BACKGROUND
The American Friends Service Committee, along with social justice and faith partner organizations (including the National Immigrant Justice Center, United We Dream, the Franciscan Action Network, Sojourners, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the UU Service Committee) has been collaborating to demand that the Homestead Detention Center near Miami, Florida be shut down. They have declared that the week of June 9 – 16 be a time of focused action to demand that Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shut down the Center and expedite efforts to reunite youth with their families or sponsors. This email will provide background information and let you know what you can do.
The U.S. Government is currently holding at Homestead Detention Center over 3,000 teenagers, many of whom were separated from their families by U.S. immigration officials. Most of these youth were crossing the border fleeing violence and poverty in three Central American countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
According to the American Friends Service Committee, instead of being released to family members or other sponsors, many are spending weeks or even months in inhumane detention facilities some attorneys have called prisons. Because Homestead is a federal emergency influx facility, immigration advocates say it’s not required to comply with state child welfare laws.
Furthermore, the Homestead Detention Center is the only child detention facility in the U.S. that is operated by a for profit business, the Caliburn International Corporation that runs the facility through a contractor, Comprehensive Health Services. The federal government has approved the expansion of the number of teens being held in this facility from 1,320 in December 2018 to 2,350 in March 2019 to 3,200 beds in mid-April 2019. The longer children stay in this facility, instead of being promptly matched with their parents or with sponsors, the more profit Caliburn can make. In April, the Caliburn Corporation cancelled offering a $100 million stock offering on its services after there was an outcry about the company making money off the children.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) who was allowed to visit Homestead in March 2019, said you should have an “expedited process to have kids placed with sponsors”. “The principle is you don’t keep kids locked up”. Other Florida legislators have not been allowed to tour the facility. The former head of Department of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielson, said in April that the process of placing children in the custody of sponsors in the U.S. “encourages more migrants to make the trip north”. Shortly after that statement, Nielson was fired by a Trump tweet for not doing enough to stop migration to the U.S.
The American Friends Service Committee is sending three messages to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar:
BACKGROUND
On May 17th the U.S. House voted 236 – 173 to adopt the Equality Act. Eight Republicans joined all House Democrats in support HR 5, a comprehensive bill that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people based on housing, employment, public accommodations, jury service, federal funding and education. ADOPTION OF THIS BILL IS A HISTORIC MILESTONE! This was the first time this bill was reported out of committee after it was first introduced in 2015. Thanks to all who called their U.S. Representatives to support this legislation.
The bill, introduced in the Senate by Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee. All 10 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee and 35 other Senators are now Equality Act co-sponsors. If two of 12 Republicans on the Judiciary committee were to support the bill it could pass out of committee. Unfortunately, there are two major barriers to passage in the Senate: Judiciary Committee Chair Senator Lindsay Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Senator Graham has been a “consistent opponent of everything from marriage equality to protecting LGBT workers from employment discrimination”, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). As far as Senator McConnell, the HRC indicated he has a 0% rating in terms of his support for LGBT rights.
So how does one influence Senator McConnell, Senator Graham and Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to say YES to the Equality Act? Three thoughts:
Despite significant advances, LGBTQ people across the country remain vulnerable to discrimination on a daily basis and have too little recourse. Millions of LGBTQ Americans have the right to marry, but no explicit non-discrimination protections in other areas of daily life. The Equality Act extends to the LGBTQ community the same protections already available to other Americans. The Trump administration has declared its opposition to The Equality Act after bowing to pressure from conservative organizations such as the Family Research Council, March for Life and Heritage Action. Conservatives argue this Act would violate the “religious freedom” of people of faith.
MUUSJN, a religious based organization, in alliance with other faith groups and with allies in women’s and LGBTQ justice movements, strongly DISAGREES. Our religion calls us to show respect for the dignity of ALL people. Religion should not be used as an excuse to discriminate against women and people from LGBTQ communities.
Across the country, we are seeing a new wave of extreme bans on abortion, stripping away reproductive freedom and representing an all-out assault on abortion access. This is Trump’s anti-choice movement… and it’s terrifying, particularly for women of color and low-income women who are most affected by these bans.
We will show up to speak out and fight back against this unconstitutional attempt to gut Roe and punish women. Politicians shouldn’t be making decisions best left to women, their families, and their doctors.
This Tuesday, May 21st at noon local time at statehouses, town squares, and courthouses across the nation–with other events throughout the week–we will show up to speak out and fight back against this unconstitutional attempt to gut Roe and punish women.
