Public comments: Tell HUD don't kick families out of their homes

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is considering a proposed rule change that would cut off federal housing assistance for families in which at least one member is not eligible for assistance due to their immigration status. This proposed change would force families to decide between kicking out ineligible relatives or losing out on government support. 

More than 100,000 people across the country, including an estimated 55,000 children who are legal residents and citizens, could be evicted if the HUD rule change is implemented.(1) That’s why we need you to join us in speaking up against this obvious and despicable attack against immigrants.

Leaders across the country, including Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and New York’s congressional delegation, oppose the proposed rule change.(2)(3)(4) Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, whose district includes some of the largest immigrant communities in California, even called the proposal “state-sponsored terrorism.”(5)

Although the proposed rule change hasn’t gone into effect just yet, many families are already fearful of the potential impacts. About one hundred families -- many with children -- currently living in the San Fernando Gardens complex in Pacoima, California are at risk of being evicted and becoming homeless should the rule change go through.(6) And that’s just one apartment complex. Thousands more families will be affected if HUD has its way. That’s why we need to make our voices heard to let HUD know that we won’t stand for this.

Tell HUD you oppose kicking families out of their homes. (Click on this link.)

Deadline for Public Comments is July 9, 2019

Some points you can mention in your comment to HUD:

• The proposed rule change would put more families at risk of eviction and homelessness, placing more strain on local housing authorities and making it even more difficult for them to serve their communities.
• The proposed rule change would make the eviction and affordable housing crisis even worse.
• People on waiting lists for housing assistance would not benefit from this rule change.(7)

- Courage Campaign

Footnotes:
1. https://la.curbed.com/2019/6/26/18760005/hud-mixed-family-rule-change-housing-assistance
2. https://tucson.com/news/local/hundreds-of-arizona-families-may-be-evicted-under-new-trump/article_b7db9ea1-f23c-5f13-97d6-3f3184dde335.html
3. https://www.corvallisadvocate.com/2019/senators-immigration-housing-rule-worsens-homelessness/
4. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-hud-immigration-ben-carson-nydia-velazquez-trump-public-housing-20190510-5jqwygus4befxhwfgya3g6ipmu-story.html
5. https://la.curbed.com/2019/6/26/18760005/hud-mixed-family-rule-change-housing-assistance
6. https://www.dailynews.com/2019/07/02/residents-of-pacoimas-san-fernando-gardens-face-eviction-under-proposed-hud-rule/
7. https://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-hud-public-housing-immigrants-rule-hearing-congress.html

More Information:

Proposed Rule Could Evict 55000 Children From Subsidized Housing

Tell Congress: Pass the Climate Risk Disclosure Act

The petition to Congress reads: "Pass the Climate Risk Disclosure Act." Add your name:

Climate change is one of the biggest economic threats the world will ever face. Yet under our financial system, companies are incentivized to ignore it completely. The longer they wait to face reality, the greater the chances that all of us will face what Sen. Elizabeth Warren has called “a global catastrophe that will put the 2008 crisis to shame.”1 That's why Sen. Warren recently introduced the Climate Risk Disclosure Act. The bill would require companies to evaluate and report their climate risks, which would inform responsible investors and deter them from putting money into companies that don't manage them responsibly. Tell Congress: Pass the Climate Risk Disclosure Act. Click here to sign the petition. Our financial system incentivizes behavior that will lead to catastrophic climate change. Not only does the United States subsidize fossil fuel production, but it allows companies to ignore the harm they are causing to the climate and hide the ways that climate change could disrupt their business from investors. The Climate Risk Disclosure Act would help change that. The bill would require every public company to disclose greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel assets, plans for managing climate risks and an analysis of how the company's value would be affected by climate change and climate policies.2 It would force companies to be transparent about their environmental impact and give investors the information they need to make responsible decisions about whether they want to invest in companies that are fueling climate change. Under the bill, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) would set requirements for each business sector and enforce penalties on companies that don't comply. Although the SEC already passed a rule in 2010 that requires companies to include climate risks in their annual filings, the agency has not enforced it and companies have largely ignored the rule.3 We need Congress to take action. Passing progressive environmental legislation like this today will be tough, but we don't have much time to lose. if we start building support for the Climate Risk Disclosure Act in Congress now, we can help make it a reality once progressives are in power. To do that, we need to let our representatives know that we demand that companies be held accountable for the climate risks they are imposing on us all. Along with Sen. Warren, the bill is already co-sponsored by Sens. Brian Schatz, Ed Markey, Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand and Jeff Merkley.4 Tell Congress: Pass the Climate Risk Disclosure Act. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/climate-disclosure-act?t=7&akid=30219%2E3130208%2ECxTYUe - Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, "Warren, Colleagues Unveil Bill to Require Every Public Company to Disclose Climate-Related Risks," Sept. 17, 2018. Ibid. Karen Savage, "New Bill Would Require the SEC to Police Companies’ Climate Risks," Climate Liability News, Sept. 20, 2018. Timothy Cama, "Warren wants companies to disclose more about climate change impacts," The Hill, Sept. 14, 2018.

Tell Congress: Pass the HELP for Separated Children Act

Donald Trump's cruel administration has reached a new low. Immigration enforcement agents have been ripping children away from their parents at the border and locking them up in literal cages.1 Now, reports of rampant child abuse in detention facilities are rising and one immigrant parent even committed suicide. 2,3 We need to put a stop to this barbaric practice now.

Sen. Tina Smith and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard have introduced legislation that would protect the rights of children and families in detention. Add your name now to demand that Congress advance this bill.

Tell Congress: Pass the HELP for Separated Children Act.

