democrats the “NeoKlanist Party.” Vitiello also participated in an event hosted by FAIR, a group the Southern Poverty Law Center deems a hate group. Oversaw an abusive and deliberately disorganized agency. No person who lost track of children and cannot locate and return them to their family deserves to stay in their job. Even the ICE employees' union – no friend to immigrants – expressed concerns about Vitiello's competence to lead the agency. It is awful that the concerns of the ICE employees' union bothered some Republican senators more than Vitiello's role in separating families – but it gives us a window to prevent him from being confirmed if we act now. Tell the Senate: Reject Ronald Vitiello's nomination as permanent head of ICE. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/vitiello-ice?t=9&akid=32117%2E3130208%2EsrFR6J - Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Geneva Sands, "ICE director nominee in limbo after criticism from union," CNN, Feb. 13, 2019. America's Voice, "America’s Voice to Senate: Reject Nomination of Ronald Vitiello – Defending and Implementing Family Separation Should Be Disqualifying," Nov. 15, 2018.

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.

Tell Democrats: Keep holding the line on border wall funding

Dems, keep holding the line on funding for the wall

The petition to Democrats reads: "Don't give an inch. Keep holding the line on funding for the wall and the expansion of ICE and CBP and immediately put checks on Trump if he declares a national emergency." Add your name:

Donald Trump is so desperate for his border wall that he just hijacked prime time to try to get it.1 And it's not just prime time. Trump has also been threatening to declare a national emergency, which would give him not only the power to use the military to build his wall, but a sweeping and terrifying set of other extrajudicial powers.2 Now more than ever, we need Democratic leaders to keep standing strong, hold the line on wall funding and immediately put checks on Trump if he declares a national emergency. Will you add your name now? Tell Democrats: Don't give an inch. Keep holding the line on border wall funding. Click here to sign the petition. It's important to remember that Trump created this border crisis to sanction attacks on immigrants and coerce the public and Congress into backing his border wall. Trump's wall isn't just unnecessary, a waste of taxpayer dollars and harmful to the environment and communities who live in the southern border region, but it's also a monument to hate. Building it would hand Trump a major political victory and ramp up attacks on our communities. It would prove to his racist base of supporters that he has the power to deliver on hateful campaign promises, even at the expense of our Democracy. We must keep pushing to make sure Democrats keep up the fight to block Trump's racist agenda. Trump's national emergency threats are terrifying. History has shown that the end of many democracies begins when leaders invoke emergency powers to force the government to do their political bidding.3 By trying to circumventing Congress and a majority of voters who don't want a wall, Trump is proving, once again, that he will do anything – including taking a sledgehammer to the Constitution – to advance his white supremacist agenda. If Trump follows through with his latest threats to abuse emergency powers, it would escalate and normalize the use of lethal military force at the border, supercharge the mass incarceration and state-sanctioned abuse and killings of children in DHS custody and give Trump the power to suppress political protests at the border and dissent across the country.4 We cannot allow that to happen. To protect our immigrant neighbors, friends and family members and defend our democracy, we need to make sure Democrats continue to hold the line and refuse to cave to Trump and Republicans' threats and hostage taking. Republicans' craven tactics will only work if Democrats compromise. Speak out now to make sure they keep standing strong. Tell Democrats: Don't give an inch. Keep holding the line on border wall funding. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/dems_shutdown_2019?t=7&akid=31133%2E3130208%2ER0U6p0 - Thaís Marques, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Veronica Rocha, et al., "Trump addresses the nation, Democrats respond," CNN, Jan. 8, 2019. Elizabeth Goitein, "What the President Could Do If He Declares a State of Emergency," The Atlantic, January/February 2019. Andrea Pitzer, "If Trump Declares a state emergency, he may actually cause one," Washington Post, Jan. 8, 2019. Boris Sanchez, "Trump inclined to declare national emergency if talks continue to stall," CNN, Jan. 5, 2019.

Signatures needed: No wall. No new family prisons

The petition to Congress reads: "No wall. No new family prisons. Block the Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act (H.R. 7059)." Add your name:

