Why would the Trump administration target farm workers with wage cuts in the middle of a pandemic, when other essential workers are winning hazard pay? Instead of lowering wages for the poorest workers, we need to ensure that some of the $9.5 billion allocated for COVID-19 aid will protect the vulnerable, essential workers who are out in the fields in this pandemic to keep the food supply intact. The wage cuts being pushed by Trump's administration will not just hurt vulnerable guest workers. It will depress wages for all farm workers nationwide. Industry "aid" that excludes the essential workforce and drives down wages is a clear warning sign to working people in every industry. Millions of us are sheltering in place to avoid exposure to the coronavirus. Farm work can't be done remotely and we all need to eat. During a crisis, rather than trying to cut costs by oppressing the poorest, we need to place value on the people risking so much to feed us. We can't let the Trump administration go through with this.

On this day 244 years ago, the United States of America declared its Independence from the British Empire paving way for the rise of a strong and independent Nation across the sea from its oppressor. In the Declaration of Independence, its authors wrote down the list of crimes and injustices committed by the King of Great Britain as the main reasons for which such separation was promulgated. Many of those crimes listed in the Declaration of Independence have been repeated here by Donald John Trump and his entire administration. Here are the crimes that bore resemblances to the ones written about in the Declaration: He has refused his adherence to Laws, even the most wholesome and necessary laws for all the public good. [0], [1] He has forbidden his Senate to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, and effectively suspended their passage and implementation until his assent is obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them at all leaving Americans vulnerable.[2], He has politically and repeatedly blocked the House of Representatives, for opposing, with strong firmness, his invasions on the rights of the American People. [3] He has endeavored to prevent the population of these United States; by obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.[4] He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing to abide by the laws for establishing Judiciary powers and blatantly thinks he is above the law. He effectively has rendered the Military independent of and superior to all Civil powers.[5] For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world and mitigating bad will across the globe. [6] Furthermore, there are still so many more crimes that Donald John Trump has committed that are not listed above. Among those are the ones listed in the Article of Impeachment of Donald John Trump passed in the House of Representatives: Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress. In addition to the crimes and injustices that Donald John Trump and his administration have committed, there are other lies, deceptions, consequences and tactics that he and his accomplices have employed to further enrich themselves at the cost of People’s lives and their livelihood. Most recent example would be his administration’s response, or lack thereof, to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has cost the United States countless lives. As we speak: The Federal government is seizing local hospital supplies without cause or reason. Doctors, and nurses, or anyone who sound alarms on their hazardous working conditions are silenced or even fired. Donald John Trump has been using public daily briefings as a means for free political campaigning and some kind of emotional grandeur. He recklessly promotes non-tested drugs, whose producers are companies in which Donald John Trump and his friends have invested in and has already cost innocent lives. Donald John Trump constantly contradicts experts who dare to disagree with him, and that he was advised of the pandemic threat in November of 2019 and had made it an unimportant issue. He pushed for the bailing out of the rich and the biggest corporations in the United States while leaving hardworking workers and taxpayers without the means of living, while also attempting to suspend medical coverage for our most vulnerable and poor during this pandemic. Donald John Trump attempted to remove those who will fairly oversee the appropriation of $2.3 trillion that congress has appointed to assist the working, taxpayer majority during this horrible pandemic. He removed environmental protections and withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement Donald John Trump’s retaliation against people in the administration who testified during the impeachment or brought the lawfull whistleblower report to Congress He is violating international law with increased drone assassinations Our Great Democracy is under siege from a virus that is crippling our economy, killing our most vulnerable members; and from a dictator, who cares for nothing but to enrich himself and his corporate friends. The way we respond to this will define us for generations to come. Signing this petition is not just about asking The House of Representatives, the Senate, or the media to do their jobs appropriately for us all, but more importantly, it is also about you, the signer, to affirm your own commitment to vote in the next election and to oust the most dangerous con man ever elected to our highest office. So let us all sign and then seal it with our commitment and determination for a fairer and better America or ourselves and our future generations. Source: [0] : https://www.newsweek.com/why-trump-embraces-lawlessness-and-brutality-800910 [1]: https://reason.com/2018/04/03/trumps-increasingly-lawless-quest-to-enf/ [2]: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/trump-congress-coronavirus-relief-oversight-152560 [3]: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/04/29/trump-resists-subpoenas-ignores-congress-constitution-column/3595860002/ [4]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-administration-aims-to-make-citizenship-more-difficult-for-immigrants-who-rely-on-public-assistance/2019/08/12/fe3f8162-b565-11e9-8949-5f36ff92706e_story.html [5]: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/755/text [6]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2019/06/07/tariffs-101-understanding-trumps-trade-war/#e2cdbc05f20f

