I'm genuinely fed up with these short term "solutions" to long term problems. People come to America for the opportunity to be safe and free. They leave their homes because whatever they are leaving behind is way worse than being poverty stricken in America. That says a lot about our nation as a whole and is why I am proud to be American, why we all should be! Unfortunately I think we are using Mexico as scapegoat for our own problems and proposing to waste a ton of money on something that won't change a damnthing. If you build a wall we will still have addicts, criminals and people on welfare. Banning immigrants and building walls won't change that. Changing our perspective will. WHY are there so many opioid addicts? WHAT is going on with Mexico that people want to leave? WHY did that criminal make that choice? HOW could it have been prevented? Look at the big picture! I have seen plenty of media regarding the proposed expansion of the wall, but nothing yet about removing the wall. Let's put people to work removing the border completely.

We ask Rudy Salas to vote YES on SB 54 and protect the safety and well-being of all Californians by ensuring that state and local resources are not used to fuel mass deportations, separate families, or terrorize our communities.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott plans to sign SB 4—the most dangerous anti-immigration bill in the country—into law in the coming days. It could become law, unless we speak out and fight this bill every step of the way. SB 4 obligates local law enforcement to detain people (even unlawfully) for the federal government, and it prohibits localities from imposing restrictions on collaboration with ICE. The bill even criminalizes local elected officials, like me, who stand up for our communities. But most of all, this legislation would terrorize communities of color and turn our local police into Trump's deportation force. That's why I joined a group of clergy, elected officials, and communities in a staged sit-in at Gov. Abbott's office to oppose this legislation. I know how painful immigration raids are to our communities. During one of the ruthless immigration raids that hit Austin earlier this year, I sat in a constituent's living room. Earlier that day, immigration officers had knocked on this family's door. The children were confused, terrorized, and thought they were going to lose their parent. That is a trauma that will stay with them. Now Republican politicians have decided they want our children to experience this terror and trauma every time they see a police officer. But today's action at the governor's office—and your signature on this petition—is proof that many of us across Texas and the country are declaring that we refuse to betray our community. We will fight this legislation in the courts, in our halls of government, and by organizing in our communities. It will take all of us standing up and speaking to stop this legislation and protect our communities. I hope you’ll work with us to stop Senate Bill 4, because we need you.

We are all affected by a thinly veiled attempt to institute a Muslim ban; it is unconstitutional, offensive, and a sure way to increase animosity toward and disdain for our country.

**UPDATE: Thanks to the power of people like you, Luis Barrios got news that ICE had agreed to put his deportation on hold for 2 years as of May 12th. VICTORY!!** Here's the petition~ Luis Barrios, 52, is a homeowner who lives in Derby, Connecticut, with his four children. He was pulled over for having a broken tail light in 2011, which brought him in contact with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Luis has never been arrested and has no criminal record. Luis has held a steady job. Luis has a family. Luis should not be deported. Luis was told to self deport by May 4th, or he would be taken into custody. Largely due to the groundswell of support from activists, petitioners, and the 3 members of Congress, ICE granted a 30 day stay to Luis Barrios on May 3rd - hours before he was to board a plane. Luis now faces self-deportation on June 3rd. According to Luis's daughter, her father is in danger in his country of origin, Guatemala, from which he fled more than 25 years ago. Luis's brother was murdered in Guatemala, and Luis fears what will happen if he is forced to return. His attorney says that he did seek asylum in the '90s, but an address mix-up led him to miss a court date, and his request was removed. Her hope is that the Department of Homeland Security will stop the deportation order and reconsider Luis’s case for asylum. Representative Rosa DeLauro, who represents the district where Luis and his family live, wrote a letter of support for Luis. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal wrote a joint letter and have made public statements in support of Luis. Now it's up to us. Stand with Luis and his family and stop this unjust deportation.

It is imperative that during such a frightening time in our history that the sense of community and connectivity that has always characterized the City of New York be made visible. This is crucial to the well-being of all children. No child should be worried about getting raided or losing a parent to deportation! It is time for our elected city officials to take a stand and protect the people that they have sworn to honor and defend. This is our home. This is our sanctuary! It is your duty as elected officials to love and support the people.

As a Texas citizen, I am concerned with the xenophobic policies exposed by our governor!

Refusing refugees denies them one of the most foundational human rights - the right to life - as their lives are deeply in jeopardy in the tumultuous countries from which they are fleeing. California has always been an influential state and not only will set an incredible example by retaining its status but will save lives in the process.

We are a country founded by immigrants. Philadelphia was a sanctuary to The Founding Fathers of this nation, we must continue this long standing tradition of protecting human rights. We need to protect our brothers and sisters who are currently under attack by Sessions and the Trump Administration. Please stand with me and let Mayor Jim Kenney know that we stand for human rights and the protection of our immigrant community and we cherish Philadelphia as a Sanctuary City.

This is ethically the right thing to do.

In addition to the wall, Trump wants to vastly expand detention camps to lock up more immigrants including families seeking asylum, put more agents on the border, expand raid operations that will terrorize communities, and re-direct more federal funds toward prosecution of immigration violations. These rubber-stamp convictions are intended to warp the statistics and bolster their hate-fueled propaganda portraying immigrants as criminals. Trump is building out a police state, in part through his Deportation Force, so that any challenges to his dystopian detention and deportation nightmare can be swiftly and forcefully suppressed. Already under Trump, we have seen chaos at our airports and in our communities. That chaos and cruelty would only be magnified if Trump gets his way, but in order to implement these plans, he needs more money. We have the power to say NO. Tell Senate Democrats--especially leadership and members of the Appropriations Committee--to say NO to funding for Trump’s Deportation Force.

Resist Trump's push for wall funding by next week or else he will withdraw funding from medical care. If they refuse to fund the border wall this week, he is threatening to veto the bill and shut down the government. He is also telling Democrats that he will withdraw federal dollars from Obamacare subsidies if they don't fall in-line as well.