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.

Tell Congress: Stop using children as political pawns. Pass DACA and CHIP

After kicking the can down the road three times since last September, congressional leaders -- led by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan -- have had months to find a long-term solution to fund the federal government. 

They still haven't. 

Throughout this process, they've played partisan games with children's health insurance, and offered no serious solutions for the hundreds of thousands of young DACA recipients waiting for help -- despite consensus across the aisle to protect DREAMers.

This looming shutdown isn't about federal funding, or unsolvable political differences.

It's about ignoring a growing bipartisan consensus. The American people, overwhelmingly, want to fund the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and protect the 800,000 young immigrants who know America as their only home. 

This shutdown fight is about Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, along with the White House, refusing to do the right thing because of politics. It's about them playing to the most conservative members of their caucus instead of truly governing for the majority.

This is unacceptable, and it's proof of what we've known all along: Congressional leadership cannot govern responsibly. It's time we hold them accountable. Call a key senator today: 

https://www.ofa.us/take-action/call-congress/

SAMPLE SCRIPT

Hi, I'm [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR HOMETOWN AND STATE]. 

I'm calling to urge you to work across the aisle to fund CHIP and protect DACA recipients. There are millions of uninsured children who need health care, and hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who go to our schools, serve in our military, contribute to our communities, and know this country as their home. They deserve permanent protection.

We shouldn't have to decide between taking care of kids and funding the government. Please, stop toying with the idea of a government shutdown and come up with a bipartisan solution to fund both of these programs - millions of lives depend on it.

Arizona citizens - here is your contact information. 

Sen. John McCain

P. 202-224-2235
F. 202-228-2862

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

P. 202-224-4521
F: 202-228-0515

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

More information:

G.O.P. to Use Children’s Health Insurance as Lure for Averting Shutdown

Children’s health insurance has become a political hostage

#DACA #CHIP

Democrats failed to hold the line for Dreamers!

Last night, both the House and Senate passed a “continuing resolution” (CR) to keep the government open for another two weeks. The House passed the CR 235-193, with 18 Republicans voting no and 14 Democrats voting yes. Just two hours later, the Senate passed their CR 81-14.

Let’s be clear: in practical terms this was a vote to deport Dreamers. Democrats didn't use their leverage to push for a clean dream act before the deadline.

In the next two weeks, 1,708 Dreamers will lose their protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era executive action that allowed them to apply for work permits and live without fear of deportation.

Democrats had real leverage in this fight, but just eight -- Kamala Harris (CA), Mazie Hirono (HI), Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren (MA), Cory Booker (NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Jeff Merkley (OR), and Bernie Sanders (VT) -- held their ground, stood up for Dreamers, and voted no.

Here’s what we need you to do:

• Check the vote tally to find out how your Senator voted.
• Read our call scripts on dreamerpledge.org.
• Call 1-855-980-2355 and you’ll be connected with one of your Senators. Use our script to inform your conversation with the Senators’ staff. Call back again and you’ll be connected to your other Senator.

Get loud. Stay mad. Do what you can to keep the pressure up for the next two weeks. #dreamers, #DACA

- The Indivisible Team

Tell your Rep: Protect Dreamers! Pass the Dream Act!

Call 1-888-778-6856 to be connected to your Members of Congress. Simply tell them your name, where you are from, and urge them to support immigrant youth by doing everything they can to pass a clean Dream Act by the end of the year. It will take only five minutes of your time, but will make a big difference.

Every day that Congress fails to pass a clean Dream Act, an average of 122 DACA recipients lose their status and protection. Since President Trump rescinded DACA, more than 10,000 undocumented youth are no longer legally allowed to work or protected from deportation.

-Hilary, Renata, Antonio, and Evelyn

Note from Jana: I actually got a hold of Rep. McSally's staffer with this number!

Tell Democratic leaders: Stand up for Dreamers - without any anti-immigrant provisions

The petition to Democratic leaders reads:

“Demand that legislation to protect Dreamers does not include compromises with Republicans’ anti-immigrant agenda. Refuse to trade Dreamers for expanded immigration enforcement, walling off our borders, or attacking other immigrants and refugees.”