Republican extremist Rep. Kevin McCarthy is trying to advance his political career on the backs of immigrant children and families. Rep. Kevin McCarthy just introduced a draconian border bill that panders to the far-right Freedom Caucus and his party's racist base to boost his bid to become speaker of the house. McCarthy's extreme bill would hand Donald Trump billions for his border wall, supercharge ICE and worsen the country's mass incarceration crisis.1 We need to make clear to every member of Congress that a vote for this bill is a vote to help McCarthy and Republicans build political power by throwing children and families in jail. Tell Congress: No wall. No new family prisons. Block Trump Republicans' latest border bill. Click here to sign the petition. Blind loyalty to the white supremacist in the White House and a willingness to enable state-sanctioned child abuse and indefinite immigrant incarceration seem to be the new litmus test for Republicans, especially those vying for leadership positions within the Party. The Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act is a clear attempt by McCarthy to prove that he is racist and cruel enough to lead. No member of Congress should support this hateful bill. The bill would:2 Appropriate $23 billion for the construction of Trump's border wall and new family prisons. Penalize sanctuary states and cities that prevent ICE and CBP from violating people's Fourth Amendment rights and detaining them without due process. Allow DHS to detain immigrants indefinitely. Expand the definition of illegal reentry to include people seeking asylum at the border. Empower ICE to conduct sweeps of Latinx and immigrant communities and detain anyone who seems in any way connected to a gang member, including people with no criminal record. Any member of Congress who is willing to hurt children, imprison families and punish states that uphold the Constitution for political gain is unfit to govern, let alone lead a chamber of Congress. To protect our democracy and the soul of the country, we must make sure Democrats and Republicans of good conscience do everything they can to block McCarthy's cruel border bill. Tell Congress: No wall. No new family prisons. Block Trump Republicans' latest border bill. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/block_mccarthy_borderbill?t=7&akid=30435%2E3130208%2EeqSqjo - Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Dean DeChiaro, "McCarthy Bill Would Fund Border Wall, Boost Speaker Bid," Roll Call, Oct. 15, 2018. Melanie Zanona, "McCarthy introduces bill to fully fund Trump's border wall," The Hill, Oct. 12, 2018.

Tell Congress: Stop Trump's mass incarceration agenda. Pass the Detention Oversight Not Expansion Act

The petition to Congress reads: "Don't let the Trump administration make the country's mass incarceration crisis even worse. Pass the Detention Oversight Not Expansion Act (S. 2849/H.R. 5820) to block the construction of more immigrant detention centers and increase ICE's oversight and accountability."

No more Trump internment camps. The Trump regime already jails up to 40,000 immigrants a day – including children – in inhumane detention facilities across the country.1 With Trump's DOJ criminally prosecuting all undocumented immigrants, that number will skyrocket. We cannot sit by while Trump's racist regime throws more Brown and Black people behind bars. One way Congress can block Trump's mass incarceration agenda is to stop him from expanding and building more immigrant detention centers. Sen. Kamala Harris' Detention Oversight Not Expansion Act (DONE Act) does exactly that. Speak out now to demand that Congress pass this important bill. Tell Congress: Stop Trump's mass incarceration agenda. Pass the Detention Oversight Not Expansion Act now. Click her to sign the petition. ICE’s mismanagement of the immigration detention system has resulted in a network of hundreds of jails riddled with reports of abuse and human rights violations. Immigrant detainees have filed complaints about excessive solitary confinement, physical abuse, medical neglect that has led to death, and sexual assault in ICE run prisons.2,3 In the vast majority of cases, immigration officers carry out these abuses with relative impunity. More than 95 percent of all cases of alleged misconduct have resulted in “no action taken” by the federal government.4 That is unacceptable. Immigrant detention facilities are also cesspools of corruption. The ACLU is suing a detention center in Georgia for forcing immigrant detainees to work for basic necessities like food and soap.5 No member of Congress should help Trump sanction or expand these horrific immigrant internment camps.6 It's important to remember that before Trump, some undocumented immigrants were free until their day in court, staying with family members or sponsors. Now, Trump has given ICE agents a mandate to jail every undocumented immigrant at the border and the DOJ a directive to criminally prosecute them in mass trials. That's why Trump wants to expand and build more prisons. The DONE Act would obstruct Trump's racist immigration policies by blocking the expansion and construction of new immigrant detention facilities and increasing ICE's oversight and accountability.7 Speak out now to demand that Congress backs this bill. Tell Congress: Stop Trump's mass incarceration agenda. Pass the Detention Oversight Not Expansion Act now. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/done_act?t=7&akid=29399%2E3130208%2EBY-72Q - Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Democracy Now, "Investigation: Substandard Medical Care in ICE Detention Is Killing Immigrants, Endangering Lives," June 22, 2018. Alice Speri, "Detained, Then Violated," The Intercept, April 11, 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' in more than 95% of misconduct cases," Mic, Aug. 5, 2017. Catherine E. Shoichet, "Lawsuit alleges 'forced labor' in immigrant detention," CNN, April 17, 2018. Laila Lalami, "How the Trump Administration Is Normalizing Immigrant Internment Camps," The Nation, July 20, 2018. Gabe Ortiz, "Democratic Lawmakers Want Moratorium on New Ice Facilities and Better Oversight of Existing Ones," Alternet, May 17, 2018.

