I won’t spend a lot of time today trying to inspire you to stay in the fight. Other GNR team members have done a great job of that over the last few days. My job today is the same as every day at the Good News Roundup—to prove to you that not only can we win, but that we are winning in so many ways.
Besides, I doubt I could ever do as good as job at firing you up as Denise Oliver Velez does in her diary Stand up! We will survive, we will keep fighting—no matter what. If you haven’t already, go read it. Right now. The good news will be here when you get back.
As I’ve said before, we will face some defeats in the days ahead, and we’re getting a clearer picture of what some of those defeats are likely to be. But if we stay focused on our long-term as well as our short-term goals, we will be able to push through the dark times and into the light.
And the struggle itself will make us stronger and better people precisely because it is so frightening and difficult. If I may may steal a little of NotNowNotEver’s shtick, allow me to offer this quote which seems especially appropriate.
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” --Eleanor Roosevelt
Or as someone else once said, “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”
The rain kept me from being able to make use of all the fireworks I bought yesterday, so I hope you’ll allow me to share some 4th of July music today. This was recorded in Austin 32 years ago.
And now let’s get down to business.
The Fight For Immigrant Families Continues
Law enforcement leaders oppose indefinite family detention
Over 50 police chiefs, sheriffs, and other law enforcement leaders have signed a letter to Congress urging alternatives to detention for immigrant families after they are reunited. Police chief Art Acevedo of Houston Director of Public Safety Mark Prosser of Storm Lake, Iowa, wrote a guest column for The Hill decrying the original separation of families and explaining opposition to indefinite family detention from a law enforcement perpective.
We can — and we must — protect our communities while upholding America’s values. What is happening at the border is also spreading fear, confusion, and pressure in immigrant communities across our country, which is driving large numbers of our community members and neighbors deeper into the shadows. This translates into more targets for would-be criminals, more difficult environments for police to do our work, and an erosion of police-community relations in cities large and small.
There are multiple alternatives to family detention...
Simply put, immigrant families are not threats to national security. Even ignoring its questionable legality, detaining entire families does not make our communities safer. What it does is make children suffer. Detention can lead to alcoholism, depression, and substance abuse. It runs the risk of breeding a generation of youth with deep trauma and abhorrence for the United States.
As police chiefs, we know that kids who are traumatized today are the young adults who have run-ins with law enforcement tomorrow.
former ice attorney switches sides, will now defend immigrant children
Laura Peña is a former assistant chief counsel with ICE who has determined that her former employer’s actions are unconscionable and has decided to take a job defending children with the Texas Civil Rights Project.
I imagine a plane full of children landing in the deportation facility in Guatemala City. These children are stranded, vulnerable and at grave risk for human trafficking.
I became a lawyer because I believe in the rule of law and fundamental fairness, not to prosecute babies and send them traveling in planes alone. As our government cracks down on asylum-seeking families, we are witnessing mass violations of constitutional and international laws that uphold the right to family unity, the protection of asylum seekers from criminal prosecution, and the rights of children to live free from harm.
As a former ICE attorney, I am laying down the prosecution sword and picking up the shield to defend those most vulnerable in our society. Our integrity as a democracy relies upon it.
Ms. Peña worked for ICE under the Obama administration. It was a horrible agency then and it is worse now. Her knowledge of ICE prosecutorial strategies will be invaluable.
austin-based rufugee assistance agency sees surge of volunteers
Refugee Services of Texas, a non-profit which helps refugee families and unaccompanied children, is seeing a 400% increase in volunteers at the Austin chapter. This still falls short of meeting the need, as the organization is being swamped with children requiring services and assistance. See the updated list of ways you can help separated families below to find out how you can volunteer to help. The agency operates in five of Texas’ major cities.
Protest at home of ceo of company that runs child immigrant detention centers
Southwest Key Programs is a nominally non-profit company that operates 27 immigrant detention centers in three state, including the converted Wal-Mart in Brownsville that denied entry to Senator Jeff Merkley. Happy to be a part of Trump’s zero-tolerance policy, the company is planning to open more detention centers in Texas despite widespread criticism of their complicity with Trump’s child abductions.
Last week protestors in Austin took that criticism to the home of Southwest Key CEO Juan Sanchez.
