Americans of Conscience Checklist, Week of October 7, 2018

Posted on by Office Admin

-Submitted by Judy Sullivan, USH Social Justice Chair

Americans of Conscience Checklist, Week of October 7, 2018

By Jen Hofmann

 

A milestone for us

100 weeks ago, the Electoral College installed our current administration.

In the last 100 weeks, you’ve changed too. You’ve likely developed skills and knowledge you didn’t have before. You are more informed than you were then–a better citizen, a better neighbor, and a better advocate for the issues that matter. As a result, our country will change for the better because of you and so many who are choosing to speak up for a more hopeful, more inclusive America.

Advocating for what’s right–even when our elected officials don’t listen–is an American value. Speaking up is part of who we are. Deep breaths, friends. Let’s look to our neighbors, link arms, and do this together.

I value secure, convenient voting and fair elections.

Democracy thrives when all citizens can freely elect those who represent their values.

For months, we’ve been advocating for safer, fairer elections, this month our sole priority is to show up for midterms. Let’s do this!

Action 1: Check your state registration deadline and ID requirements. 30 state deadlines are imminent.

 Action 2: Pledge to vote.

 Action 3: Vote early if you can. (Or set up reminders.)

 Action 4: Check today and weekly that your name isn’t purged from voter rolls.

Action 5: Get a sample ballot (email not required) to check out your candidates’      records. Be sure to vet District Attorney candidates.

 Action 6: Check that your polling place is open and in the same place.

Action 7: Offer (or request) a ride to the polls on your social media accounts. You never know who can’t afford the extra gas or who feels unsafe voting alone.

 

 

I value showing respect for all people, no matter where they were born.

We oppose inhumane treatment of all people and the government agencies that perpetuate it. People who immigrate to the US make our country stronger and are entitled to basic respect.

Action: Advocate for oversight of ICE facilities.

Call: Your one House rep and two senators (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m from [ZIP] and I’m calling with concerns about detained people in ICE facilities who are not receiving adequate medical care. I would like [name] to demand investigation into reports showing a failure to provide basic care and deaths in detention. What is [name] doing to hold ICE and DHS accountable?

Action: End corporate investment in US immigration detention.

Script: I’m [a Chase customer and] concerned about JPMorgan Chase’s continued investment in the detention giants CoreCivic and Geo Group. These companies ignore federal regulations, leading to abuse, neglect, and death for people in their facilities. I stand with my immigrant neighbors in opposing the practice of profiting off victims, especially when xenophobic policies are driving up detention. I urge you to cut financial ties immediately to stop keeping these barbaric companies afloat. History will remember the decision you make. Thank you. Name, address
Snail mail: CEO Jamie Dimon, 270 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y 10005
Email: jamie.dimon@jpmchase.com / executive.office@chase.com

 

 

Good news

Decent people everywhere are speaking up and working together. Just look. #GoodNews

  • The Justice Department is doubling funds to address violencetoward Native American women.
  • The Smithsonian is installing a memorialto honor US Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian veterans, designed by Harvey Pratt, a Southern Cheyenne chief.
  • Minneapolis leaders actively seeking solutionsfor a homeless, mostly Native American community.
  • More than 1,000 American Immigration Lawyer’s Association members demanded due processin immigration courts by requesting that AG Jeff Sessions remove Department of Justice performance quotas for judges.
  • A federal court blocked a North Carolina lawthat prevented farmworkers from organizing and making collective bargaining agreements with employers.
  • A record 61% of all registered voters in a recent national survey said they are more enthusiastic about votingthan in past congressional elections, a higher percentage than at any point during midterms in the past two decades.
  • Four men face charges for conspiracyto violate federal rioting laws because of their actions in Charlottesville in August of 2017.
  • A bipartisan group of House members plans to introduce a bill to protect undocumented individualswho care for unaccompanied minor immigrants from ICE enforcement.
  • An internal review by the Department of Homeland Security found that the administration’s zero tolerance policy at the border was not well planned, had multiple communication failures, and showed indifference to the separation of children and parents.
  • A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction preventing the governmentfrom ending Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Sudan, El Salvador, Haiti, and Nicaragua.
  • A federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuitfor unreasonable detention brought by an American family against the US Customs and Border Patrol, rejecting the patrol’s argument that rights are suspended at the border.
  • DC: Thanks to universal preschool, 90% of four-year-olds and 70% of three-year-olds are receiving an educational head start—and more of their moms can join the labor force.
  • GA: An Aryan Brotherhood member was sentenced to 20 yearsin a Georgia prison for shooting at a black man whose car momentarily blocked a driveway.
  • The federal minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25 since 2009, but in recent years 20 states and more than 40 counties have taken matters into their own hands.
  • MS: Starting in December, 16 mothers in Jackson public housing will begin to receive $1,000 per monthfor a year as part of a pilot project to end intergenerational poverty.
  • New research shows that Medicaid expansion can have major health and financial benefitsin states that expand coverage.
  • In five states, the Integrated Benefits Initiative is piloting a more streamlined, humane systemfor our most vulnerable neighbors to access needed resources.
  • PA: The legislature voted to restrict gun ownershipby domestic abusers, and the governor has stated he will sign the bill into law.
  • IL: Decatur council repeals lawthat allowed homeless people to be arrested or fined for asking for help in public spaces.
  • The Citizenship Project in Las Vegas helps nearly 1,000 individualsapply for naturalization annually.
  • CA: Los Angeles County expanded the immigration unitof the public defender’s office five-fold.
  • Effective November 1, Amazon will raise the minimum wagefor US workers to $15 an hour, a move that will affect 250,000 full-time employees and 100,000 seasonal workers.
  • RAICES and Southern Poverty Law Center are working together pro bono to represent immigrantsdetained in the South, including parents separated from their children.
  • Since June, the RAICES Bond Squad, along with 30 partner organizations, has paid more than $2 million in bondsto reunite 256 families in 20 states.
  • Dror Soref spent five months in prison with an enormous bail of $2.7 million until he could exonerate himself, and now he’s raising awarenessabout dysfunction in the criminal justice system.
  • NC: A library volunteer created a book clubfor homeless people in Charlotte with life changing results.
  • Because of vocal public support, ICE will permitFrancis Anawana, a deaf and disabled Nigerian immigrant in Detroit, to remain in the US for at least another year.
  • More than 187,000 immigrants have renewed their DACA statusthis year, courtesy of federal court orders preserving DACA.