Farmworkers are working unbelievably hard (and at great risk) so that so many of us can stay safely inside our homes while they risk their lives to grow and harvest food for us.To speak of cutting their pay at this time is beyond belief. Not only would it harm these people's families, it would harm all Americans, by jeopardizing the food systems in our country which are already under tremendous strain, and undermining our national food security.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, only 7 percent of Black men in federal prisons would be considered low-risk enough to get out using PATTERN—compared with 30 percent of white men. Additionally, Justice Department policy excludes non-citizens convicted of immigration-related offenses from serving out their time at home. Barr’s use of PATTERN is unacceptable and unethical as it excludes some of the most vulnerable groups from release. At a minimum, Barr must reconsider incarcerated people with immigration-related offenses, low-level drug offenses, compromised immune systems, 12 months or less left on their sentence, and pregnant people who fear for the health and safety of their unborn children. These requests are in line with steps that have already been taken in other localities across the country in recognition of the unique vulnerability incarcerated people and correctional staffs have to the spread of COVID-19. As facilities, institutions and businesses across the country are doing their due diligence to #flattenthecurve and stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, correctional facilities in the United States are still dealing with the issue of overcrowding. It is nearly impossible to practice social distancing in federal prisons, which exposes incarcerated people and prison staff to infection. The PATTERN risk assessment algorithm had never been fully tested or independently reviewed before put to use. Allowing an algorithmic system founded upon predominantly white databases to make human decisions puts people of color at a higher risk of mistreatment than their white counterparts. Please sign this petition to urge Barr to eliminate the barrier of race in the home confinement selection process and ensure that federally incarcerated Black and brown people are not disproportionately subjected to the inevitable spread of the coronavirus.

Statement Re Detained Asylum Seekers at the Port Isabel Detention Center, Texas We are writing to express our grave concern about the ongoing detention of numerous asylum seekers in the ICE Port Isabel Detention Center, Los Fresnos, Texas. The great majority of these persons have never committed a crime. Moreover, they have families with legal status here in the United States who are eager to take them in while their immigration cases are processed. Prior to this administration, release of these migrants to their families would have been routine. These asylum seekers are now in danger of contracting the Corona Virus, or Covid-19, and suffering severe illness and even death. They must be released to family and friends forthwith. Keeping them in long term, unjustified detention under these conditions is the moral equivalent of locking them into a burning building. Hygienic conditions and medical care at this facility are shocking even during the best of times. The conditions are now unconscionable. The asylum seekers do not receive soap, only small packets of shampoo in the morning. Soap they must purchase on their own through the commissary if they can. The guards, arriving from their homes, walk in and out of the dormitories without gloves or masks, and go from one dorm to the other in this manner throughout the day. There are 70 men to a dormitory so social distancing is impossible. The men also eat in their dorms, with food workers bringing in the food trays, with gloved hands but no masks. There are four toilet bowls in each dorm, standing out in the open without any screens. These are cleaned in the morning and evening, but no cleaning materials are available in between. These conditions fly in the face of the precautions we are all required to respect. Many of the detainees have serious health problems. It is a matter of time until the virus strikes, and the results will be devastating. We know that the detainees have brought these concerns to the facility’s officers, but to no avail. The detainees also initiated a hunger strike on Monday, March 30, 2020. We understand that there is a grave risk of retaliation and intimidation should it continue. We demand that all migrants in the Port Isabel Detention Center be immediately released to their friends and family unless they have a criminal record clearly indicating a danger to society. Contacts: Madeleine Sandefur Jennifer Harbury ANGRY TIAS AND ABUELAS

No one needs to be in ICE detention as they await their case to work through the courts. Forcing people to remain there during the coronavirus pandemic is cruel and inhumane. Along with ICE’s already horrific record of medical neglect and denying basic necessities for maintaining health and sanitation, people locked up in immigration detention are extremely vulnerable to the spread of infectious disease because they are unable to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves like social distancing and sanitizing regularly. There have already been 10 reported deaths in ICE custody in the last six months alone, and multiple ICE officers and people detained have tested positive for COVID-19. Acting Director of ICE Matthew Albence must act now, before it is too late and the virus spreads like wildfire through detention centers. The answer is clear: release people now.

