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It’s hard to write about these issues because honestly I never thought we’d be here. Alas, here we are. Here we are in a nation that was built by immigrants, where the Administration (really it should be in quotes “Administration” because how are they really leading?)
attacking immigrants
Here are just a few examples of how 45’s administration is attacking immigrants this week:

1. Trump has expressed a desire to end “chain migration.”

A call to end “chain migration” which is just code for – “we don’t want non-white brown people bringing their relatives over.” The proper name is family reunification, and it allows residents to bring family members here in a legal way.
Here is what Trump tweeted back in Nov 2017 regarding family reunification:

2. 45 just insulted immigrants from Haiti and African nations …

and everyone who is sane with a brain and is of immigrant descent got offended (rightfully so).

Not only did he say African countries and Haiti were “shithole countries” but he also added “Why can’t we let people from Norway in?” What’s the difference between Haiti, African countries and Norway? Which leads us to confirm, for those who didn’t yet know yet. TRUMP IS A RACIST.

As Julio Ricardo Varela states in a piece called White People are the only ones still surprised by Surprised by Donald Trump’s racism: “people of color have always seen the danger of the president’s prejudice quite clearly.”

Check out Anderson Cooper’s harsh words towards Trump and beautiful words towards the Haitian people:

3. Dreamers are still waiting for a resolution… and Trump wants to get the Supreme Court involved.

A small victory for DACA recipients came last week when a federal judge ordered that DACA applications be accepted. On their website, USCIS has stated, “Until further notice, and unless otherwise provided in this guidance, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017.”
 … and the Trump administration has said they plan to ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on whether they can end DACA or not.

4. Immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir, Director of New Sanctuary, was detained in NY last week.

During a routine check-in with ICE, Ragbir was detained and has been sent to Florida. People have been rallying since the day of his detention. This weekend, people rallied in Washington Square Park.

If you want to support Ravi Ragbir, you can write letters and postcards. Here is more information:

5. TPS was ended for Salvadorans.

TPS, or temporary protected status, had been granted to citizens of countries like El Salvador and Haiti, among others, due to hardships like violence and natural disasters. Many of these families have been here for over 20 years. Most individuals have set roots here: they have families, American children, businesses. They are leaders, teachers, bus drivers, homeowners. They are part of our communities.

In November 2017, DHS announced it was ending TPS for Haitians. Last week, the Trump administration has ended TPS for citizens of El Salvador. If you’re interested in reading DHS’ take on this, you can click here. Among other things, they state that they carefully considered the conditions on the ground, and found that most reconstruction from the earthquake has been complete. They have provided 18 months for an “orderly transition.” Secretary Nielsen’s release points out that the 18 months are also there for Congress to come up with a legislative solution. “Only Congress can legislate a permanent solution addressing the lack of an enduring lawful immigration status of those currently protected by TPS who have lived and worked in the United States for many years.”

6. Jorge Garcia, an undocumented father with no criminal record, was deported from Detroit to Mexico.

Mr. Garcia has an American wife and 2 American children. He has been in the United States for 30 years.  He missed the DACA cut off by a year. He was deported to a place he hadn’t been to in 30 years, and was taken away from his loved ones.

 

And because all of this isn’t enough… in a few days, on Friday Jan 19th, the government will shutdown if no spending bill is put in place.  Republicans and Democrats need to work together to reach an agreement to avoid a shutdown. Democrats want a DACA deal, and to reauthorize CHIP… while Republicans want to increase military spending (surprise surprise) and a border wall (wait, wasn’t Mexico paying for the wall?”).

Stay vigilant friends!!

Call your representatives and tell them you support immigrants! Ask them to protect dreamers with a clean DACA bill and demand TPS recipients be protected!
 
CONTACTING CONGRESS
Capitol switchboard: 1-202-224-3121
 
If faxing is your thing:

via GIPHY

 (I’m not judging… OK maybe a little)
 
 
LOVE TO TEXT? We’ve got that too!  Here’s how to send a fax via text: send the text “RESIST” to 50409 and follow the prompts.
Ask your Representatives to condemn Trump’s racist rhetoric, to protect DACA and CHIP!
Attacking immigrants is attacking the fiber of our country. Speak up! Don’t stay silent!
Featured image:
Photo by Nitish Meena on Unsplash