- MoreRather than taking to the Capitol steps, immigration activists on Thursday brought their megaphones and their signs to a quiet, hilly neighborhood in Northwest Austin to criticize Southwest Key CEO Juan Sanchez, whose organization took in many of the immigrant children separated from their parents at the border under the policy ended last week by President Donald Trump.
About 35 people met at Allen Park before marching through Sanchez’s neighborhood, just west of MoPac Boulevard and north of RM 2222, shouting chants such as “Hey Juan Sanchez, what do you say? How many kids did you jail today?” and arriving at his house.
The group Frente de Liberación Inmigrante, or Immigrant Liberation Front, organized the protest to demand that Southwest Key end all contracts with the federal government.
“He’s in his comfort zone,” said Olivia Huerta of the decision to rally in his neighborhood. “In his office, it’s easier to tune us out. But at his home, when you invade that space, he might start to think, ‘Something’s happening here. Maybe I need to think about this.’”
A couple of days later some 8,000 people gathered at the Texas state capitol building as part of a nationwide day of protest against the Trump policy that Southwest Key is supporting.
Media partners initiate crowdsourced effort to find separated children
The Trump administration is now under court order to reunite abducted children with their families. But record-keeping has been so sloppy that it is extremely difficult in many cases to do that. Put simply, no one is exactly sure of the identities of all the stolen children or where they are being held.
Four media outlets—Buzzfeed, Pro Publica, The Intercept, and Univision—are asking for the public's help in locating missing children and identifying all the facilities at which they are being held.
Amid a heated national debate about the policy, actual information about the whereabouts and welfare of separated children is hard to come by. Officials around the country have charged that federal agencies aren’t providing basic information about the children. Federal agencies say they have a database to track children and parents but legal groups working with families of detained children say they hadn’t seen any evidenceof it.
Late Tuesday evening, a federal judge ordered an end to the separation policy and the reunification of affected families, with limited exceptions, within the next month. US District Judge Dana Sabraw called it a “startling reality” that the government had separated families without “an effective system or procedure” for tracking children or reuniting families.
In search of the facts, BuzzFeed News is today partnering with ProPublica, the Intercept, Univision News, Animal Politico, and Plaza Publica to gather vital information about the children in immigration detention facilities and shelters.
For details on how you can provide any information you may have, see the list of action items below.
And I suppose this would be a good time for a musical interlude. How about the great Flaco Jimenez?
Besides all that’s being done for separated immigrant families, there is plenty of other good news today.
LGBTQ Rights Advance In Latin America
mexico’s president-elect cites lgtbq community
While progress has been made on LGBTQ rights in Mexico, especially in Mexico City, it is still uncommon to hear the community even mentioned by national politicians. That changed on Sunday when progessive President-Elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised to “represent all Mexicans…from all points of view and sexual preferences.”
According to Karolyna Pollorena, an LGBT activist in Mexicali, López Obrador is the first president-elect in the country’s history to specifically mention the LGBTI community in his victory speech. She also said López Obrador will have a more diverse cabinet than previous administrations and more progressive representatives across various government sectors.
“With it [the administration] and the help of the Mexican LGBTTTI+ Coalition, we hope that this new government can help legalize marriage equality in the states where it’s lacking in Mexico and also move forward on issues of legislation that have (stalled) in past governments,” Pollorena said.
12,000 attend salvadoran parade as part of national recognition of pride month
The Pride March in El Salvador’s capital city drew 12,000 participants last Saturday, the culmination of a month-long national celebration and commemoration.
The Salvadoran LGBTI Federation, government entities and foreign countries’ consulates in El Salvador organized these events throughout the month of June. The illumination of the National Palace (in rainbow colors), the unveiling of the LGBTI flag at the National Theater, cinema forums, the raising of the LGBTI flag at ministries and consulates, the unveiling of a commemorative plaque on June 28 at the Ministry of Labor and the painting of a street in front of its building were among the activities that took place.
Members of the LGBTI community, family members, friends and members of the diplomatic corps who were invited to take part were among the more than 12,000 people who attended the march, which took place without incident. Participants were joyful as they played music, carried slogans and danced.
