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Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
Good grief, it feels like a Friday already, doesn’t it?
We’re continuing to see a lot of churn and tumult. Some of it, at least, seems to be moving the conversation in our favor. Since I last wrote we’ve seen Greg Bovino kicked out of Minnesota and Noem seemingly sidelined—although Trump still maintains that she’s not stepping down. Multiple Republican officials are now urging investigations, possible pauses to ICE operations, and congressional hearings over concerns about current immigration enforcement policies and their consequences. 1
And the anti-ICE rhetoric has exploded —even in places heretofore kept apolitical. The Washington Post has a whole article about lifestyle and sports influencers who are now speaking out. Celebrities condemning ICE over the weekend included Natalie Portman, Olivia, Wilde, Zoey Deutch, Jenna Ortega, and Edward Norton (who called for a general strike!) Sports associations and athletes spoke up, too— I already mentioned the NBA Players Association, but they’ve been joined by Brianna Stewart, Tyrese Haliburton, and Steve Kerr. There were moments of silence at NBA and PHWL games.
Even Uber-right Barstool Sports called this a “watershed moment.”
Y’all, we’re still in the thick of it, and at any moment another unspeakable atrocity could occur (in fact it just did, in Arizona). But I believe we are witnessing a sea change in public opinion and I want to celebrate that. Regular Americans who were unengaged are becoming engaged. People are realizing that “I don’t talk about politics” doesn’t work when “politics” can shoot you dead in the street for no reason.
As a result, more and more people are asking “what can I do?” My husband has gotten multiple calls from male friends who want to deliver groceries to immigrants here in L.A. A friend went to an ICE rapid response training in Pasadena yesterday. They were expecting 100 attendees. She told me there were about 1000 people in attendance! From what I’ve heard Indivisible’s ICE Observer training last night had 150,000 RSVPs!
It goes on. Of course many of us have already been here doing this work. But we’ve always known our circle would need to widen if we’re to win this fight, and right now it’s widening very rapidly. Good! While it may be tempting to say “what took these people so long?” the more productive (and generous) response, of course, is to throw our arms open, cry “welcome!’ and tell everyone joining us how they can help.
As for our calls, they remain unchanged while the Senate battle is ongoing, for while we’ve seen a coalescing determination from Democrats to hold the line (except for Fetterman, ugh) we must not relent. They must hear from us daily. As for Republicans? I’ll be damned if we’re going to let them off the hook. If there were ever a moment when we could peel some of them off this is it. They’re not blind. They read the same polls and notice the same trends we do. They know they’re on the losing side of this argument. If they were ever going to make a stand now is the time.
So let’s keep calling.
I love you guys. I am so very very proud of what we’re doing here, and what AMERICA is doing. We are collectively re-discovering our commitment to justice, democracy and freedom, and joining forces to save them. E pluribus, unum indeed!
It’s the stuff out of history books or epic films, folks. But we’re not reading or watching it. We’re living it. What an honor. What a responsibility!
We are the ones the world is rooting for. So let’s go out there and do them proud.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I want the Senator to vote no on the DHS funding bill until several conditions are met: ICE and CBP must leave Minneapolis and stop terrorizing American cities. We need a full, independent investigation into Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s killings. There can be no more detaining and deporting of U.S. Citizens. ICE’s masks must come off. And the mass arrest quotas and warrantless arrests must end. Also? Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller must step down or be impeached, and Greg Bovino must be investigated. We’ve had enough!
[If GOP add:] Republicans need to stop blindly defending ICE and the Trump administration. The American people have had it; we will not accept being lied to. We want Congress to do its job and protect us—not a bunch of masked thugs. Please ask the Senator to join with Democrats and demand a complete overhaul of ICE before more people die. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
The Agricultural committee markup for a terrible crypto bill called The Digital Commodities Intermediaries Act (formerly the Clarity Act), is THIS WEEK. We need every Dem Senator on the Ag Committee to oppose it. This bill ignores crypto corruption in the White House and will negatively impact our economy and consumers.
Senator Booker is already opposed because it “fails to address core concerns.” We need to get the rest of the Dems on board!
We need lots and lots of calls. Please call the member below if they are your Senator.
