ACTION ITEMS: Immigration and Environmental Justice

Immigration 101 for Allies and Service Providers (in English)
Our office has partnered with the Seattle Public Library and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project to offer this workshop: Immigration 101 for Allies and Service Providers on Thursday, March 2, 6:00 pm-8:30 pm at the downtown Seattle Public Library (1000 Fourth Ave, 98104). The audience for this workshop includes service providers and anyone who works with immigrants and refugees. By the end of the training, you will be better able to communicate accurate information about various immigration issues to your immigrant and refugee friends and neighbors.
Please RSVP at the Facebook event here. There is no registration for the event, as it is first come, first served. So please RSVP at the Facebook event page and come early! The event will also be broadcast via Facebook Live.
Phinney Ridge Know Your Rights Training (in Spanish)
Also, the nonprofit organization Colectiva Legal del Pueblo is offering a free Know Your Rights training for immigrants and their families with the Phinney Neighborhood Association. The event will be held on Saturday, March 11 at 2:00 pm at the Phinney Center (6532 Phinney Ave N, 98103) and will be facilitated in Spanish, including a Q&A.
El Centro de la Raza Emergency Safety Planning Assistance for Families (in Spanish)
From now until March 4, El Centro de la Raza is offering free Family Safety Planning and Know Your Rights trainings for families with children who have parents facing potential detainment or deportation. No appointment is necessary. The drop-ins are at El Centro de la Raza (2524 16th Ave S, 98144).More information is at El Centro's Facebook page.

Additionally, we have heard that another executive order on border security is set to be released this week. If you or anyone you know is an immigrant and plans to travel any time soon, we recommend that you enter in your travel information at this site airportlawyer.org. By using this site, immigrants and families arriving into airports around the country will have access to free legal help when they need it. You must enter in your travel details before you travel.

Lastly, I wanted you to know that the city has taken legal action to fight the federal executive orders. Last week, Mayor Ed Murray announced his plans to issue FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to answer questions about the president's executive orders, as well as the administration's plans for DACA and sanctuary cities. More about that here.

Also, we have joined in the amicus brief in Darweesh v. Donald Trump, seeking an injunction against President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. The brief challenges the President’s ban on the grounds it violates the due process of valid visa holders and imposes a de facto religious test on immigrants. More information here.

We believe that the rule of law is on our side.

Thank you,
Cuc

P.S. Our Facebook and Twitter pages have the most up-to-date information related to immigrant and refugee issues. Follow us for the latest developments.

P.P.S. If you are looking for Know Your Rights info online to disseminate to community members and friends, check out these resources in multiple languages from the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project:nwirp.org/resources/know-your-rights/
 

ACTION: Prevent the Dismantling of the EPA

On February 3rd, U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida introduced HR 861, a bill that proposes to terminate the Environmental Protection Agency. Since its inception in 1970, the EPA has written and enforced federal regulations that protect the health of America's people and lands. Through legislation such as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA implements pollution control standards and prosecutes corporations that violate them. In addition, its Superfund program manages hazardous waste and cleans up chemical/oil spills.

The EPA also plays a major role in science. It conducts cutting-edge research on climate change, and it investigates ways to save our planet from the damage that humans have caused. Volatile environmental conditions, including rising sea levels and droughts, may soon become some of the most serious threats to our nation. The EPA protects not only the American people, but also American prosperity well into the future.

Call this office:

Pramila Jayapal D-WA

+1 202-225-3106

Your script:

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP].

I'm calling to voice my opposition to HR 861, which would terminate the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA works to keep Americans safe from contagious diseases and toxic pollution, and I expect [Rep's Name] to stand up for this vital agency.

Thank you for working hard to answer the phones.

[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

ACTION: Stop the Rollback of Oil and Gas Regulations

Using the obscure Congressional Review Act, the House has already passed a resolution to repeal the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane waste prevention rule put in place by the Obama Administration. The rule limits the amount of methane that can be vented, flared, or leaked onto public lands by oil and gas drilling companies. The amount of this methane waste not only affects the environment by filling the air with disease-causing pollutants and jeopardizing the purity of lands, but it also affects taxpayer revenue. The more methane that is wasted during the drilling process, the fewer natural gas royalties taxpayers can collect. Without regulating the amount of methane waste, an estimated $800 million could be lost in direct payments to the public over the next decade.

The House resolution to repeal the BLM methane waste rule, HJ Res 36, now heads to the Senate for a vote, expected soon.

Call this office:

Maria Cantwell D-WA

+1 202-224-3441

Your script:

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I'm a constituent from [CITY, ZIP]. I'm calling to urge [SENATOR'S NAME] to vote against HJ Res 36 and keep in place the BLM methane waste prevention rule. It is a necessary protection for both taxpayer revenue and the cleanliness of our air.

Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.

[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

Upcoming Events: 

1. Burien/Normandy Park 10 Actions Group Tuesday, March 14th, at 6:30 p.m. at the same location--Burien Community Church, 16241 19th Ave. SW in Burien (this will also be our next subgroup meeting)

2. NEXT MONDAY, March 6, Rep. Pramila Jayapal Town Hall at Town Hall in Capitol Hill, http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/event/jayapal-town-hall/

3. TOMORROW Join Radical Public Health UW for an evening of discussion and consciousness-raising about the root causes and myriad dangers of the global climate change crisis. In the current political context, local and global, it is more important than ever before to have honest, unapologetic discussions about this growing emergency.

Doors open at 5, event begins at 5:30. 
5:30 - 6:30 Dr. Rob Wallace
6:30 - 7:30 Women of Color Speak Out

The event will be led off by Rob Wallace, an evolutionary biologist and public health phylogeographer based at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Wallace will give a lecture titled "Capitalocene Park: Lucrative Risks in Neoliberal Public Health", analyzing public health and climate change in the context of John Bellamy Foster and Jason Moore's debates over the effects of capitalism on nature (and more specifically on influenza and other pathogens). The discussion will continue with Women of Color Speak Out leading a panel on climate justice through an intersectional lens, connecting global warming to systems of oppression. Women of Color Speak Out has been a consistent and powerful force in climate justice activism in Seattle, and we are very excited they will be here with us to share their experiences, insights, and perspectives. This event is free of charge and open to the public. Spread the word and bring a friend!

4. Save Our Planet March in Seattle, April 21st (anti-nuclear weapons): https://popularresistance.org/calendar1/save-our-planet/

5. March for Science April 22nd (Earth Day): https://www.marchforscience.com/