Brazilian prison to open a separate wing for gay inmates
Despite its reputation for sexual tolerance, Brazil experiences a disturbingly high number of hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Much of this violence occurs in the country’s prisons. To combat this, the Eldo Sa Correa will open a "diversity aisle" for gay inmates who request placement there.
“Besides preserving the physical integrity of LGBT people, the diversity aisle demonstrates respect to the specificity of every single person and will offer more dignity to people imprisoned who would wish this kind of environment,” said Andre Santos da Silva, who led the project for the prison.
The prison will first make available 15 vacancies for convicts already located in the prison Eldo Sa Correa, in the town of Rondonopolis, central-eastern state of Matto Grosso. But the project aims to then expand the vacancies available for inmates from other prisons in the country.
For an interesting history of the struggle for LGTBQ rights in Latin America, see this interesting article.
Dissension and Disarray As GOP Continues to Kick Its Own Ass
Ted cruz suggests voting for a democrat in illinois congressional race
To quote a cliche, that is not a headline from The Onion.
As many of you may know, a self-confessed Nazi is the Republican nominee in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional district. Appalled that the candidate says out loud what much of the GOP quietly thinks, Ted “Zodiac Killer” Cruz is urging people to vote for anyone else, even a Democrat.
I’m not sure how Trump will feel about it, but I suspect Cruz’ new found opposition to bigoted fools may be the result of his own political problems in Texas as he continues to struggle against a surprisingly strong Democratic challenger.
Illinois governor says no, if he stays in the race vote for the nazi
In keeping with standard GOP practice, Illinois governor Bruce Rauner said he wishes Holoocaust denier Arthur Jones would drop out of the race, but he wasn’t willing to suggest actually voting against him if he stays in. So remember, Illinites, you governor is more extreme than Ted Cruz. Be sure to tell all the Republicans you know.
Head of virginia gop resigns rather than work for his party’s senatorial candidate
In another case of the GOP leadership battling with its own base, the chairman of Virginia’s Republican party has resigned after GOP voters picked an open white nationalist as their party’s challenger to Senator Tim Kaine.
John Whitbeck had led his state’s party since 2015, but quit just two weeks after the party’s primary was won by Corey Stewart, a Trump-loving ultra-Conservative who has advocated protecting the state’s Confederate monuments.
Stewart has promised to run a “vicious campaign” against incumbent Tim Kaine...Whitbeck apparently wanted no part of it, as he is resigning to pursue “other opportunities.”
Texas governor greg abbott publicly opposes trump’s tariff nonsense
Greg Abbott is one of the most recent, and more surprising, Republicans to balk at Trump’s effort to accidentally wreck the American economy with a childish trade war. Proving once again that among Republicans money means more than party loyalty, the Texas Governor has written to Trump to state the obvious truth that tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, and other products would be bad for the his state’s economy.
“I urge you to reconsider these tariffs in light of the unintended negative consequences for American industries,” Abbott wrote in his letter. “I am concerned that the new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and other goods may threaten future economic growth both in our state and across the country,” [Abbott wrote.]
Abbott pointed out that Texas accounted for more than $8.3 billion in steel and aluminum imports last year, citing data from the U.S. Census, more than double any other state. Such imports are crucial to the construction and maintenance of drilling wells, pipelines and other infrastructure “that are the backbone of our oil and gas industry,” the governor said.
Dear Leader has not responded to Abbott’s letter, probably because no one has read it to him or explained the big words yet.
And that’s just one example of how Trump’s tariffs are causing dissension in the ranks.
trump angers big business with trade policies
America’s businesses can usually be counted on as some the the GOP’s staunchest allies. But Trump has taken care of that.
President Donald Trump is now at full-scale war over trade policy with some of the Republican Party’s staunchest allies in big business, including executives at iconic American brands such as General Motors and Harley-Davidson who previously shied away from criticizing an often irascible president.
Trump’s approach has created a high-stakes showdown without recent political precedent: A Republican president betting that his populist approach to trade will thrill his working-class base and blow away any short-term economic fallout or reduced political support from the nation’s largest business organizations. His message to corporate America so far: I don’t care what you say, my base is with me.
On the other side, corporate titans and market analysts fear Trump is on the cusp of damaging the American economy — and that he will not recognize the failure of his approach until it’s too late.