Add your name:

Donald Trump does not care about Dreamers. First he killed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Now he is using Dreamers as bargaining chips to advance his racist, anti-immigrant agenda and put Dreamers’ families and communities at risk.

Trump just demanded that any congressional effort to restore DACA must also fund his border wall, make deportations easier, crack down on sanctuary cities and fundamentally restructure and shrink our immigration system.1

Democrats must hold a hard line and refuse to allow protections for Dreamers to come at the expense of their families and communities. Can you help keep the pressure on Democratic leaders today?

Tell Democratic leaders: Stand up for immigrants with no compromise and no strings attached. Click here to sign the petition.

Last month, Democratic leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer forced Trump to strike a deal on raising the debt ceiling and government spending limit that will force Republicans back to the bargaining table before the end of the year.2 It was a move that gave Democrats short-term leverage to block Trump’s extreme agenda and keep his dangerous priorities out of must-pass spending bills.

Standing with immigrants after Trump’s attack on DACA, and refusing to let Dreamers be bargaining chips, should be one of their top priorities. But less than a week after they forced Republicans’ hands on the debt ceiling, Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Schumer seemed too willing to compromise. They announced, and the Trump administration immediately refuted, that they had struck another deal with Trump to “enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that's acceptable to both sides.”3

Trump is a xenophobe and a racist whose entire administration is premised on demonizing and terrorizing immigrants. He leads a Republican Party that has spent decades blaming its base’s economic insecurity on immigrants and people of color instead of its billionaire backers. This is not the time for Democrats to “accept” any part of their agenda. We have to make sure that Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Schumer lead their caucus in complete resistance to Trump. They must demand that a clean version of the DREAM Act is part of must-pass end of year legislation, stop anti-immigrant Republicans from leveraging DACA to ramp-up immigration enforcement or wall off our borders, and refuse to compromise when it comes to Dreamers.

Tell Democratic leaders: Stand up for immigrants with no compromise and no strings attached. Click the link below to sign the petition:

https://act.credoaction.com/sign/DACA_Dems?t=7&akid=25467%2E3130208%2E953yRg

- Heidi Hess, Senior Campaign Manager

CREDO Action from Working Assets


Add your name:



References:
David Nakamura, "Trump administration releases hard-line immigration principles, threatening deal on ‘dreamers’," The Washington Post, Oct. 7, 2017.
Ronald Klain, "Schumer and Pelosi just totally suckered Trump," The Washington Post, Sept. 7, 2017.
Maggie Haberman and Yamiche Alcindor, "Pelosi and Schumer Say They Have Deal With Trump to

Replace DACA," The New York Times, Sept. 13, 2017.

Hold Rep. McSally to her word. Call now to tell her to support a clean DREAM ACT.

DACA recipients deserve better. They deserve representatives who follow through on the promises our country made to them. They deserve more than being unfairly held in limbo as part of a backroom deal to build a wall, or cut legal immigration.

We're still waiting for Rep. Martha McSally to deliver -- and we know exactly how she can:

She can refuse the outrageous immigration demands the White House just released. She can refuse to use DACA recipients as a bargaining chip to pass bad policies that put the rest of the immigrant community in danger.

She can help bring a clean version of the DREAM Act -- the only solution that gives permanent protection to these young people, along with a real path to citizenship -- to the House floor for a vote, without delay.

The deadline to submit DACA renewal applications has passed, leaving the futures of hundreds of thousands of young people up in the air. Just weeks ago, Rep. McSally made a promise to protect DACA recipients:


It's time for her to lead the way.

These young people deserve a clean DREAM Act. Call now and make sure Rep. McSally knows it:

Make the call

-Saumya Narechania
Organizing for Action

Tell Trump: NO DEAL. Dreamers won't be bargaining chips.

The White House just released a white supremacist wish list of demands, including Trump's ridiculous border wall, the Department of Homeland Security’s new rule on recording and sharing the social media activities of all immigrants and a denial of federal funds for sanctuary cities - in exchange for protecting Dreamers like Abril Gallardo.

As Abril explained, and as we've said again and again, Dreamers will NOT be used as bargaining chips for Trump's hateful anti-immigrant agenda.

Help us tell Trump: NO DEAL. Keep urging Congress to pass a clean Dream Act!