Here are some of the 45+ organizations that are partners in the #StoptheBans national day of protest: ACLU; American Association of University Women; American Humanist Association; Black Women’s Roundtable; Catholics for Choice; Center for American Progress; Coalition for Labor Union Women; Emilys List; Healthcare for America Now; Indivisible; MoveOn; NARAL Pro-Choice America; National Council of Jewish Women; National Organization for Women; Planned Parenthood Action Fund; SEIU; Sierra Club; Voto Latino; Women’s March
This year Rep. David Cecilline (D-Rhode Island) re-introduced The Equality Act (HR 5), a bill that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people based on housing, employment, public accommodations, jury service, federal funding and education. This bill was recently adopted by the House Judiciary Committee on a 22-10 vote to advance it to the full House. All democrats voted for the bill; all republicans voted against it. This bill has 240 co-sponsors, enough to get adopted in the House. Senator Jeff Merkley has also introduced the bill in the Senate. The more support this bill gets from the public, the more likely it will be to get adopted in the U.S. Senate. Despite significant advances, LGBTQ people across the country remain vulnerable to discrimination a daily basis and have too little recourse. Millions of LGBTQ Americans have the right to marry, but no explicit non-discrimination protections in other areas of daily life. The Equality Act extends to the LGBTQ community the same protections already available to other Americans. The Trump administration this week declared its opposition to The Equality Act after bowing to pressure from conservative organizations such as the Family Research Council, March for Life and Heritage Action. Conservatives argue this Act would violate the “religious freedom” of people of faith.
MUUSJN, a religious based organization, in alliance with other faith groups and with allies in women’s and LGBTQ justice movements, strongly DISAGREES. Our religion calls us to show respect for the dignity of ALL people. Religion should not be used an excuse to discriminate against women and people from LGBTQ communities.
Even though some conservatives will oppose this legislation, this is a moral teaching moment to let policy makers know where the majority of Americans stand on this issue. A recent Quinnipeac poll (April 26-29, 2019) indicated that 92% of Americans “don’t think an employer should be allowed to fire someone based on their sexual orientation or sexual identify”. Furthermore, that poll showed that 70% of Americans are “open to electing a gay president”.
House Bills 4320 and HB 4321 are on the agenda of the House Judiciary Committee that is scheduled to meet on May 7th. These bills are likely be adopted in this committee and sent to the full House for a vote. These bills ban a safe, standard abortion procedure. They include criminal penalties for doctors of two years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
Senate Bills 165 and 166 ban and criminalize abortion at or after 20 weeks with the only exception being to save the life of the mother. The bills would impose sanctions of up to 15 years in prison and a $7,500 fine for doctors performing the procedure.
On Thursday, April 25th, a panel of three federal judges ruled 3-0 that Michigan must redraw dozens of Congressional and state legislative districts for the 2020 election because they unconstitutionally “advantaged Republicans and disadvantaged Democrats”. Judy Karandjeff, President of the Michigan League of Women Voters, which filed this lawsuit, declared that this ruling was a “great victory for the voters of Michigan and for our democracy”. The three federal judges reportedly based their decisions on emails and other records produced during the closed door redistricting process that was managed by Republicans and their consultants. One consultant said, “We’ve spent a lot of time providing options to ensure that we have a solid 9-5 (congressional) delegation in 2012 and beyond.” A Republican Congressional aid said that the process “in a glorious way makes it easier to cram ALL the Dem garbage in Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland and Macomb counties into only four districts”. For more information, click HERE.
The ruling requires the GOP legislature to re-draw boundaries for 9 of 14 Congressional seats and 25 of 148 State legislative districts by August 1st. The number of changed districts, however, would be larger because of the impact on adjacent districts. Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s signature would be required for this plan. If this new map isn’t agreed upon by August 1st, the federal judges ruled that they would create the map that could affect races for both Congress and the Michigan legislature in the 2020 election. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey has said “we will comply with this most recent ruling while we await the outcome of the appeal”. The state Republican party has said it will appeal this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court to “uphold the will of the people”. Currently, the Supreme Court is ruling on two gerrymandering cases in North Carolina and Maryland. One source indicated that the high Court could rule by the end of June.
The three federal judges’ ruling, which would also step up state Senators elections by two years, would apply to the 2020 election. After that, the Voters Not Politicians ballot proposal, approved by 61 percent of Michigan Voters, would be implemented to reduce gerrymandering in the 2022 election.