FIRST: This is NOT about IMMIGRATION! This is about tax paying United States citizens being denied government assistance due to the status of their spouse, parent, or any other household member. Thousands of immigrants and their families have been seriously negatively impacted by the current public health crisis. Many have lost their jobs, at no fault of their own, and others, who are still employed, are putting their lives at risk each day. So many families and children are impacted by this pandemic, and it is extremely unfair that “mixed-status” families and children of immigrants will continue to suffer, with absolutely no assistance from this relief package, unlike the many millions of Americans that will receive relief. Regardless of your views on immigration and support or opposition of undocumented immigrants, this is about thousands of United States citizens being denied assistance! Urge our representatives and senators to fight for ALL of our families--immigrant families and children of undocumented immigrants. They deserve financial assistance from the government just as much as any other tax-payer!

On March 30, at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York, 58-year-old Juan Mosquero died in isolation after exhibiting serious COVID-19-related symptoms. Across the country families are under extreme stress over the fate of incarcerated loved ones, including Cassandra in Virginia, who says, “My husband is currently incarcerated here in a Virginia prison. He currently has health concerns that worry me. Making him subcetable and at higher risk of the Corona virus [sic].” We are in a crisis on multiple fronts right now, and one such crisis at a breaking point with COVID-19 is our mass incarceration rate — the highest in the world — and crowded detention facilities in which we have totally inadequate health protections. This is no small crisis. There are 2.3 million people behind bars. On any given day, 600,000 people are held pretrial in jails mostly because they don’t have enough money to be home with their families. Moreover, 38,000 people are currently being held in ICE detention centers. The spread of COVID-19 is a national emergency that threatens potentially millions of lives. While everyone is at risk, we have a moral obligation to ensure that our most vulnerable—the elderly, the sick, those without medical care, and those unable to protect themselves from the virus—get the help that they need. Tell your governor to take action now!

According to data collected by John Hopkins University and reported by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, this weekend Missouri led the country with a 600% increase in the number of cases reported. As of Sunday at 3:00 p.m. according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there were 903 Cases of COVID-19, including 12 deaths. As faith leaders we are concerned about the most vulnerable Missourians who were at risk long before COVID-19 became a part of our lexicon. These neighbors include the under and uninsured including 83,000 uninsured children, our unhoused siblings, financially insecure, immune compromised, poor, disabled, incarcerated and immigrant Missourians. The U.S. Census reported that the number of uninsured Missourians grew in 2018 to approximately 564,000 with close to 100,000 children being uninsured. As you are aware, Missouri legislators have refused to expand Medicaid putting more Missourians at risk. The rapid spread of COVID-19, the inaccessibility of testing to all Missourians and the lack of treatment available forces uninsured and low income Missourians to be at risk for needing life-saving health care they cannot afford or premature death. These conditions overlay one health crisis on top of another. Next week marks the beginning of “Holy Week.” Christians across the world and in Missouri will observe Good Friday. In the words of Rev. Dr. Robert Hill, “Easter weekend should not lead to additional crucifixions, one Good Friday is enough.” That week also is the beginning of Passover, Rabbi Doug Alpert reminds us, “There is no greater value in Judaism than Pekuach Nefesh-the sanctity of human life.” Help us to preserve human life and decrease the opportunity for additional deaths. We are concerned that many of our neighbors, congregants and even family members will not be passed over by COVID-19 because you have refused to issue a clear order to shelter in place. Across the state some local mayors and county officials have rightfully issued shelter in place orders but the lack of a statewide shelter in place order has caused confusion and given some the erroneous implication that this pandemic is not dangerous. We need clear leadership from the highest office in the state to ensure that faith communities and families don’t misinterpret the lack of a shelter in place order for the state of Missouri, as a license to proceed with worship and other gatherings during these highly regarded religious holidays. This would lead to more illness and death. In doing so people of faith across Missouri could proclaim our faith and hope as people using all of our God-given resources to enhance life and a shared and fruitful future.

1. This petition seeks to prevent further COVID-19 spread in detention camps. The health of every individual in the United States of America is important and must be protected. Immigrants in detention are kept in close quarters, which does not allow for social distancing. 2. Confirmed COVID-19 cases in detention often are responded to with solitary confinement. This has been proven to have detrimental mental and physical health consequences. 3. Several cases of COVID-19 have already been found in immigrant detention centers. 4. Immigrant detention centers have well-documented issues with providing adequate medical care. Refer to Human Rights Watch and Detention Watch Network reports on the lack of medical care and deaths in detention. 5. Immigrant detention centers are closing off their facilities to visitation because of the pandemic. This further isolates the individuals, families, and children. 6. Community and governmental responses are needed not just to release folks from detention, but to ensure that they have access to safe housing, adequate healthcare, and access to meeting their basic needs. Not everyone has family or friends with whom they can go live with, particularly during this pandemic that requires social distancing. 7. They must be released.