Trump's repeal of DACA (Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals) has left the lives and livelihoods of 800,000 undocumented youth and their families at risk.

Congress must pass a permanent solution immediately in the form of a clean DREAM Act that protects DACAmented youth without any amendments or deals that promote Trump’s mass deportation machine.

Contact your Members of Congress (both senators and representative) on social media, email, and phone to demand a #CleanDreamAct now!

-Ana Maria Archila
CPD Action


Sen. Jeff Flake:

Washington, D.C. Office
P: 202-224-4521
F: 202-228-0515

Phoenix Office
2200 East Camelback Road, Suite 120
Phoenix, AZ 85016
P: 602-840-1891
F: 602-840-4092

Tucson Office
6840 North Oracle Road, Suite 150
Tucson, AZ 85704
P: 520-575-8633
F: 520-797-3232

Sen. John McCain:

Washington Office
Main: (202) 224-2235
Fax: (202) 228-2862

Phoenix Office

2201 East Camelback Road, Suite 115
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Main: (602) 952-2410
Fax: (855) 952-8702

Tucson Office
407 West Congress Street, Suite 103
Tucson, AZ 85701
Main: (520) 670-6334
Fax: (855) 952-8702

Comments needed: Trump’s DHS is spying on immigrants

The comment to the Department of Homeland Security reads: “The Department of Homeland Security’s new rule on recording, and sharing the social media activities of all immigrants and anyone who interacts with them online with other federal agencies, is xenophobic and unacceptable. I strongly oppose this policy. The DHS and other federal agencies should not be singling out or surveilling any American simply because they were born in another country.”

Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking the federal government’s online surveillance of immigrants to new and dangerous levels. The DHS just introduced a rule that would expand the immigration records of visa holders, permanent residents and naturalized citizens to include their social media accounts, search results and online conversations.1 We cannot remain silent while an administration led by a bigot who thinks Nazis and white supremacists are “very fine people,” scapegoats, criminalizes and spies on immigrants. The DHS is accepting public comments on its new rule until Oct. 18. This is a timely opportunity for us to document the massive public opposition to Trump’s craven attempts to undermine the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrants. Help us flood the DHS with comments opposing this new anti-immigrant policy now. Reject Trump’s xenophobic profiling of immigrants. Click here to submit your comment. To be clear: The DHS has been monitoring the online activities of foreign nationals for years, but its new rule extends online surveillance records to include the social media activities of lawful permanent residents, naturalized citizens and anyone who interacts with them online. This is an unprecedented and dangerous new step. The DHS should not spy on Americans just because they were born in another country. Its new policy could prevent immigrants from exercising their right to free speech, voicing dissent and communicating with family members and other support systems online. There is no reason to suspect the millions of immigrants in the United States of criminal behavior, but that has not stopped Trump from data mining immigrants’ social media profiles in the name of public safety.2 After the election, Customs and Border Patrol quietly began asking foreign nationals for their social media handles at border crossings throughout the country.3 Then in February, Trump’s DHS unveiled a new visa survey that requires applicants to provide 15 years of detailed travel history, a complete work history and social media handles and email addresses going back five years.4 Trump's xenophobic administration is intentionally making an already extensive visa vetting process even more complicated to keep immigrants out of the country. With new administrative barriers, like Trump’s visa survey, and increased online surveillance, the DHS is positioned to jam up and reject more visa applicants because of minor mistakes on their forms and ungrounded assumptions about their potential threat to public safety based on their social media activity. Trump’s DHS is so committed to violating the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrants, and every person who interacts with them online that it is already planning to ignore the public comments on its rule-making. The public comment period for its new rule closes on the same day the rule goes into effect. CREDO will work with allies to challenge this anti-immigrant policy on every front once the DHS starts to enforce it, but we are also teaming up with our friends at Center for Media Justice, Demand Progress, Presente and United We Dream now to draw as much attention as possible to Trump’s deplorable actions and put our opposition into the public record. Reject Trump’s xenophobic profiling of immigrants. Click the link below to submit your comment: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/dhs_socialmedia?t=7&akid=25351%2E3130208%2EslMjzQ - Nicole Regalado CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Joel Rose, “Federal Plan To Keep Files Of Immigrant Social Media Activity Causes Alarm,” NPR, Sept. 30, 2017. Lily Hay Newman, “Feds monitoring social media does more harm than good,” Wired, Sept. 28, 2017. Edward Helmore, “US government collecting social media information from foreign travelers,” The Guardian, Dec. 26, 2016. Drew Schwartz, “You Need Superhuman Memory to Fill Out Trump’s New Visa Survey,” Vice, June 1, 2017.