It remains to be seen if Trump’s base of racist idiots are capable of understanding the complexities of international trade, or will care once their jobs start disappearing. OTOH, much of what’s left of Trump’s base seems to care about nothing as much as pissing off people like us, and might be willing to languish in unemployment to own the libtards.
senate intelligence committee calls bs on devin nunes
Last April the House Intelligence committee, led by Devin Nunes, reported that there was, as Trump puts it, NO COLLUSION, and that Russia did not interfere in US elections to elect the Orange Wonder. On Tuesday the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a bipartisan report debunking Nunes and his Trumpian talking points.
The Senate Intelligence Committee, however, reached a much firmer conclusion: The January 2017 intelligence community was right to find the Russians meddled in the election to defeat Clinton and aid Trump.
“The Committee found that the ICA provided a range of all-source reporting to support these assessments,” it found. “A body of reporting,” from classified intelligence to Russian media, “showed that Moscow sought to denigrate Secretary Clinton.” The ICA finding on Putin’s objectives used similarly cumulative Russian media, similarities between Trump positions and Putin’s interests “and a body of intelligence reporting to support the assessment that Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for Trump.”
It’s kinda nice to see Senate Republicans joining with Democrats to expose Nunes as Trump’s lapdog. I wonder what the GOP base will think of all this?
And what better song for our next break than this 1947 delight which should probably be the official GOP campaign song at this point.
In lieu of kitten pictures this week, allow me to present
Good News For Cats And Cat Lovers
feline survivors of sonoma county wildfires are being reunited with their humans
We all remember the disastrous fires that swept through a large part of Sonoma County, California last fall. Many people were forced to flee their homes without their feline companions. But since they began work three months after the fires, a small group of volunteers has reunited 300 "fire cats" with their families, and found new homes for those who needed them.
“Our pets mean the world to us. That’s what motivates us to check traps, refill food,” said Becky Shapley, the group’s co-founder and head organizer. “It’s hugely rewarding. You can’t put a price on a pet’s life.”
In the first three months after wildfires burned down 5,283 Sonoma County homes, the pet rescue group was catching at least 20 cats a week, many at feeding stations and traps set out on every street in developed areas like Santa Rosa’s heavily affected Coffey Park. These days, with the remaining fire cats adapting to life outside, often in more rural areas like Fountaingrove or Larkfield-Wikiup, the volunteers are lucky to catch one a week, Shapley said.
“We’re not a nonprofit; we’re not official; we’re just a group of volunteers,” said Shapley, a horse owner who lives near Coddingtown Mall.
It’s a love of animals and gratification of reuniting pets with their owners that keep the volunteers going. And to give something back to the fire victims who have lost so much.
spokane county’s feral cats being given a temporary home while employment is found for them
In Spokane County, Washington, the Animal Protection Service has constructed a 12X12 foot "kitty bungalow" for its population of unsocialized feral cats.
The “working” cats, who are typically unsocialized feral cats, live together in a new building measuring 12 feet by 12 feet nestled among the trees behind the dog walking area.
The building is simple and has walls of lumber and wire with 2-by-4-inch openings. Boards have been laid across the sturdy rafters to give the cats additional perches. Two cat trees are placed in corners and small hiding boxes sit along the back wall.
Some cats like to go up high while others like to hide down low.
The roomy residence, based on a similar shelter at Austin Pets Alive, is an alternative to cages, which can be very stressful for outside cats. It is meant to be a temporary home, as even cats who don’t get along with people can find good homes if they’re willing to work a little.
The feral cats are usually trapped by animal protection officers or members of the public. They are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and given an exam by a veterinarian when they arrive. They are adopted out as barn cats, though some have also gone to warehouses and shops, [agency director Lindsey] Soffes said.
“There’s a decent demand,” she said. “We’re able to place all our barn cats. Sometimes it takes longer depending on the season. They trade their really refined mousing skills for food, water and shelter.”
A Variety Of Positive Stories Finishes Our Thursday Roundup
filipino christians offer a dramatic apology to lgtbq community
Participants in Manila’s Pride Parade last weekend got a pleasant surprise at the end of their march--a contingent of Christians holding signs apologizing for their religion's past treatment of LGBTQ people.
