MAKE A COMMENT THAT COUNTS

INTRODUCTION & ELEVATOR PITCH

Welcome! Thank you for considering writing to DHS and EOIR about why the proposed regulation “"Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review" should be abandoned in its entirety. The more comments that DHS and EOIR have to sort through and respond to, the longer we might be able to delay these disastrous policies from going into effect, and the better chance that an election or litigation can stop the implementation completely. 

To sum up why these regulations would be so terrible (see below for further explanation): the regulations would prevent most people who are currently eligible for asylum under U.S. law from winning their cases, and even from getting their day in court to attempt to explain why they fled from their home country. This is in direct contravention to the U.S.’s obligations under international treaties, and to the narrative of the U.S. as a safe haven for those fleeing persecution. If implemented, it would be the most sweeping change to immigration law since the 90’s, but instead of having been debated and written by lawmakers representing the will of their constituents, it will have been untransparently crafted by Executive Branch bureaucrats appointed by Trump. 

TO MAIL A COMMENT: 

Handwritten, mailed comments take longer to process, which will delay the implementation further (if the agency fulfills its obligations under the APA). If you have time, do this! Use suggested text below as a guide, but personalize! 

1. Handwrite! 
2. To count, the letter must reference: “DHS/EOIR; RIN 1125-AA94; EOIR Docket No. 18-0002.” 
3. The letter must be postmarked by July 15, 2020.
4. Address for mailing:

Lauren Alder Reid, Assistant Director 

Office of Policy

Executive Office for Immigration Review

5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 1800, 

Falls Church, VA 22041

TO SUBMIT A COMMENT ELECTRONICALLY

This is CLINIC’s click-to-comment campaign! All credit to them for this link, and for the text copied below. 

https://www.regulations.gov./docket?D=EOIR-2020-0003

PLEASE NOTE: Public comments are public! You can submit anonymously if you desire. 

TIMING: If your comment is longer/personalized/detailed, there *might* be additional benefit to waiting until a few days before/the day that cmts are due to submit. 

SUGGESTED TEXT (FROM CLINIC) for a more basic comment: 

It’s important to personalize so your comment is not discounted for using pre-fill text! 

Subject: Comment in opposition to "Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review" - EOIR Docket No. 18-0002; RIN 1125-AA94

I am writing to unequivocally object to the proposed rule and demand that it be withdrawn entirely. To end asylum and protection for vulnerable people, as this rule would do, is an extremist and hateful goal that has no place in our society. Specifically, this rule is unacceptable in that it:

1.  Unrealistically and unconscionably raises the bar and standard people must meet when they first arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border and further restricts protection for those who have or would be tortured.

2.  Essentially eliminates protection for people fleeing violence from non-state actors, disregarding current U.S. law.

3.  Requires adjudicators to consider factors irrelevant to a person’s need for protection as reasons to deny asylum.

4.  Eviscerates due process and fairness for asylum seekers, permitting judges to deny meritorious asylum cases before asylum seekers ever get their day in court.

Furthermore, the proposal is an affront to U.S. and international law and obligations. Under both, seeking asylum is a right. If this rule were to go into effect, it would be an unforgivable stain in the history of this country. It must be withdrawn.

(Thanks to Indivisible Chicago for this action suggestion)

ACTIONS for Week of July 6

Dear Friends,

The pandemic is exploding in parts of the country while the President has mass rallies with no social distancing and no masks, and does nothing to create a national approach to controlling the virus. Meanwhile gun violence has been spiking in Chicago and nine children under 18 have been killed since June 20th.  A lot of death out there. And in this grimness, we need to find a glimmer of light, of hope.

There’s November. One hundred and nineteen days until the election. This is undoubtedly the most significant election in your lifetime, and mine. And what are you going to do? What are we going to do?

 

Come Zoom with us at 3 pm this Saturday, July 11, for our ALL IN FOR NOVEMBER  meeting.  We’ll have four speakers covering the following topics:

• textbanking

• phonebanking

• voter registration, especially in colleges and universities

• letter writing to voters with Swing Left

Learn what you can do to impact the results of the election in November. 

Join Zoom Meeting   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89907358093

Meeting ID: 899 0735 8093     Password: 861458    Or by phone  3126266799 

If you have attended our meetings before you know that we try to keep it to just one hour. Please join us.

 

THERE ARE OTHER MEETINGS

We have two regular weekly meetings.  There’s the Tuesday morning Coffee Klatch at 10 AM.  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/756102112  Meeting ID: 756 102 112

Or by phone at 3126266799.  Come chat, and if you are working on writing postcards, you can write a few postcards while we talk.