Parents of DACA recipients are not criminals. Tweet, email, and call your Senators today to demand a clean DREAM Act!

Abril wrote, 

I’m a student, an activist, and a DACA recipient.

I’ve been living in Arizona since my family fled violence in Mexico when I was 12 years old. My parents brought us to the States to keep us safe and to give my three brothers and I access to a good education.

Thousands of Dreamers like me are now in limbo because of Trump’s repeal of DACA, the program that has protected undocumented youth from deportation. And today is the last day for Dreamers to renew their status.

Dreamers urgently need legislation that allows us to continue to live and work and go to school in the country we call home. But we refuse to be bargaining chips for the criminalization of our parents.

My two younger brothers and I have DACA, but my parents and my older brother who aged out of the program are undocumented. What good would it be for me to have protection if it means tripling their risk of deportation and separating our family?

This is why it’s so important for Congress to pass a clean DREAM Act that protects immigrant youth, but doesn’t include any strings attached, like increased border militarization or more enforcement of Trump’s massive deportation machine.

Tweet, email, and call your Members of Congress today to demand a clean DREAM Act!

My Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, along with Rep. Martha McSally, say they care about us and will protect us, but it’s time for them to follow up their words with actions. The same goes for all of Congress.

Dreamers decided to step out of the shadows in the fight for immigration reform, and in 2012, we won DACA. But because of the lack of Congressional leadership, it was a temporary solution, and has now been revoked by Trump.

It’s time for our communities to come together again – not only undocumented immigrants and Dreamers, but everyone who understands that separating families, deporting, and incarcerating people is not the answer to make this country a place where everyone can thrive.

For me, thriving means my dad driving our family to church without fear of getting pulled over and detained. It means my brother going to the doctor without worrying that something might happen on the way there. It means I can finish getting my Bachelor’s degree in Community Advocacy and help move policy that brings true equity and inclusion for communities of color.

Help my family and thousands of others like us continue to thrive in America. Contact your Members of Congress to pass a clean DREAM Act now!

In solidarity,

Abril Gallardo

Glendale, AZ

Member of LUCHA, CPD Action’s Arizona affiliate

You can also get number to call key senators here. 

Here is an example of how a conversation could start (or you can just wing it!):

Hello, I’m [Your Name], I would like to speak to you about DACA and the DREAM ACT.

1) Donald Trump’s decision to end DACA will put up to 800,000 immigrant youth at risk of deportation.

2) The Senate has the opportunity to turn Trump’s step backwards into a step forward for immigrant rights by supporting the DREAM Act.

3) Will you co-sponsor the DREAM Act to create bipartisan solutions to protect undocumented youth from deportation?

Thank you for your time. 

Use this script to call your senators to defend DACA

President Trump rescinded DACA. We have six months to get Congress to act. In a cruel and heartless act earlier this week, President Trump rescinded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA meant that nearly 800,000 people were able to work and go to school without the fear of deportation for the first time in their lives.  We now have six months to get Congress to pass a bill to protect DACA recipients. We are asking you to call your three Members of Congress this week. Click here to easily find their phone numbers.  At the bottom of this email, we have provided simple, 30-second scripts that you can use for each call.

Use this script to call your senators. Hi, my name is __________ and I'm a constituent.  I am appalled by the president's decision to end DACA and I am calling to ask Senator ______ to support a clean DREAM Act and to work to bring it up for a vote immediately.  The president's decision to end DACA puts 800,000 lives in limbo and negatively impacts all Americans. DACA recipients are critical members of our communities.  They pay taxes, attend college, serve in our military, and strengthen our economy.  Ending DACA could reduce the U.S. GDP by more than $400 billion over the next decade. DACA recipients are our teachers, co-workers, friends, and neighbors. And without DACA, they are vulnerable to deportation. Again, I am a constituent and I need Senator _________ to support and vote for the DREAM Act.  Thank you.