The main banners held by the group listed the ways "Christians harmed the LGBT community," including statements, such as "I've rejected and hurt your family in the name of 'family values.'" The other individual signs varied with messages like, "God loves you, so do we," and "I used to be a Bible-banging homophobe Sorry!!"
The group who brought the signs to the parade is from the Church of Freedom in Christ Ministries (FICM), an Evangelical and Pentecostal church in Makati, Philippines, reports BuzzFeed News.
The church's pastor, Val Paminiani, said that he has been going to Pride parades for around four years as a part of the organization's "I'm Sorry" campaign.
Paminiani told BuzzFeed News, "We are apologizing for the way Christians have hurt the LGBT community, especially by using the Bible in condemning and judging them."
The pastor continued that, "I used to believe that God condemns homosexuals, but when I studied the Scriptures, especially the ones that we call 'clobber Scriptures' that are being cherry-picked from the Bible to condemn LGBT people, I realized that there's a lot to discover, including the truth that God is not against anyone. God does not discriminate against people based on gender."
endangered coral reef has been saved in central america
Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System is no longer considered endangered
coral reef saved due to the success of common-sense conservation efforts by the Belize government.
The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, the Western Hemisphere’s longest reef system, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and had been included on the committee’s “in danger” list of since 2009. On Tuesday, the committee voted to remove the system from the list after years of conservation action from the Belizean government, including banning offshore gas and oil drilling, revising mangrove conservation laws, and creating a coastal management plan.
“The Belizean government deserves tremendous credit for partnering with the NGO sector and taking concrete steps toward safeguarding this truly special seascape—and that work will continue,” said Nicole Auil Gomez, the Belize country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society, in a press release. “We remain optimistic that smart, effective conservation measures, with a focus on long-term commitments that lead to results, can help save endangered World Heritage Sites before they disappear.”
The work done in Belize shows that it just takes a little effort and commitment to preserve some of the most biodiverse, ecologically important, and honestly just straight-up stunning ecosystems on our planet. Seriously, let’s just try a little bit and see what happens.
traffic fatalities drop in nevada after marijuana legalization
Opponents of legalizing pot always argue that it will lead to an increase in fatal traffic accidents. But in the first year since Nevada gave the OK to recreational weed, traffic fatalities have decreased by 10 percent. The same kind of decrease was seen in Colorado as well as in other states that have chosen a rational Marijuana policy. Of course, correlation does not equal causation, but these examples do disprove one of the main arguments used by those who would harsh our buzz.
michael cohen changes his twitter profile, removes reference to his stint as trump’s personal lawyer
We can only speculate about why he chose to do this at this time, but I think it is another indication that Cohen is about to flip.
(I had a hilarious gif I wanted to use here, but apparently DKos thinks a 9.8 MB file is bigger than 10 MB and thus over the limit. Go figure—DKos can’t.)
michael avenatti says he’s willing to run against trump in 2020
Again, not from The Onion.
Not content with the fame and fortune that comes with being America’s best know anti-Trump lawyer, Michael Avenatti expressed an interest in running against Trump in two years.
Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, said Wednesday he will run against President Donald Trump if he seeks reelection, but only if he thinks there isn’t another candidate that could beat the president.
“IF (big) he seeks re-election, I will run, but only if I think that there is no other candidate in the race that has a REAL chance at beating him. We can't relive 2016. I love this country, our values and our people too much to sit by while they are destroyed. #FightClub #Basta,“ Avenatti tweeted.
Appearing on CNN later Wednesday, Avenatti hinted at a potential presidential platform focused on dismantling Trump’s immigration policies, bolstering the United States’ international reputation and targeting unemployment in America’s heartland.
“I am interested in talking about ripping kids from the sides of their mothers. I am interested in having allies laugh at us around the world. I am interested in where all those jobs are that he promised Americans in key electoral states. I am interested in pro-choice and a whole host of other issues,” Avenatti said.
“So look, I hope somebody that's competent enough to beat this guy — and that's the question, who can beat him? I hope that person steps forward,” he added. “If they don't, I will.”