It is the obligation of every Latino elected official or candidate for office to assume leadership to mobilize to create this special fund, and to prioritize it above all other matters. There are many looking for the well-being of all of us, but not many who take on the responsibility to look after our vulnerable undocumented population. Please take the initiative to move this matter, and include me in your efforts.

Mutual aid is defined as a voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services. There are already several mutual aid efforts underway, both neighborhood-based and citywide. They are decentralized by necessity, and the organizers are conscious and cautious around the need to practice social distancing and follow safety and health protocols as recommended by the CDC. We would invite the city and county to participate in our collective thinking around making mutual aid safe in this time. Durham has precedent for effective, widespread efforts at mutual aid in times of crisis, including recent successful efforts to get emergency supplies to victims of Hurricane Florence in 2018. Durham was an epicenter of the organizing that led to airdropping shipments of supplies to affected areas, making necessities more accessible, and more quickly, than many official sources of support including cities, counties, and the Red Cross. In addition to our request to protect mutual aid efforts, we fully support the recent call to reduce community harm by rejecting policing and carceral responses to this pandemic. We are also heavily conscious of the real danger of the coronavirus to people incarcerated in the Durham County Jail. We therefore demand that everyone who wants to be released from the jail be allowed to do so immediately, and that the County provide appropriate wellness and safety provisions for those who choose to remain. Mutual aid efforts in Durham are not situated to do casework, but are interested in helping to support the release of prisoners through neighborhood-based mutual aid. The spirit of the Community Safety and Wellness Task Force was to create community systems of care. Even in a time of crisis when we’re encouraged to do social distancing, we can have solidarity even beyond the confines of our families and neighborhoods. Please join us in this collective effort at solidarity by recognizing mutual aid and freeing our incarcerated community members in the jail. Signed, Danielle Purifoy, Mab Segrest & Lewis Wallace Petition Signers: Danielle Purifoy Mab Segrest Lewis Raven Wallace Jesa Rae Richards Faith Holsaert Quisha Mallette Giuliana Morales Catherine Edgerton Hideo Higashibaba Billy Dee Devohn Phillips Fern Hickey Maryam Arain Meghan McDowell China Medel Grace Nichols AJ Williams sumi dutta Beau Cromartie Beth Brockman Anne Wells Leilani Dowell Isaac Villegas Maya Washington Jatoia Potts Kelly Creedon Annie Segrest Andrew Meeker Aman Aberra Eli Meyerhoff Allison Swaim Winston Torrance Jake Stanley Sammy Truong Helen Cane Alejandra Mejia Konstantin Bakhurin Sandra Korn Hannah Ball-Damberg Gann Herman Jeremy Purser Alexandra Chass Ellie Pate Anita Simha Vicki Ryder Tracy S. Feldman Latasha Watts Tracie Minor Links: Durham Mutual Aid guide to neighborhood organizing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10VpieQKeJtsz7suGs0PWCHuFq2y-YVn_6VRnWSVeWMY/edit?fbclid=IwAR3nZIx61Eu5Ac0eLOn2BynH9uUio7faFLoy6iOrxOoRPUGe0asKUtLbNbA#heading=h.4l4cdle0d8sa Durham Mutual Aid Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/durhammutualaid/ Proposal for a Community Led Safety and Wellness Task Force: http://durhambeyondpolicing.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Durham-Beyond-Policing-Budget-Proposal-2019-2020.pdf Durham Mayor Pro Tem Memo, “Durham Community Safety and Wellness Task Force,’ https://cityordinances.durhamnc.gov/OnBaseAgendaOnline/Documents/ViewDocument/Final-Published%20Attachment%20-%2013824%20-%20MEMO%20-%20MEMO%20-%203_2_2020.pdf?meetingId=369&documentType=Agenda&itemId=15078&publishId=64804&isSection=false This includes: “Task Force Objectives: ● Conduct a comprehensive review of existing institutional and community-based public safety and wellness resources. Identify community safety needs that are not currently being served and provide recommendations for how to add new resources to fill these gaps.” Mutual Aid Coverage: https://www.scalawagmagazine.org/2020/03/covid19-community-aid/ The End Money Bail Act https://www.dataforprogress.org/end-money-bail.