March 25, 2020
Action Alert Digest
ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE AND PEACEMAKING
TAKE ACTION: Tell Connecticut Governor to Close Gun Shops During the Coronavirus Crisis
 
There has been an unprecedented surge in gun and ammunition purchases during the last few weeks.  The Newtown Action Alliance urges us to tell Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont to join the governors from California, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania and remove Connecticut gun stores from the “essential business” list during the global Coronavirus crisis.  TAKE ACTION
UN Chief Calls for Global Ceasefire to Focus On ‘The True Fight of Our Lives’
 
In an appeal issued on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against  COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening all of humankind.  This is crucial, he said, “to help create corridors for life-saving aid. To open precious windows for diplomacy.  To bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.”    MORE
NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
How The Coronavirus Outbreak Is Like A Nuclear Attack
 
Two years ago, arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis published a fictitious account of a March 2020 nuclear attack on the continental United States. In both the real world now and the fictional world of his book, he sees a disaster exacerbated by dysfunction within the White House—a product not only of staffing inadequacies but also of senior advisers who are more focused on managing the president than on managing the crisis itself.  MORE
One Potential Victim of Coronavirus? Nuclear Inspections in Iran
 
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated Iran as a Level 3 country, meaning that all nonessential travel to Iran is suspended. The inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are mandated to inspect various sites throughout Iran under the terms of the nuclear agreement. Should the IAEA decide to suspend inspection visits to protect the health of his inspectors, it could metastasize concerns about Iranian nuclear proliferation.  MORE
IMMIGRATION
TAKE ACTION: Delay DACA Decision During COVID Crisis
 
The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on DACA soon. It is a ruling that could put 800,000 immigrant youth in danger of being deported and put their jobs at risk. United We Dream suggests that the Supreme Court should delay its decision until our country has made it through the COVID-19 crisis.     TAKE ACTION
Pandemic Measures Cut Border Crossings by Half
 
A Trump administration official has said that border crossings have dropped by half as the strictest U.S.-Mexico border policies yet went into place amid the coronavirus pandemic, but there was confusion about how it was all working. Anyone caught crossing the border illegally is to be immediately returned to Mexico or Canada, according to the new restrictions based on an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday.  MORE
U.S. Immigration Courts Shut After Outcry Over Coronavirus Fears
 
The U.S. government canceled all deportation hearings for immigrants not in detention after immigration judges and government prosecutors complained busy courts were putting them at risk of COVID-19 infection. A spokeswoman said in a statement the closures will be effective March 18, 2020, through April 10, 2020. Cases of immigrants stuck in detention will be heard as scheduled.  MORE
ENVIRONMENT
Possible Ties Between COVID and Climate
 
Doctors and public health researchers are getting an increasingly accurate and nuanced picture of the many ways climate change damages human health. Now, questions have arisen about whether climate change contributed to the outbreak of COVID-19. A Harvard Expert on Environment and Health offers insight into the connection.  MORE
Enormous Locust Swarms Are Eating Their Way Across Two Continents
 
Crops are being destroyed at "extremely alarming" levels by record-breaking swarms of locusts in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported last week. Experts say global warming has given rise to ideal conditions for the swarms proliferating across Africa and the Middle East and are calling for efforts to control the insects even as the world is focused on the global coronavirus pandemic.   MORE    
Mandatory Composting in New York City? It Could Happen
 
Millions of New Yorkers may soon need to separate food scraps into a separate garbage receptacle every time they take out their waste under a new proposal from New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. The proposal is part of a sweeping package of strategies to address climate change in the city.  MORE
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
TAKE ACTION: Call on US Customs to Block Imports of Palm Oil
 
Palm oil harvested in Malaysia is used in many everyday products including shampoo, chocolate, lipstick and more, but at high human costs. FGV, one of the world’s largest producers of palm oil and partner of Procter & Gamble, is under fire for forced labor on their palm oil plantations. Freedom United urges us to tell US Customs to ban imports of FGV palm oil until it can prove that forced labor has been eliminated from their operations.  TAKE ACTION
$65 Million In Grants Announced to Curb Human Trafficking
 
More than $65 million in grants from the Department of Justice is now available to help communities curtail human trafficking and serve victims of trafficking operations. The funding is available through the Office of Justice Programs, the federal government’s leading source of public safety funding and crime victim assistance in state and local jurisdictions. The programs support a wide array of services, including human trafficking task forces and services for human trafficking survivors.  MORE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT
Where Can Domestic Violence Victims Turn During Covid-19?
 
In the time of the coronavirus, being quarantined with an abusive partner poses greater risks. An uptick in domestic violence has already been recorded in China. Most crisis shelters are deemed “essential services” and are still operating. However, many domestic violence service providers are not seeing as many clients in person because of the virus, and are pivoting their services to hotlines, phone consultations, and virtual sessions.  MORE
Teen Pregnancy Risk Rises as Schools Shut for Coronavirus in Africa
 
School closures due to coronavirus in West Africa risk exposing girls to sexual violence and unwanted pregnancy, experts say, basing the warning on past experience with Ebola. Activists said schools serve a critical role as a safe space for girls and countries should take preventative measures now, such as reinforcing sexual violence hotlines, making public announcements about the penalties for rape and using technology to help teachers keep in contact with students.  MORE
POVERTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Homeless Families Reclaim Vacant Homes to Survive Virus Outbreak
 
Several Los Angeles families who have been forced to live in cars, shelters and other unsafe situations have seized control of 13 vacant homes owned by the government, with the goal of staying indefinitely – and staying alive. The takeover comes as California’s homelessness crisis and the escalating coronavirus outbreak have collided to create a catastrophe threatening thousands of lives.  MORE
Hoarders Cleaning Store Shelves Leave Little Food for SNAP Recipients 

With people stocking up in bulk, SNAP recipients are left vulnerable. The empty shelves and fixed income are hurdles for many older Americans trying to eat healthily during the coronavirus pandemic. Hoarding has prompted Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to tell people not to stockpile because it makes it more difficult for others to get their everyday supply of food.    MORE
DEATH PENALTY

Fabian Hernandez is scheduled to be executed on April 23 by the state of Texas for the murders of Renee Urbina Hernandez and Arthur Lee Fonseca.  Please hold Fabian, Renee, Arthur, their families and the people of Texas in prayer.  TAKE ACTION

 
Catholics Laud Colorado Death Penalty Repeal
 
Colorado became the 22nd U.S. state to abolish capital punishment this week after Governor Jared Polis signed death penalty repeal bill SB 20-100 into law and commuted the sentences of the three men currently on the state's death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole.   MORE