On Friday evening, July 12, 2019, Lights for Liberty candlelight vigils were held across the US and the world to protest the children (and adults) in concentration cages. This is a horror that cannot stand; we will press for action until the children are freed. Protesters were out in force, with probably about a couple thousand demonstrators and no counter-protests in our area. I saw a police wagon, but no cops. In the interests of showing the spirit of the event without invading anyone’s privacy, I have deleted faces and mostly concentrated on signs and candles. Enjoy! Then it’s time to create more ruckus beginning tomorrow, as noted below!
GET READY TO DO MORE!!!
attend town halls
I recently received an email from Indivisible, so a lot of us will be doing this together: Congressional recesses begin end of July — beginning of August! (Most of them, anyway. Apparently some may delay recess so committees can continue to investigate *resident *rump; if they do that, please be flexible and forgive them for not being home!) The House is back in their districts for “work periods” beginning Monday, July 29 until Friday, September 6. The Senate is back in their districts beginning the following Monday, August 5, also until Friday, September 6. How much do they actually work whilst visiting back home? Look them up and find out! Whenever they are holding town halls in your districts, GO! Confront! Demand that they release the children in cages and reunite them with their families! And if they don’t have families, allow them to go into foster care. Free the adults and give them ankle bracelets if they must, but more importantly, lawyers. Then #CloseTheCamps! To find your town halls, see The Town Hall Project. Together we can do this!
also
“Know your rights” handouts for immigrants
With ICE arresting whoever they feel like, it’s important to know your rights, especially if you happen to be of darker hue or have a “foreign-sounding” name. If you can, please keep a few of these handouts and cards handy to hand out to any you encounter who may need them. Handouts are available from American Immigration Lawyers Association in English, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic, Haitian and Punjabi here. They look like this:
Cards are also available from the National Immigration Law Center with explanations in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Korean, with cards in English/Spanish, English/Arabic, English/Farsi, and English/Somali here. They look like this:
Bilingual cards look like this:
If you have stiff card stock, you can print them out. If not, you can have them printed. Print on regular paper in the pinch, but I imagine they’ll wear out easily. I contacted the Center to ask about ordering some cards, but they didn’t respond. I’m guessing that means they don’t have them available except electronically, so it’s up to us!
Please share below other ideas for helping #CloseTheCamps! Thanks!