Use this script to call your representative. Hi, my name is _____________ and I'm a constituent.  I am appalled by the president's decision to end DACA and I am calling to ask Representative _____________ to support a clean Hope Act and to work to bring it up for a vote immediately. The president's decision to end DACA puts 800,000 lives in limbo and negatively impacts all Americans. DACA recipients are critical members of our communities. They pay taxes, attend college, serve in our military, and strengthen our economy. Ending DACA could reduce the U.S. GDP by more than $400 billion over the next decade. DACA recipients are our teachers, co-workers, friends, and neighbors. And without DACA, they are vulnerable to deportation. Again, I am a constituent and I need Representative _________ to support and vote for the Hope Act. Thank you. - Hilary Linder, Indivisible

Sign the petition: Protect these cherished members of our community

The petition to Congress reads: “Pass clean legislation to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program with no strings attached and block all right-wing attempts to use DACA as a bargaining chip to insert legislative poison pills to expand immigration enforcement, wall off our borders, or ramp-up attacks on other immigrants and refugees.” Add your name:

The white supremacist in chief just struck again. Donald Trump killed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and put more than 800,000 immigrants at risk of deportation.1 DACA gave immigrants who came to the United States as children, known as Dreamers, the ability to obtain driver’s licenses and work permits and live safely in the only country many of them have ever known. President Obama created DACA after thousands of undocumented young people took the risk to come out of the shadows and fight for protected status. Trump knows that ending DACA is cruel and unpopular. He was too cowardly to make the announcement himself and has now put Dreamers’ fate in Congress’ hands. Republicans in Congress have had a bigoted, anti-immigrant agenda for years. And Trump premised his entire administration on a racist war on immigrants. Now, Trump and his racist party want to use Dreamers as a bargaining chip to advance their hateful agenda and put other immigrants at risk. Now more than ever, we must stand with our allies in the immigrant rights movement and make our demands crystal clear: No trade-offs. No compromises. Democrats and Republicans of good conscience must pass clean legislation to reinstate DACA with no strings attached. They must also stop right-wing extremists from using Dreamers as a bargaining chip and inserting legislative poison pills to expand immigration enforcement, build Trump’s wall or shut down our borders. Can you add your name? Tell Congress: Immediately restore and expand DACA by passing clean legislation without any poison pills from the extreme right wing. Click here to sign the petition. When Trump set his anti-immigrant agenda in motion, he said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would focus on removing dangerous criminals from the country and told DACA beneficiaries that they could “rest easy.” Trump was lying. His rogue deportation force has targeted and attacked all immigrants since day one of his racist regime. Going after Dreamers is just another way to advance his white supremacist agenda and terrorize immigrant communities. Racist, anti-immigrant attorneys general from 10 states threatened to sue the Department of Justice if it did not end DACA by Sept. 5.2 Their threats gave Trump license to kill the program. Trump says he admires Dreamers, but he is a coward and a liar. His attempt to shift the burden to Congress and give them six months to act is nothing more than a desperate attempt to appear compassionate and use Dreamers as political cover to advance his reckless and dangerous anti-immigrant agenda. Trump is now planning to phase out DACA, saying that current DACA beneficiaries will not be impacted until March 2018. But we cannot trust him to keep his word. To protect Dreamers, Congress must take bold action immediately. Democrats and Republicans have already introduced the 2017 DREAM Act and The American Hope Act, sister bills that would restore and expand DACA.3 If Congress passes the 2017 DREAM Act as-is, with no amendments, it would: Immediately protect current Dreamers from deportation. Raise the program’s age entry requirement to 18. Immigrants who entered the country before the age of 18 would qualify for DACA under the new law. Expand eligibility for DACA to include college students, members of the military, workers and full-time caregivers of minor children. Add new paths to citizenship for Dreamers. Dreamers embody the spirit of the United States in a way that small minded xenophobic Republicans like Trump will never understand. They came to the United States with parents who made the courageous and extremely difficult decision to leave their families, communities and countries of birth behind in the hopes of building better lives. Some families are displaced by war, others by climate change or corporate greed. All are seeking refuge, freedom from persecution and better economic opportunities for their families. There is nothing more American than that. Trump’s attacks on immigrants are attacks on the very fabric of our nation. We must push Congress to act now. Tell Congress: Immediately restore and expand DACA by passing clean legislation without any poison pills from the extreme right wing. Click here to sign the petition. Government funding is set to expire at the end of September, and Trump has threatened to shut down the government if Congress does not approve funding for his southern border wall in a broader must-pass government funding bill.4 Our activism pushed Senate Democrats to block funding for Trump’s wall before. Together, we can do it again. That is why CREDO is teaming up with our friends at United We Dream to make sure Democrats and Republicans of good conscience advance strong legislation to reinstate and expand DACA and stop anti-immigrant Republicans from leveraging the program to ramp-up immigration enforcement or wall off our borders. Restoring DACA will not protect all immigrants from Trump’s hate, but it would bring us one step closer to reaching that goal. Can you help us make sure Congress takes a stand for Dreamers and does not use them as bargaining chips? Tell Congress: Immediately restore and expand DACA by passing clean legislation without any poison pills from the extreme right wing. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/trump_daca?t=8&akid=24838%2E3130208%2ERoIP1P - Nicole Regalado CREDO Action from Working Assets P.S. Click here to find an emergency #DefendDACA event near you. Add your name: References: Matthew Yglesias, "Trump isn’t delivering his own DACA policy because he’s cowardly and weak," Vox, Sept. 5, 2017. Molly Ball, "How Immigration Hardliners Are Forcing Trump's Hand on DACA, The Atlantic, Aug. 31, 2017. E. A. Crunden, "Sweeping new effort aims to protect undocumented immigrants," ThinkProgress, July 28, 2017. Matthew Cooper, "Wake Trump up when September ends: President, Congress face debt limit, government shutdown deadlines," Newsweek, Aug. 28, 2017.

