STOP TRUMP FROM BRUTALIZING REFUGEES
ACTION ONE: JOIN US TODAY FOR #INDIVISIBLE TUESDAY
We meet today, Nov. 19, at 11:30 a.m. in the courtyard of Sen. Jeff Merkley’s offices at 121 SW Salmon Street, Portland, OR 97204. We will thank the Senator for supporting the impeachment process and ask him to:
- Demand hearings on Trump’s campaign to rewrite America’s asylum system.
- Fight to withhold funds from ICE and CBP. With fewer apprehensions at the border, more money is uncalled for.
- Call upon Trump to fire Stephen Miller, a white supremist.
ACTION ONE: CALL YOUR SENATORS
SAMPLE SCRIPTS:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
FOR MERKLEY: Thank you for your support of the impeachment process, and for your report, Shattered Refuge. I ask that you:
- Demand hearings on Trump’s campaign to rewrite America’s asylum system.
- Fight to withhold funds from ICE and CBP. With fewer apprehensions at the border, more money is uncalled for.
- Call upon Trump to fire Stephen Miller, a white supremacist.
FOR WYDEN: My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. Thank you for your support of the impeachment process and for calling upon Stephen Miller to resign. I am calling because of Senator Merkley’s report on Trump rewriting asylum laws without consulting Congress. I ask that you:
- Demand hearings investigating Trump’s rewriting of America’s asylum laws.
- Fight to withhold funds from ICE and CBP. With fewer apprehensions at the border, more money is uncalled for.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS
Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here.
SAMPLE SCRIPTS:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
FOR REPS. BLUMENAUER, BONAMICI AND DEFAZIO: Thank you for you support for the impeachment process and for standing up to the Trump’s racist agenda. And I am grateful that you have asked Stephen Miller resign. I ask for two more steps:
- Demand hearings on Trump’s campaign to rewrite America’s asylum system.
- Fight to withhold funds from ICE and CBP. With fewer apprehensions at the border, more money is uncalled for.
For REP. SCHRADER: My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. Thank you for your support for the impeachment process. I am moved by Sen. Merkley’s report on Trump’s rewriting of asylum laws and practices. So I ask that you:
- Demand hearings on Trump’s campaign to rewrite America’s asylum system.
- Fight to withhold funds from ICE and CBP. With fewer apprehensions at the border, increased funding is uncalled for.
- Please demand that Stephen Miller resign.
For REP. WALDEN: My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because I was moved by Sen. Merkley’s report on Trump rewriting asylum laws and practices. I ask that you:
- Demand hearings on Trump’s campaign to rewrite America’s asylum system.
- Fight to withhold funds from ICE and CBP. With fewer apprehensions at the border, increased funding is uncalled for.
- Please demand that Stephen Miller resign.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
BACKGROUND:
The Trump administration is remaking US asylum laws in moves both behind the scenes and in ways that spark public outrage.
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley has compiled the changes in a sweeping report, titled SHATTERED REFUGE.
As one whistleblower wrote, the changes are “clearly designed to further the administration’s racist agenda . . .”
Some changes illegally bypass Congress, while others were designed to be so publicly cruel that they would deter other asylum seekers. For example, child separations this year alone totaled 69,550.
Taken together, it’s obvious that Trump’s objective is to deny asylum to all those crossing America’s southern border.
Merkley catalogues the Administration’s actions including:
- Reassigning or firing government immigration leaders and replacing them with political loyalists.
- Illegally raising standards to allow agents to say “no to everyone” seeking asylum.
- Even when asylum is granted, it is usually overturned by staff at headquarters.
Much of this has been engineered by Trump’s immigration czar Stephen Miller. Miller has promoted white supremacy and is now transforming his hateful views into national policy.
While the House proceeds with the impeachment process, Congress must investigate Trump’s dismantling of America’s asylum system. Congress should also demand Stephen Miller be fired.
SOURCES:
Sen. Jeff Merkley, November 2019: “Shattered Refuge” https://www.merkley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SHATTERED%20REFUGE%20-%20A%20US%20Senate%20Investigation%20into%20the%20Trump%20Administration%20Gutting%20of%20Asylum.pdf
LA Times, Nov. 15, 2019: “Asylum officers rebel against Trump policies they say are immoral and illegal” https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-11-15/asylum-officers-revolt-against-trump-policies-they-say-are-immoral-illegal
NBC News, Nov. 12, 2019: “The U.S. has held a record 69,550 migrant children in government custody in 2019” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/u-s-has-held-record-69-550-migrant-children-government-n1080486
Vox, Nov. 12, 2019: “Stephen Miller promoted white supremacist, anti-immigrant articles in private emails to Breitbart” https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/12/20961458/stephen-miller-white-supremacist-anti-immigrant-emails-breitbart-southern-poverty-law-center
Washington Post, Aug. 17, 2019: “The ghostwriter: The adviser who scripts Trump’s immigration policy” https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/politics/stephen-miller-trump-immigration/
Politico, July 18, 219: “Trump officials pressing to slash refugee admissions to zero next year” https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/18/trump-officials-refugee-zero-1603503