I’m not sure that’s really good news, except to the extent that it might rattle Trump’s cage, but it is certainly amusing news.
the polls continue to look bad for trump, and worse for gop congressional candidates
As of Tuesday, Trump’s “surge in the polls” continues to not happen according to 538's composite, which shows him still more than 10 points under water. 538 is showing even worse news for the GOP’s midterm prospects, with the latest composite reflecting a difference of 8.1% in preference for Democrats over Republicans. It has been widely stated that we must be ahead by more than 6 points to be confident in a blue wave this November. Predictably, the goalposts are being moved by some who now claim the difference needs to be 10 points. I suspect that by October we will be hearing that the Dems don’t have a chance unless they lead by 25 points in the preference poll. Anything to preserve that horserace narrative, I guess.
you—yes you—are having an impact just because you read, recommend, and comment on the good news roundup
In a little bit I’m going to give you a list of things you can and should do to keep the good news coming. But before I do, I want to point out that the daily Good News Roundup is consistently listed as one of DKos' high impact diaries, often among the top 20 or even the top 10. This means that, based mostly on rec’s and comments, the GNR attracts more engaged readers than most diaries. And its consistent appearance on that list, as well as its consistent appearance on the “Recommended” list, means that more people are likely to check us out and share in our encouraging and empowering outlook. I would personally like to thank all of you for taking part in our discussions and being part of our community, and by doing so helping to spread light at a time when many people have trouble seeing anything but darkness.
We’re going to wrap up with a long and newly updated section on what you can do beyond rec’ing and reading.
Action Roundup
Borrowed directly from other GNRs (thanks, team!):
Donate to ActBlue
Donate to Swing Left
Send postcards to voters in other districts
Sign up to go door to door in your district
Sign up to drive people to the polls
Find your local Democratic Party and volunteer!
Plus! Check out Yosef 52's diaries, posted daily, chockerblock full of ideas and information.
And FreewayBlogger
Separated Families Crisis: What You Can Do To Help The Children And Their Families—Updated On July 4
Here’s how you can go out and make some good news of your own. This list has been significantly updated since I last posted it. Please feel free to share this list as widely as you like.
Volunteer
- If you live near an ICE detention center (see map here) you can volunteer for the Freedom for Immigrants Visitation program. You would visit detained persons and interact with them directly. The organization also has other volunteer opportunities.
- If you live in a border area and have some legal training, The Texas Civil Rights Project and the Immigration Justice Campaign are looking for volunteers. TCRP is especially interested in people with paralegal or legal assistant training who speak Spanish, Mam, Q’eqchi’ or K’iche.
- The Northwest Immigrant Rights Organization works with those confined in the large detention facility near Sea-Tac. They need translators and interpreters.
- The Florence Project and Refugee Rights Project is seeking medical professionals, country conditions experts, interpreters, data entry and administrative support professionals in specific locations. The project is in particular need of a 20 hour a week volunteer in the Phoenix, AZ area to help increase capacity to respond to increase in offers of goods and services. Please email volunteers@firrp.org .
- Catholic Charities of Fort Worth is housing some of the children taken from their families. If you live in that area, they could use volunteers.
- The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights needs child advocates for unaccompanied minors in Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Harlingen, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.
- American Gateways is providing legal services for separated parents. They can use volunteer attorneys and non-attorneys.
- Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services of El Paso needs volunteers with and without legal training. Non-lawyers can help with translation services. They have an online volunteer form if you’d like to help. (Volunteer form link opens a .docx document which can be faxed or mailed.)
- Al Lotro Lado is a bi-national program assisting refugees in Tijuana and the San Ysidro-San Diego area. They have an urgent need for volunteers to provide short-term housing for people who cannot otherwise be released from detention.
- The Legal Aid Justice Center is seeking volunteers in Virginia to host house parties raising money to battle family separation, and create care packages for detained kids. Contact Contessa at contessa@justice4all.org for more information and support planning your party. Their offices can also be reached by phone: Charlottesville (434-977-0553), Northern Virginia (703-778-3450), Petersburg (804-862-2205), and Richmond (804-643-1086).
- Friends of HOLA is an Ohio ally group supporting HOLA, a small, grassroots Latino organization that focuses on advocacy, community organizing, leadership development, and civic engagement. Friends of HOLA supports HOLA by fundraising, helping individuals prepare for the U.S. citizenship test, providing support to individuals and families, providing educational presentations to community organizations, and much more. Friends of HOLA meets monthly in the Painesville and Cleveland Heights areas. There are a variety of projects and volunteer needs to fit different skills, interests and schedules.