Call your representatives NOW. Trump announced the end of DACA - which will deport dreamers snatching them from the only home they have ever known.

I just called Rep. McSally's Office ( 881-3588 )

President Trump has decided to end DACA — the program that provides critical deportation protection and work authorization to 800,000 Dreamers in every state across the country — in the next six months.

Trump’s decision will have drastic and devastating consequences for our economy and our communities, if Congress does not act:

-An average of 1,400 Dreamers will be forced from their jobs every business day for the next two years.
-Every single Dreamer will be subject to deportation, often to countries they cannot even remember.
-And our economy will lose billions — $460.3 billion to be specific — over the next decade.

Ending DACA could break up families, cost businesses, and damage communities.

Please, take two minutes to call your rep now. Make sure you tell them you are from Tucson and give your Zip - so they know you are their constituent.

Sign the petition in support the DREAM Act

Nearly 800,000 Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children — are under attack. Officials from 10 different states are trying to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) that allows these Dreamers to live and work legally in the U.S.

But minutes ago, a bipartisan group of legislators introduced the DREAM Act in Congress. Momentum is building to protect Dreamers.

It is time to enshrine a more permanent legislative solution for Dreamers and their families. If DACA goes away, the consequences of repeal would be truly terrible: 800,000 Dreamers would lose their ability to work and be subject to immediate deportation.

The DREAM Act would create a three-step process to allow hardworking young people who came to this country as children to earn a path to citizenship. We must show our support for this bill right away.

Sign the petition today. Show you support the DREAM Act and stand for protecting Dreamers.

The consequences of repealing DACA, as officials from 10 states want to do, would be massive and cost the country an estimated $460.3 billion in lost Gross Domestic Product over the course of a decade.

Nearly two million Dreamers currently live in the United States without a permanent solution. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — and well over 80% of Americans — want legislation to provide Dreamers protection from deportation and the ability to earn citizenship.

Now is the time to make this happen while momentum is in our favor. We need to be clear: we need to keep DACA’s protections in place and push Congress to pass a permanent DREAM Act right now.

Dreamers are critical to our communities, creating jobs and raising wages for U.S. citizens. Providing a pathway to legal status for them will make everyone safer by bringing people out of the shadows and allowing law enforcement to focus their limited time and enforcement resources on true public safety threats.

Todd Schulte

FWD.us

More info: Graham, Durbin revive bill to help 'Dreamers'