Sign the petition to demand ICE stop targeting immigration activists!

PUT ICE BACK ON ITS LEASH

We must protect both our immigrant communities and our right to dissent without retaliation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement - the agency known as ICE - is out of control. ICE has long been a cruel engine of this country's deportation machine. But now a growing number of immigrants' rights advocates and outspoken members of the immigrant community are facing detention, deportation, or criminal charges.

Coincidence? No chance. When immigration activists face harsher penalties in increasing numbers, it sends a clear signal to the rest of an already targeted immigrant community: keep quiet, or you'll be next.

The Trump administration is deliberately creating a climate of fear and uncertainty, fomenting panic among immigrant communities. Over the past year, many immigrants have decided to steer clear of courthouses, hospitals, and other public spaces, for fear of arrest and deportation. Imagine being too afraid to seek lifesaving medical treatment or to seek justice against an abusive partner because of the threat of ICE agents lurking around the corner.

Trump's racist targeting of immigrants isn't the only pattern at work here. From arresting and brutalizing Inauguration Day protestors, to labeling U.S. senators with racial epithets to screaming "fake news" at every New York Times story, the Trump administration attacks people who don't agree with its policies.

Enough is enough. We have the backs of immigration activists like Ravi Ragbir in New York, and we're not afraid of a fight. Stand with us and stand up to ICE's bullying, predatory hunt for activists.

Sign the petition to demand ICE stop targeting immigration activists!

https://action.aclu.org/petition/put-ice-back-leash

- Our Revolution 

Tell the Department of Homeland Security: Investigate ICE for violating the human rights of immigrants.

The petition to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General reads: “Immediately investigate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for violating the human rights of immigrants.” Add your name: Border Patrol pouring out humanitarian aide water in desert  Donald Trump’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is out of control. As the rogue enforcement arm of Trump’s racist, xenophobic regime, ICE is invading communities across the country to terrorize and tear apart immigrant families. Its agents are detaining and deporting prominent immigrant activists and reportedly abusing people in their custody.1 To get ICE out of every community, we must use every tool at our disposal to discredit the agency and expose its human rights abuses. Demanding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immediately investigate ICE is a crucial first step. Tell the DHS Office of Inspector General: Investigate Trump’s deportation army. Click here to sign the petition. ICE is the deportation army that is helping Trump enforce his racist agenda and silence dissent. Trump picked anti-immigrant bigot Thomas Homan to be acting director of ICE and wants him to lead the agency permanently. Homan relishes in his ability to instill fear in immigrant communities and recently bragged about how many immigrants his agency has deported since Trump took office.2 He believes all undocumented immigrants are criminals and has unleashed his ICE agents to wage war on immigrant communities. ICE is hunting down immigrants at hospitals, schools and courthouses. Its agents are even arresting and detaining Dreamers and green card holders.3,4 Now, ICE is targeting immigrant activists who are speaking out against Trump’s authoritarian regime. Its agents have deported Haitian activist Jean Montrevil and detained and threatened to deport other prominent immigrant activists including Maru Mora Villalpando, Eliseo Jurado and Ravi Ragbir.5 Recently, more than 70 members of Congress signed a letter calling out DHS for failing to investigate thousands of sexual assault complaints and other human rights violations filed by immigrants who were detained by ICE over the past decade. ICE agents have reportedly subjected immigrants in their custody to unnecessary strip searches, forced them to eat moldy and expired food, and denied pain medication to those with debilitating diseases.6 That is unacceptable. When security forces or intelligence services are terrorizing disenfranchised communities or resistance movements in other countries, Americans are quick to speak out. Now it's happening here at home and it’s up to us to stop it. We cannot allow ICE to operate in the shadows any longer. Add your name now. Tell the DHS Office of Inspector General: Investigate Trump’s deportation army. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/investigate_ice?t=7&akid=27433%2E3130208%2EgimbGT - Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Juliane Hing, "ICE Is Going After People Who Were Once Off-Limits," The Nation, Jan. 19 2018. Jake Johnson, "ICE Director Brags About How Much He's 'Enjoying' Tearing Immigrant Families Apart," Common Dreams, Feb. 1, 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. Maria Sacchetti and David Weigel, "ICE has detained or deported prominent immigration activists," The Washington Post, Jan. 19, 2018. Anna Núñez, "Inhumane Human Rights Violations Found at U.S. Immigration Detention Centers," America's Voice, Dec. 19, 2017.