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September 6, 2017

Next Steps After DACA Announcement

demonstration in support of DACA in DC
Yesterday was a heartbreaking day for the nearly 800,000 with DACA status--and for all of us as family, friends, work colleagues, and church members with them-as we heard the news of DACA's elimination by the administration. Yet, in honor of the great and constant courage of DACAmented young adults, we must be renewed in our vigilance to protect them now, as our attention turns to Congress for a permanent legislative solution. 

MANY Disciples engaged throughout the country in expressions of solidarity with immigrant communities, both on Monday's "Virtual March for DACA & TPS" and in rallies and prayer vigils and legislative visits yesterday.  Let's keep it up!!

Please see below for updates, and for action resources to encourage your steps-and your voices-as we continue to move ahead!!

following yesterday's announcement of DACA's ending. 

For Legal Updates and Questions , contact our Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel, Tana Liu-Beers .

Also, see this critical update on  "Top 5 Things to know About the Announcement That DACA Is Being Ended," from the National Immigration Law Center, in partnership with United We Dream.

NOW, it's OUR TIME TO ACT!  Our Attention Turns to Congress.
Urge these lawmakers to stand with Dreamers by passing a "clean" DREAM Act now, and also to cut funds for deportation, detention, and border militarization:

Contact YOUR legislators, and also all the key lawmakers below, to encourage their passage of the Dream Act (with no compromises!) which is now before the House and Senate, with bi-partisan support.  The DREAM Act will provide Dreamers with a pathway to permanent legal status and citizenship. Call and use these simple tweets
to support The DREAM Act now!  And, adapt the tweet to send to your own legislators!  Find your leaders' Twitter handles here:  Senators & Representatives

Also, as Congress is considering the budget RIGHT NOW, urge them to Cut Funds for Deportation, Detention, and Border Militarization, in addition to Protecting Immigrant Youth!

Background:  President Trump and the House are requesting $4.5 billion in additional funding to expand his deportation force to tear families and communities apart, detain an unprecedented 51,379 people, and further militarize communities living along the southern U.S. border. This means billions of additional funding to balloon an already bloated immigration detention and deportation force. Congress has the "power of the purse" and can reject this proposal and defund the deportation, detention, militarization machine. It is critical that Senators and Representatives hear loud and clear that their constituents want them to defund the deportation and detention force & de-militarize the border, and are opposed to writing Trump a check to harm our community members.

Federal funding to expand a deportation force that has ripped families and communities apart is part of a broader system to attack our immigrant neighbors. President Trump terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has allowed nearly 800,000 immigrant youth to work, raise a family, and thrive in the United States. No new DACA applications filed are being considered, and current DACA recipients will see their protection revoked starting in six months. This decision is devastating and dream-crushing for young people and their communities. As the administration turns its back on immigrant youth, our elected leaders need to do everything they can to support a clean passage of the Dream Act of 2017 and protect DREAMers from deportations and being separated from their families.

CALL YOUR SENATORS & REPRESENTATIVES TODAY: 1-866-961-4293

Please call 3 times to connect with your Representative and both of your Senators

Sample Script: "I'm your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and [as a person of faith] I urge you to cut funding for detention, deportation, and border militarization. I don't want Congress to write Trump a check to deport and detain my community members. Vote NO on Trump's deportation funding. I also urge you to stand with all DREAMers in the United States and support a clean passage of S.1615/H.R.3440, the Dream Act of 2017."

Feel free to share a personal story about standing in solidarity with immigrants. Let them know the specific ways that immigrants are welcomed into and contribute to your community.

You can also tweet at your Senators & Representatives:
  • .@[SENATOR/REP] Don't write Trump a check to deport & detain our community members #DefundHate #NoBanNoWallNoRaids
  • .@[SENATOR/REP]: I OPPOSE Congress writing a check for @POTUS to fund deportation, border militarization, and detention. #DefundHate
  • .@realDonaldTrump: Expanding funding for deportation force, border militarization, and detention will tear families apart. #DefundHate [what if it was yours graphic?]
  • .@realDonaldTrump: Don't write a check to deport and detain my community members and militarize my community #DefundHate #NoBanNoWallNoRaids [defund hate graphic]
  • As a nation of immigrants, we reject Trump's request for $ to build an un-American border wall & out-of-control deportation force. #DefundHate
  • .@[SENATOR/REP] Don't write Trump a check to deport & detain our community members #DefundHate #NoBanNoWallNoRaids
  • Keeping families safe and together is America's priority. @[MEMBER OF CONGRESS] say NO to #DefundHate & stop mass deportation.
  • .@[MEMBER OF CONGRESS] invest in families, NOT in Trump's plan to tear families apart. We're better than this #DefundHate
  • Unwanted border wall + more jails & beds + more reckless ICE agents = HATE. @[MEMBER OF CONGRESS] DON'T waste billions on hate. #DefundHate
  • .@[MEMBER OF CONGRESS] No boot. No bed. No wall. #DefundHate
  • $1.6 billion for border wall. $4.4 billion for more jail beds. $186 million for more ICE agents. America is better than this. #DefundHate
Take these other actions immediately to support a legislative solution for DREAMers now in imminent danger since yesterday's termination of the DACA program:
In addition to eliminating of DACA, which has placed DREAMers in imminent danger, the administration is likewise requesting billions of dollars to terrorize immigrant communities with increased detentions and deportations. In response, thousands of immigrant youth and allies are taking to the streets to demand protections:

From September 5th-September 8th, United We Dream (UWD) and the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) are organizing a hunger fast in Washington, DC to stand in solidarity with DACAmented community members and #defendDACA. DACA recipients will began a hunger fast on September 5th and it will last throughout the week. Click here to join an action in solidarity to support DACA and TPS.

Faith leaders: We invite you to host solidarity vigils around the country. Click here for a faith vigil toolkit to learn how to host an interfaith vigil and sample media resources to amplify its coverage! For more resources, click here for a DACA mini faith toolkit. You can also connect with local undocumented youth organizations and immigrants rights groups.

Sign up at defenddaca.com for updates and more information. Be sure to check out 5 ways you can take action to stand with DREAMers!  You can find a sample media advisory and press release here.  Action details will be listed here and at www.defundhatenow.org as they're finalized.

For further assistance in planning your response actions, please contact:  Rev. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries Director, [email protected] or 202-957-7826.
              
Refugee & Immigration Ministries is a ministry of Disciples Home Missions in Partnership with the Christian Church Capital Area and the Disciples Center for Public Witness