United families, women's rights, and bipartisan solutions: Civic action to-do list for 6-25-18

3. Families belong together.

The Administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policies, first separating families and now detaining families indefinitely is abhorrent. Though President Trump signed an executive order last week to end his policy of family separation, 2,000 children are still far removed from their parents. It is imperative that reunification is the immediate priority of the Administration. This Saturday, June 30, join Families Belong Together marches across the country to demand that every single family is reunited and the detention of children and families is stopped. Join JWI in D.C. and wear white to make a strong statement of “love, unity, and freedom as we demand that families stay together and out of detention.” 

2. Women’s rights are human rights.

Denying survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault from qualifying for asylum protections, as the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of A-B does, is not only cruel, but also inconsistent with longstanding international jurisprudence, UN guidance, and the Department of Homeland Security’s own regulations. The Attorney General’s decision must be overturned. DHS itself has consistently taken the position that women like Ms. A.B. should qualify for asylum, recognizing that domestic violence may rise to a level of persecution required for asylum seekers. Email or call your members of Congress and tell them to uphold our commitments to those seeking our protection, and pass a bill to overturn the Attorney General’s decision. 

1. Congress must find bi-partisan solutions.

Our immigration system is broken, and it is up to Congress to develop bipartisan policies to fix it. This week an immigration bill that is a compromise between moderate and Tea Party Republicans, with no Democratic support, will come before the House of Representatives. Call your Representative and tell them to vote NO on Speaker Ryan’s “compromise” bill, “Border Security and Immigration Reform Act” (H.R. 6136), because it makes drastic reductions to legal immigration and eliminates protections for vulnerable children fleeing violence in their home countries. Our elected officials must join together to pass bi-partisan solutions!