Every day, the Trump administration does yet another thing to induce outrage. I don’t know about you, but I spent most of 2017 calling senators and legislators, writing emails and letters, organizing and marching — all to protest the many policies that I disagreed with.
But being outraged all the time would lead to burn out, and getting out of the game was not an option, so I decided that to stay sane I needed to focus most of my attention in one area. For readers of my blog, you know that focus is the upcoming midterm elections (and any special elections that pop up along the way.)
That said, putting in a call to my representatives is something I’ve gotten used to doing. Each week I check in with my favorite call-to-action sites (like Americans of Conscience Checklist, 5 Calls, or Rogan’s List) and pick those issues that speak to me, and then make the call. Or, if it’s not super time-sensitive, write an email.
Today, I’ll be calling my 2 Senators and 1 Representative about the outrageous task force Trump has had his U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service put together to identify people who are naturalized citizens that they can strip of citizenship.
You can get more details about this task force in the New Yorker’s article, In America, Naturalized Citizens No Longer Have an Assumption of Permanence.
It started with the Muslim Ban. And then the zero-tolerance policy that separated all those families at the border. And now looking for problems with the naturalization process to strip Americans of their citizenship. I want my representatives in Congress to know that I am 1) against this policy as it seems like the government will find any excuse to kick immigrants out of our country and 2) I don’t think this administration will stop there. Without significant pushback by citizens, they’ll keep trying to do more to harm immigrants of all kinds in our country.
If you want to join me in calling your Congressfolk about this issue, you’ll need their contact information. Type in your zip code at Contacting Congress to get the names and contact information of your three reps.
(If you ever need your state-level representatives contact info, type in your address at Open States to get that.)
Calling your representatives is very efficient and powerful. Read this article by a former congressional staffer who explains why calls work so well.
Your call will be very short. I like this sample script from our friends at Americans of Conscience:
“Why is my tax dollar funding this anti-immigrant, mass-deportation agenda and what is [name] doing to stop it? (Breathe and wait for an answer.) Immigrants are my neighbors and friends. [Name] must halt this deportation agenda.”
Whenever you can, tell the staffer why this issue matters to you personally. If you’re supremely uncomfortable picking up the phone, there are two other options: 1) call and leave a message after hours — this way you don’t have to worry about a live person picking up the call, and 2) you can email them to express your displeasure. The email addresses you need are also at the Contacting Congress link above.
What matters is that your representatives know where you stand. And that you’re a voter.
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Categories: Uncategorized
Let’s kick ut Trump, OK?