- If you are an interpreter, or fluent in a second language, call legal service providers to volunteer your services. You can find a list here. To help with the current immigration crisis they will especially need people proficient in Spanish, Mam, Q’eqchi’ or K’iche.
- Refugee Services of Texas is currently seeing a surge of clients for its Unaccompanied Children Program due to Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy. They are seeking volunteers in Amarillo, Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth and Houston for everything from legal assistance to providing transportation.
- There are undoubtedly countless volunteer opportunities available in this effort. If you know of any, please supply them in the comments.
Become A Foster Parent
- If you’re really ready to go big, this may be a way you could help. It’s likely that many children will be separated from their families for some time, and, as horrifying as it is, record keeping has been so sloppy that it may be impossible to reunite some families. If you think you could provide a temporary home to one of these children, contact the US Conference of Catholic Bishops or Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services. This will require extensive training and licensing, but as a former foster parent I can tell you that it is a richly rewarding endeavor if you are able to do it.
Donate
Financial assistance is still one of the best ways to help, and the good news is that there are dozens of organizations working to assist children and adults with immediate needs including legal care, as well as fighting to end the horrific caging of children. Here is a partial list of worthy organizations.
- Together Rising is currently providing legal assistance in Arizona for 60 children who were taken from their families and are in detention. You can donate here.
- The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights supplies child advocates for young immigrants and is currently working on separation issues.
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is providing "immediate shelter and beds, medical services, counseling and therapy to help (children) deal with the trauma of family separation."
- Comfort Cases needs donations to provide backpacks to separated children. Each backpack contains items like blankets, toiletries, a book, a stuffed animal, etc.
- The Fronterizo Fianza Fund raises bond money for detained immigrants, and to provide small commissary and phone fund deposits for those in detention.
- Kids In Need Of Defense provides pro bono attorneys to immigrant children.
- The National Immigrant Justice Center also provides legal representation for separated immigrants and advises federal public defenders.
- If you would like your donation to be distributed among several organizations, including some on this list, go to ActBlue’s Support Kids At The Border page.
- The Casa Cornelia Law Center is also providing legal representation for separated immigrants.
- Immigration Counseling Service (ICS) provides critical legal services for unaccompanied children and their families. ICS is the oldest, and only, independent non-profit law firm serving immigrants in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
- Don’t forget the ACLU.
Help Gather Information On Separated Children And Where They Are Being Held
Buzzfeed News, in cooperation with Pro Publica, the Intercept, is seeking the public’s help in finding kidnapped children and gathering information about the facilities where they are being held. If you know anything, you can fill out an online form here, send an email to tips@buzzfeed.com, or go to Buzzfeed's tips webpage to learn other methods of providing information. Your anonymity will be protected if you wish.
Keep Calling Your Senators And Representative
This probably goes without saying around here, but a little reminder never hurts. Congressional staffers have said that they are being flooded with more calls than they have received since the health care debate. We need to let them know that we’re not fooled by Trump’s phony Executive Order, and that we’re still watching them.
If you haven’t made a call before, or would like to help someone else with their first call, here's a handy guide to how it’s done.
Take Time to Rest and Recharge
We can’t help others unless we take care of ourselves. It’s OK to take a day or even several days off from helping or even from looking at the news. You are not alone in this struggle, and there are many others who will take up the slack while you do what you need to do to stay strong. And when we need to back off for a while, you can take up the slack for us. Even combat soldiers get some R and R time, and you deserve the same.
Credit for this section goes to Kossack Claudia Cox, who inspired the creation of much of it by pleading for ways she could help. If you know anything about Ms Cox, you won’t be surprised to learn that she was not only inspired to help some of the causes listed here, but went on to speak before a crowd of 200 people at her local rally last Saturday. Now it’s your turn. If this isn’t enough good news, go out and make some of your own.
And to mark the fact that the small ripples we send out can have huge effects, we’ll finish with a GNR favorite, sung by the children’s choir of Barton Hills Elementary School in Austin, Texas.