We're Indivisible and we're ready.
Your weekly Indivisible to-dos:
- Defend DACAmented youth. Media reports this weekend indicate that Trump is getting ready to eliminate the DACA program -- and yank the American Dream from 800,000 young immigrants who are living in the U.S. lawfully. Congress can prevent this. You can make them. Ask your representative and two senators to co-sponsor S.1615 in the Senate and H.R. 3591 in the House to permanently protect these young Americans, and take their future out of Trump’s hands. Here’s an explainer to get you started.
- TODAY show up with DACAmented youth and allies. In cities and states across the country today, thousands of immigrant youth and allies, led by United We Dream, will take to the streets to demand the protection of DACA and the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs. Find an event near you, RSVP, or register your own.
- Respond to Hurricane Harvey. The communities affected by Hurricane Harvey need immediate disaster aid and we could see a package as early as Wednesday. Make sure your member of Congress (MoC) is working to provide it using our new explainer.
- Stop Trump’s tax scam. The next big legislative priority for Republicans is to give massive tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations at the expense of critical social programs and working families. It’s time to fight back against tax giveaways to the rich. Use our new comprehensive microsite--TrumpTaxScam.org-- that has everything you need to hold your MoCs accountable.
- Stop Trump from starting war with North Korea. Impulse-prone Trump is the last person we want playing a game of nuclear brinksmanship. Tell your MoC that you don’t want him starting a war with North Korea using our explainer and questions you can ask when you make your calls and district office visits this week.
- Stay vigilant on ACA. On Friday, we got news that the Senate Parliamentarian ruled Republicans only have until the end of the fiscal year, September 30, to use the Fiscal Year 2017 reconciliation bill to pass TrumpCare. There’s nothing to act on yet, but this could mean a renewed push to jam TrumpCare through the Senate while they still can. Keep your eye on this over the next couple of weeks.
- Tune in to Facebook Live to plan for this September in Congress. Join us tonight at 8:30 PM ET when we’ll be joined by tax experts from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) to talk about the upcoming tax fight.
Dear Indivisibles,
Consistent with his white supremacist agenda, news broke this weekend that Trump will likely announce the elimination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This program has provided relief from deportation to 800,000 young immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, who passed rigorous background checks, who paid a fee, and who met several other requirements. Trump has affirmed that he has no regard for the promise of safety made to immigrant youth by our government five years ago. But let’s be clear: it is on Speaker Ryan and Congress to pass a permanent legislative fix. Many Republicans, including Ryan, have voiced their support of DREAMers. Now it’s time to make sure their actions match their words. It’s not enough for your MoCs to disapprove of the decision. Words are empty if not followed up with immediate, decisive action.
Say it with us: We will not stand idly by while this White House tramples on the civil rights of members of our communities. There are two things you can do right now to support DACAmented young people:
First, tell your representative and senators to co-sponsor a legislative fix for DACA. Like so many other issues, Congress has the power to remedy this situation. Congress doesn’t have to—and should not—sit on the sidelines. Removing DACA protections from these hundreds of thousands of young people would turn their lives upside down, and harm the communities where they live, work and study. The only beneficiary would be the for-profit private immigrant detention complex and Trump’s runaway deportation machine, which would embark on a new taxpayer-funded mission to apprehend, process, detain and remove these young people. Congress can pass legislation protecting these immigrant youth. Ask your representative and two senators to co-sponsor S.1615 in the Senate and H.R. 3591 in the House to protect these young Americans and take their future out of Trump’s hands. Here’s an explainer to get you started.
Second, show up in your community TODAY for DACAmented youth. Today is the deadline that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 9 other right-wing politicians have given Trump to end the DACA program. In cities and states across the country today, thousands of immigrant youth and allies, led by United We Dream, will take to the streets to demand the protection of DACA and the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs. DACA recipients, immigrants protected under TPS and our allies have a message to the Trump administration: We have won before, we will win again, and we are #HereToStay. Find an event near you or register your own.
Congress is back for a big September. Congress returns to Washington this week with a long to-do list and not much time to do it. Here are just a few agenda items Congress must attend to this month:
- Pass a critically needed aid package for communities affected by Harvey
- Raise the debt ceiling
- Reauthorize the national flood insurance program
- Reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program
- Agree on a plan to fund the government by the end of the month.
For more, read our preview of what to expect in September.
Tune in to Facebook Live TONIGHT 9/5 at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT
Due to Labor Day, this week’s Facebook Live will be tonight, 9/5. We’ll be joined by tax experts from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) to talk about the upcoming tax fight and what’s on deck on Capitol Hill this September. Tune in at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT!
Here are your other priorities this week:
Immediate disaster aid for victims of Hurricane Harvey. The communities in Texas and Louisiana devastated by Hurricane Harvey need federal support, and they need it now. The first thing that Congress should do when they return is immediately pass a disaster relief package, which is needed to fund emergency response, as well as the long-term rebuilding efforts. We’re hearing that the House could act on an initial package of $7.87 billion as early as tomorrow, but things are still developing and they could change. We have a comprehensive list of asks you can be making of your MoCs here.
You should also check out several posts from Texas Indivisible groups, including Indivisible Houston, Indivisible Clear Lake, and Indivisible Golden Triangle, on the IndivisiBlog with suggestions on how you can help impacted Texans and the organizations to support.
Fight the Republican tax scam. As we saw in the health care fight, what Republicans really care about are massive tax cuts for the wealthy, at the expense of critical programs that American families depend on, like Medicaid. They failed to get it done through their health care bill, but they’re hoping they can trick the public into supporting their tax scam by calling it “tax reform”. Don’t be fooled -- we need to ramp up our resistance to Trump’s Tax Scam starting this week.
Stay vigilant on ACA. With the Senate Parliamentarian ruling that the Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) reconciliation bill does, in fact, expire at the end of FY17 (September 30), that means Republicans have just one more month to jam TrumpCare through the Senate. This is a significant development, but there’s nothing to act on quite yet. We’ll keep you updated if a need arises again to engage on TrumpCare.
Nuclear Brinksmanship with North Korea. North Korea claims to have successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb, prompting an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. And, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has warned of “a massive military response” against any threat from North Korea. This is a gravely serious situation, which is why we can’t afford to have impulse-prone Donald Trump playing a game of nuclear brinksmanship. Don’t let Donald Trump start a war with North Korea.
New Training Video: Get camera ready. These days, video is one of the most compelling ways to get your message across. Whether you’re live streaming a rally or recording interviews to use later, following a few simple steps to create a good quality video can make the difference between your footage ending up on Rachel Maddow or getting lost in cyberspace. Shooting good video is especially useful if no news cameras show up to your event (side note: here’s how to fix that), as news stations will often use footage sent by event organizers if they’re unable to send a camera to capture their own. Watch this video and review our tips about how to get press to cover your event -- and what to do if they don’t -- here.
What we’re reading: The Politico 50. Indivisible was chosen as #2 in Politico’s annual top 50 list (and #1 - Bannon - was just fired. Sad!). You did this -- take a bow. Check out the article and let us know what you think!
This week is going to be an incredibly trying one-- especially for our DACAmented friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Remember to check in on them-- and do everything you can to show up to fight for them. When we wrote the Indivisible Guide, we knew that the biggest difference we could make against Trump’s dangerous, racist agenda was standing together.
Together, we will win.
In Solidarity,
Indivisible Team
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