Dear Friend,

The High Holidays are coming at a meaningful time this year. On Friday before Rosh Hashanah arrives, I’ll be outside the White House with leaders from my Bend the Arc chapter in Maryland and immigrant-led partners. 

We’re rallying to block billions of dollars in unrestricted funding for detention and deportations. There are three ways you can amplify and join the fight:

• Join a phonebank Tuesday, September 12, at 3:30pm ET — we’re calling key members of Congress to demand they reject more money to ICE and CBP.
• Email your member of Congress this week — send your elected officials a direct message to reject $2 billion in additional funding. 
• Follow us on social media to get alerts from the day of action — this Friday I’ll be sharing news, stories, and photos from on the ground at the DC rally.

President Biden pledged to make our immigration system more just and humane, including ending the use of for-profit prisons. But since taking office, immigration enforcement, detention, and surveillance have only increased.¹ 

Our tax dollars need to reflect our Jewish and American values of care and community safety for all of us, not for the targeting, detention and deportation of our immigrant friends, neighbors, and coworkers. 

We have a big year ahead, and I want to enter 5784 more engaged and committed to our collective fight toward justice. I hope you will join me.

Onward,

Alexa

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Maryland 

1. “Biden vowed to reform immigration detention. Instead, private prisons benefited,” Reuters, August 7, 2023