Time Sensitive Advocacy Actions to take ASAP!

Presbytery of the Pacific #M25/Immigration and Refugee Task Force

Please see a couple of important advocacy actions to take ASAP, thank you!

As we discussed at last week’s meeting, the American Border Patrol engages in grave human rights abuses separating children from parents at the border. In Texas, detained parents are frantically asking public defenders to help them find their children, reports NBC News. This prosecutorial policy impedes asylum claims and lets the government use children as leverage, forcing parents to agree to deportation so families can reunite,” reports The LA Times. Dr. Jaana Juvonen, a professor of developmental psychology at UCLA and Jennifer Silvers, an assistant professor of developmental neuroscience at UCLA writes: Separating children from parents at the border isn’t just cruel. It’s torture.  Please forward to as many people as possible, especially the phone calls to Senators and Representatives today. Thank you!

FIVE ACTIONS TO TAKE IMMEDIATELY:

There are many calls to action and many ways to engage. The list below includes only a few examples.

1. Join and amplify the National Day of Action for Children on Friday, June 1st. Today, June 1st, is a call-in day to demand an end to the inhumane and cruel treatment of immigrant children and families in immigration enforcement. Here is the National Day of Action for Children Toolkit for more information. Find events near you at familiesbelongtogether.org or webelongtogetherkids.org. Here is an interactive map of actions across the country. View and submit pictures from the Day of Action to be shared online here.

2. IF YOU TWEET: Tweet to raise awareness about this horrific practice. Join the #FamiliesBelongTogether Twitter Storm on June 1st from 12-4 p.m. ET. Click to access this Twitter Storm Kit to a be a one stop shop that includes points of contact, tweet copy, and other content to share. Please consider using #FamiliesBelongTogether Graphics.

   1. Beyond tomorrow’s Twitter Storm, please continue to tweet at @realDonaldTrump and @SecNielsen. We Belong Together’s demands for the Administration can be RT’d here (they vary slightly from the demands for Congress at the end of this email).

   2. Sample tweets can be found in the aforementioned toolkit and here.

4. PLEASE Sign a faith-based petition to the Department of Homeland Security to stop separating families. This is the same one I sent out last week, if you haven’t filled it out please do so!

5. Call Members of Congress. Encourage people in your church to urge their Members of Congress to use Congress’ oversight authority to stop separating families.
   1. For Senators: Senator Kamala Harris 202.224.3553. Senator Dianne Feinstein: 202.224.3841. Find your Representative HERE. You can also call 1-855-440-1800. When you dial that number, you’ll be given a sample message and then directly connected with the office of your Member of Congress.

TALKING POINTS FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS:

We must ensure the rights of children and parents are respected, and our legal system is allowed to work in the way Congress intended — to ensure those needing protection are able to find permanent safety, to uphold international treatises. The practices we are engaging in are abusive and against international law.

Specifically, we ask Members of Congress to:

1. Push for an end to the practice of separating and jailing families.

2. Support an effort to defund family separation in the appropriations context and support decreases in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the  U.S. Attorneys’ Offices within the Department of Justice.

3. Cosponsor the following legislation:

• H.R. 2572 – Protect Family Values at the Border Act

• H.R. 5950/S.2937 – the HELP Separated Children Act

• H.R. 2043/S. 2468 –  Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2018

• Appropriations legislation and report language that would prevent blanket and inhumane family separation practices, and track when, where, and how often family separation occurs.

Non-violence training June 2nd: June 2nd at Culver City Presbyterian Church 1:30-6:30pm. Flyer attached, and we are also featuring on our presbytery website. Learn how to intentionally proclaim the Gospel of Peace in contexts of violence, with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s 6 Principles of Non-Violence. This is a hands-on training led by our wonderful Rev. Rae Huang, CLUE organizer for Poor People’s campaign. Please register HERE for the training.

Sacramento Caravan: Plans are being made to bring a caravan of people from Pacific Presbytery to Sacramento, where there is the option of civil disobedience (not required). There will be rides leaving for the six-hour ride throughout the day Sunday June 10th, with the option to return either Monday night June 11th (if you decide not to engage in civil disobedience) or Tuesday June 12th (if you do decide to engage  in civil disobedience). Food, lodging and transportation provided. Non-violence training highly recommended before going on the caravan. For details and to sign up: Rev. Rae Huang <rhuang@cluela.org>.

The Campaign: National Call for Moral Revival: Here is the document Rae referred to last night outlining the moral agenda of the campaign: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/demands/. Click HERE for an inspiring video from Rev. Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis to describe this faith-based campaign for justice.