 

And there’s Friday Happy Hour at 4:30 pm on July 10th.  We’ll talk about what’s happened during the week. And this week we have presentations by two artists who will be talking about their work: Marion Sirefman and textile artist Lynn Heath. 

Join Zoom Meeting    https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82011233258   Meeting ID: 820 1123 3258     Or by phone 3126266799

 

TIME FOR PAYBACK

Mitch McConnell continues to keep things from passing through the Senate. You know what that means--it’s time to #DitchMitch. Last week Amy McGrath was declared winner of the Kentucky Democratic Primary. That is one critical seat we’d like to see changed. But there are others. Ten other seats are part of Indivisible’s Payback Project.

Let’s talk about this more at our meetings this week. But first, read up on these Senators and why they must go. And consider donating to this project by clicking here.

And come to our meeting on Saturday and find out how to get training you need to be able to have an impact on campaigns in other states.
 

OTHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Maybe you haven’t had an opportunity to read Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility:Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.  You can watch a video of her reading from the book and talking about. A little under an hour and a half, check out this video, if you haven't read or can't get the book.

 

Have you ever read the platform of the Movement for Black Lives? Well, you can do that here and understand more completely what they are demanding.

 

Former Obama speechwriter David Litt has an educational new article on the true origins of the filibuster -- and how it’s been used by segregationists and white nationalists for more than a century to stop progress. 

 

The Heroes Act. While this is weighed down in the Senate, please take a minute and learn what is good and not so good with the House-passed version of the bill. Read this Heroes Act explainer.

 

JULY 7

BlackOutDay 2020 is a campaign that is challenging 1.5 million Black people, people of color and other supporters to avoid purchases online and in-store on July 7 unless it’s a Black-owned business.  That’s Tuesday, July 7, 2020. Will you do this?

A list of black-owned businesses in Chicago. And there’s a Forbes article about 75 black-owned businesses to support.

 

7 - 8 PM

Also on Tuesday, you can go to a webinar to hear LaTanya Watkins, from Southsiders for Organized Unity and Liberation (SOUL Chicago), explain “defunding the police.” Hear about the movement and what steps we can take to push for racial justice. You must sign up ahead of time by going here.

 

FRI, JULY 10

ICE protest at 3 pm.   62 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago

Separating families at our border, violating human rights, and terrorizing our communities is just another day on the job for ICE. 

"We stand together as Americans on the 10th of July to say we are better than this. We stand together as Americans on the 10th of July to say THIS is our America “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. We stand together as Americans to demand the abolition of ICE!"

 

DO SOME WRITING

FOLLOW-UP TO DEMAND THAT INCARCERATED CHILDREN BE RELEASED *WITH* THEIR FAMILIES, NOT SEPARATED FROM THEM: This past Friday, Federal Judge Molly Gee ordered ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) to, at best release families or at least the children of these families by July 17th who are being held in US Immigration Detention Centers as they try to seek asylum in the US. The judge knows that COVID is spreading in these centers. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/government-must-release-migrant-children-detention-centers-because-coronavirus-judge-n1232328  These families need to absolutely be released together now so they can go to their sponsors or families.  Let’s send postcards to the following ICE Authorities to let them know that there is community support for released families and to help ensure they appear for their immigration hearings.  Let’s as them to do the right thing and keep these families together. 

 

ICE Acting Director Matthew Albence

500 12th St. SW, Washington, DC  20536

 

ICE Deputy Field Office Director Achim

1777 NE Loop   410  15th Floor, San Antonio, Texas  78217

 

ICE Assistant Field Office Director Christopher George

Philadelphia Field Office, 114 North 8th St., Philadelphia, PA  19107

 

FOR NEXT WEEK

An antiracism training webinar. This looks good.

Go here for all the details and to register for this event.  The event is at 6 pm CT.

 

AND THAT’S IT

There are more possibilities, but I will stop there.  No, I won’t. I want to put in another plug for writing postcards to voters in Swing States.  We are expanding the possibilities.

Yes, more than just Wisconsin and Michigan.  If you have postcards and are working on them, let me know how you are doing.  If you haven’t yet started doing them, email me at westernfrontindivisible@gmail.com .  We will be getting more postcards in later this week so we should have plenty.

 

Please stay in touch. And stop by some or all of our Zoom meetings this week.

Keep cool, and keep resisting,

 

Etta

PS.  If you haven’t already requested your mail-in ballot for this November, make sure you go here to do so.