The morning after the 2016 election, I flew up to Seattle for work. Two days following, Leslie joined. We walked through Olympic Sculpture Park to the Elliot Bay Trail. We—the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, the grandchild of Jewish refugees—were perfectly safe and thoroughly devastated. Nearly every signature coming out of the White House this past week has validated our response then.
Yesterday, the ACLU won a case to issue "an emergency stay", halting deportations under the President's executive order to ban entry to the U.S. from seven predominately-Muslim countries; the simplified reason: sending these immigrants back could cause them "irreparable harm". Although hope is not lost, there's still reason to be horrified. Screw blending in—it's time to speak up:
- Exercise your right to protest.
- Confirm your solidarity with refugees.
- Learn more about Islam, and declare yourself a Muslim ally.
- Volunteer your multilingual skills to those defending immigrant rights at airports now.
- Pledge a monthly donation to the ACLU.
- Also... support the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
- Write a letter to the Army Corps by February 20th as they prepare an Environmental Impact Statement against #DAPL.
- Call your local Congress(wo)man at 202-224-3121 to urge a NO vote on HR7, support for the Global HER Act, and opposition against President Trump's most controversial cabinet nominees.
- Please continue to stay informed and take action.