We live in interesting — and more hopeful — times.
This week the House and Senate Judiciary Committees voted, on a bi-partisan basis, to adopt versions of raise the age bill packages that would ensure that 17 year-olds are not automatically tried as adults. Instead, youth can be tried in juvenile justice courts and are less likely to be sent to prisons for adults. Michigan is one of only four states that prosecutes 17 year-olds as adults. Statistics show that states that have enacted similar raise-the-age laws have experienced a significant decrease in juvenile court referrals and recidivism.
Alicia Guevara Warren, Kids Count in Michigan Project Director at the Michigan League for Public Policy, said “Michigan is one step closer to joining the rest of the country in having the cases of 17 year olds originate in the juvenile courts”.
On Thursday, April 4th, the House voted 247-175 to demand an end to U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s brutal war in Yemen. According to the UN, this war has resulted in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with 22 million people on the brink of starvation. This bi-partisan vote followed a vote in the Senate to also adopt this Resolution. Thanks to all who called their Senators when MUUSJN issued its last alert. For more information, click HERE. The U.S. has a vast leverage to stop the killing, starting by cutting off military support for this unconscionable war.
Now that Congress has acted, legislators from both parties sent President Trump a letter calling for him to sign the Resolution. It’s conventional wisdom that Trump will veto this Resolution, the second of his administration. When asked about the resolution on late Thursday, Trump said “I’ll take a look at it”. We shouldn’t be let him off the hook. Let’s put pressure on him to sign. CALL HIM MONDAY OR EMAIL HIM TODAY.
Utah Senator Mike Lee, a Republican, said it’s “long past time that we end U.S. involvement in this unauthorized, unjustified and immoral war that has caused immense human suffering”.
Senators Lee and Senator Rand Paul, who signed the letter along with members of the House, said Trump has expressed a desire to avoid “costly and never ending conflicts around the globe”. They also urged Trump to “set a new precedent”and “take on entrenched opposition to foreign policy restraint”.
Two anti-immigrant bills have reared their ugly heads in the Michigan legislature and will be up for a hearing before the House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee at noon on Tuesday, April 9th in Lansing in room 307 of the House Office Building. That happens to be the same day that Michigan United is holding their Capitol Day for immigration and other justice issues (see notice below). MUUSJN invites you to call members of this committee before April 9th or attend this hearing while at Michigan United’s Capitol Day on April 9th.
Information you need to challenge these bills:
TWO BILLS (HB 4083 and HB 4090) would prohibit a county or a local unit of government from adopting or enforcing policies that limit local law enforcement communication or cooperation with federal officers (e. g., ICE or border patrol) about the immigration status of Michigan residents. Similar bills were introduced in previous years. Governor Rick Snyder said he would veto them if they were adopted.
| Beau LaFave | (R) | Committee Chair, 108th District | 517-373-0156 |
| Mike Mueller | (R) | Majority Vice-Chair, 51st District | 517-373-1780 |
| Steve Marino | (R) | 24th District | 517-373-0113 |
| Lynn Afendoulis | (R) | 73rd District | 517-373-0218 |
| Gregory Markkanen | (R) | 110th District | 517-373-0850 |
| Jewell Jones | (D) | Minority Vice-Chair, 11th District | 517-373-0849 |
| John Chirkun | (D) | 22nd District | 517-373-0854 |
| Tyrone Carter | (D) | 6th District | 517-373-0823 |
| Mari Manoogian | (D) | 40th District | 517-373-8670 |
Michigan United has gotten confirmation with many lawmakers who have agreed to talk with constituents about issues such as: the environment, helping people integrate after they’ve been released from prison and treatment of immigrants. Transportation being provided from Detroit, West Bloomfield, Macomb County, Flint, Kalamazoo & Grand Rapids.
This conference was inspired by Catholic parents struggling to protect our LGBTQ children and seeking to renew their Church.
Aaron Bianco, a courageous Catholic leader
Wine and Cheese Reception
Guild Hall of Christ Church Cranbrook
CO-SPONSORS: Inclusive Justice (an interfaith LGBTQ welcoming and advocacy organization); Fortunate Families Detroit; Christ Church Cranbrook; Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit; Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community; Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network; The Sexual Literacy Project; Dignity Detroit; Space for Grace WithOutWalls UCC.
