This text is from an email sent today by Vanita Gupta, President & CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights:
All of us are outraged by the Trump Administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border. There have been many lows in recent days and months, but these actions are among the most immoral and egregious. I wanted to let you know of a few planned activities:
1. Tomorrow, the National Action Network and UnidosUS are hosting a press conference to make clear that this policy offends all people in this country who care about civil and human rights. A few leaders from our family (myself included) will be participating. It will be in Washington, D.C. at 11am.
2. On Thursday, June 21: The Leadership Conference is helping to organize an interfaith mission to McAllen, TX where members of the clergy, including members of our coalition, will hold a vigil and seek to minister to the detained children. The mission will be comprised of a limited number of clergy members only to keep this focused on the power of the faith community speaking out.
3. The Leadership Conference, in partnership with National Domestic Workers Alliance, ACLU, Moveon.org, United We Dream, Indivisible, Center for Popular Democracy, PPFA, and other groups are working on other activities in the coming weeks. I will keep you posted as those plans land as we will want maximum participation possible.
If you have any questions about these efforts, please email Ashley Allison at ashley@civilrights.org.
Congressional activity: The House is expected to vote later this week on the Goodlatte bill and the Ryan bill. The specific text has not been finalized, but we know the pillars of hate that undergird both bills. As such, we will be circulating a sign-on letter opposing them later today, and we encourage your organization to join this effort. Also, tomorrow the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding an oversight hearing on the EB5 visa program which allows millionaires to buy green cards. The head of USCIS will be testifying and we want to encourage Senators to contrast this program for the rich with what is happening to families fleeing violence at the border. If you are able, please reach out to members on the Judiciary Committee to encourage them to attend and raise the public’s outrage. Please be in touch with Kristine Lucius at Lucius@civilrights.org with any questions.
Resources in the interim for the legislative fight ahead (prepared by the Immigration Hub):
- Updated fact sheet on how the Ryan ‘compromise’ bill does NOT end family separation
- New talking points on family separation in the Ryan bill
- Updated summary of the Ryan bill
Guidance on family separation more broadly:
- Stories of family separation compiled by the Immigration Hub
- “Dos and don’ts” on messaging prepared by Berlin Rosen
- Toplines prepared by the Hub, America’s Voice, and others
- Myths v. facts about the Flores settlement prepared by KIND, and a related backgrounder on the Flores settlement prepared by the Women’s Refugee Commission that clarifies how the Flores Settlement agreement (one of the court decisions the administration likes to portray as a ‘loophole’) was intended to protect children, is not a loophole, and has nothing to do with the administration’s family separation policies.
More to come. Thank you all for your commitment to justice in these times. This is important to our entire civil and human rights family, and we look forward to your partnership and support in these actions