Amy Klobachar, Minnesota 202-224-3244
Michael Bennet, Colorado, 202-224-5941
Tina Smith, Minnesota 202-224-5641
Richard Durbin, Illinois 202-224-2152
Cory Booker New Jersey 202-224-5702
Ben Ray Lujan New Mexico. 202-224-6621
Raphael Warnock Georgia 202-224-3643
Peter Welch Vermont 202-224-4242
Adam Schiff California (202) 224-3841
John Fetterman Pennsylvania 202-224-4254
Elissa Slotkin Michigan 202-224-4822
Script:
Script : My name is _____ and I’m a constituent from [zip]. I’m asking the Senator to vote no on The Digital Commodities Intermediaries Act (formerly the Clarity Act) when it comes up in the Agriculture Committee this week. Democrats shouldn’t give away the future of the American economy to crypto oligarchs who are dismantling our democracy, nor give a blank check to crypto corruption in the White House. I know Senator Booker will vote no and I am counting on you to vote no as well. Thank you!
Extra Extra Credit ✅ ✅
Free DC has made it easy to email the CEOs of Target, Hilton, and Enterprise to demand that their companies cancel their contracts with ICE (or, in Target’s case, stop allowing them to stage in their parking lots). Please do so here!
Get Smart! 📚
In case you missed Indivisible’s training yesterday, I have two more in similar veins that sound excellent!
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network will be holding a mass call on its Adopt A Day Labor Corner program and other ways we can help push ICE out of our communities TOMORROW at 7PM ET - we can sign up to join here. [H/T ]
Join SURJ and their immigrant partner organization, Solidarity Organizing Initiative, for a training on organizing locally and being ready if ICE comes to your community. No experience is necessary—anyone who wants to take practical steps to build neighborhood-level power is welcome.
They’ll share lessons from Minneapolis, where communities organized at the neighborhood level—parents coordinating school drop-off patrols, neighbors looking out for one another, and networks ready to mobilize when ICE showed up. Minneapolis showed what’s possible when communities are organized and now we’ll explore how to start that same groundwork where you live. Step by step, they’ll explore how to get to know your neighbors, build trust, and prepare to act together if ICE comes to your town. RSVP here.
Give 💰!
I was at a gathering on Sunday and I met someone who is good friends with the folks who run 5 Calls. She informed me that the volunteers running this app are desperate for donations to keep it going!
5 Calls is an amazing resource that has enabled literally hundreds of thousands of Americans to call their reps regularly. It is invaluable to our fight. If you can possibly throw them some cash—or even become a monthly donor—please do so here.
Get in the Streets! 🪧
Indivisible is asking us to plan an ICE Out action at our senators’ home offices. Our calls and emails are critical, but it’s also very important that we turn up the pressure on senators publicly, in their home states.
Indivisible encourage us to plan creative, nonviolent, and lawful actions that honor the lives taken and highlight our demand to rein in ICE. ESPECIALLY if your Senator is a Republican!
More info on how to do this in this toolkit.
Grab your Wallet! 💳
If you want to learn what companies to boycott AND which to use in their stead I highly recommend follwing the Instagram creator Cut Off the Spigot. She is fantastic! I have learned so much from her. She dives deep into who owns what companies and where they get their funding, and always offers an ethical alternative! Sorry if you’re not on Meta—she’s apparently also on Upscroll but I’m not familiar with that platform so can’t link to it. But if you’re on instagram do check her out!
Win Races!
A lot of eyes nationally are on Texas’ State Senate District 9, which will complete its runoff in a rare Saturday election this week. The fight between Democratic veteran, union leader and machinist Taylor Rehmet and MAGA activist Leigh Wambsganss has attracted eye-popping amounts of donations as they compete in the bellwether of Tarrant County. Imagine what it’ll do to Republicans if we win this seat!
We can sign up to phonebank for Taylor:
TONIGHT at 7PM ET with Blue Texas
TOMORROW at 6:30PM ET with the Texas AFL-CIO
THURSDAY at 7PM ET with Blue Texas
[H/T ]
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps ] [H/T ] [Text SIGN to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
I am writing to urge you to oppose the SAVE Act (H.R. 22 / S. 128) and any expanded version, including a so-called “SAVE Act Plus” or “Super SAVE Act.” This legislation is not about election security. It is a coordinated effort to suppress lawful voters by turning registration into a bureaucratic obstacle course.
[It’s a long letter—the rest of the text is here.]
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
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