Progressive champion Rep. Pramila Jayapal just met with more than 100 immigrant women from countries like Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Eritrea who were recently apprehended by immigration agents at the U.S./Mexico border. More than half of the women she met had their children – as young as 12 months – ripped from their arms by federal agents.4 Rep. Jayapal reported:

"Some of them heard their children screaming for them in the next room. Not a single one of them had been allowed to say goodbye or explain to them what was happening.”5

Sen. Jeff Merkley, another progressive champion, visited a border processing facility in Texas where he saw children locked up in cages.6 These conditions are inhumane and completely unacceptable but the racist bigots in the White House and Department of Justice disagree.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has not only publicly defended the Trump regime's cruel family separation policy, but also supercharged this crisis with his unprecedented decision to criminally charge all undocumented immigrants at the border. We cannot sit by while Sessions and Trump throw more immigrants behind bars and try to normalize state sanctioned abuse of vulnerable children and families on American soil.

Congress needs to fight back by passing policies like the HELP for Separated Children Act now. This bill would:7,8

• Give parents the ability to make arrangements for their children to be cared for by another family member or caregiver while they are in detention.
• Permit detained parents to participate in the family court system.
• Allow parents and children to visit and contact each other in detention.
• Ensure that children are not present during immigration interrogations.

This is a pivotal moment in our nation's history. Whether Congress stands up to Trump's fascist regime and passes measures to protect the human rights of immigrant children and families or allows it to terrorize and abuse them is up to us. Speak out now to demand that Democrats and Republicans of good conscience do the right thing.

Tell Congress: Pass the HELP for Separated Children Act.

The petition to Congress reads:

"No child should be ripped from their parents arms. Pass the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protection for Separated Children Act now to protect the human rights of immigrant children and families in detention."

Thanks for speaking out to protect immigrant children and families.

References:

1. Kate Riga, "Merkley: Migrant Kids Are Kept In Cages On Concrete Floor At TX Border Station," 
Talking Points Memo, June 4, 2018.
2. Jeffery C. Mays and Matt Stevens, "Honduran Man Kills Himself After Being Separated
From Family at U.S. Border, Reports Say," The New York Times, June 10, 2018.
3. Ryan Devereaux, "1,358 Children and Counting – Trump's 'Zero-Tolerance' Border Policy
is Separating Families at Staggering Rates," The Intercept, June 8, 2018.
4. Amy B. Wang, "'Mothers could not stop crying’: Lawmaker blasts Trump policy
after visiting detained immigrants," The Washington Post, June 10, 2018.
5. Ibid.
6. Joan Walsh, "What Senator Jeff Merkley Saw at an Immigrant Detention Center for Children,"
The Nation, June 6, 2018.
7. Ella Nilsen, "Democrats are trying to stop Trump from separating families at the border,"
Vox, June 8, 2018.
8. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, "Press Release: Rep. Roybal-Allard and Sen. Smith
Reintroduce Bill to Protect Safety of Minor Children Left Alone When Parents Are Arrested
or Detained by U.S. Immigration Officials," May 23, 2018

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

There must be a good reason that Jeff Merkley spoke for 16 hours against Trump's appointee Judge Neil Gorsuch...

Last night, Oregon senator Jeff Merkley began speaking against confirming Trump's judge Neil Gorsuch, speaking for nearly 16 hours:

"It's outrageous that the Senate would hand a lifetime appointment to Trump while Trump's team is still at the center of a criminal investigation about its possible collusion with Russia to influence our elections. And even more outrageous that Senate Republicans are considering changing the rules of the Senate to rush through this divisive, right-wing judge-after refusing to give Obama's centrist nominee, Merrick Garland, a hearing, much less a vote, for eight months."

Add your voice to those speaking against Gorsuch. Call your senators at 1-866-943-8027 and tell them to oppose Gorsuch and any rule change to let his nomination through.

Despite the ethical cloud around the White House, swirling allegations about Russia, and the inability of Trump's radical nominee to get 60 votes, Senate Republicans want to change the rules so they only need a simple majority to give Gorsuch a lifetime appointment to our highest court.

Continued calls into the Senate will help hold the line. You can see how your senator is planning on voting here, both on Gorsuch and on the rule change.

Then make a call asking your senator to stay strong against Trump's nominee and blowing up the rules of the Senate.

Dial 1-866-943-8027 or text SCOTUS to 69866 to call your senator and tell them to oppose Neil Gorsuch's confirmation and any rule change that would allow his nomination through.

Gorsuch on the Supreme Court would be a disaster for the environment for decades to come. His decisions show hostility to basic legal principles that let EPA protect our clean air and water. He refused to answer basic questions about whether he believes EPA has the authority to take action on climate change. He thinks corporations are people and will protect them-- siding with them 91% of the time in his decisions!

He was the only judge who sided with the trucking company against Alphonse Maddin, the "frozen trucker" who chose to get warm and save his own life when his company told him to stay put in sub-zero weather in a broken truck with no heat. He sided with a school that gave only minimal accommodations to an autistic student, a decision overturned 8-0 two weeks ago by the Supreme Court. And he helped write the infamous Hobby Lobby decision.

Thanks for making a call,

Courtney Hight
Sierra Club

Sample script:

"My name is _______ and I live in Tucson.

I am calling as a Sierra Club supporter to urge Senator McCain/Flake to reject Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court of the United States. Neil Gorsuch repeatedly ruled for corporations over people. If he cannot get 60 votes of support, we should change the nominee, not the rules. Thanks for your time and please let the senator know that I urge them to oppose Judge Gorsuch for the US Supreme Court."