Indivisibles,

It was a B-I-G weekend for Indivisible. 

Hundreds of group leaders from the reddest reds to the bluest blues, from big cities to the most rural of places, gathered to collaborate and strategize on our two-year campaign to beat Trump and save democracy at our 2019 National Campaigns Network Gathering (you can read more about that two-year plan here). 

Over three action-packed days just outside D.C., we built a shared vision for the next phase of the Indivisible movement. We discussed our advocacy in 2020 and beyond, including crucial work on democracy reform and immigration through the 2019 budget process. We talked about how to engage presidential candidates to move our issues forward and encourage a healthy primary. We built skills and knowledge to keep building power back home and the know-how to train other local group members and activists. And, we deepened relationships among group leaders and our staff here at Indivisible HQ. Check out the welcome from Indivisible co-executive directors Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin here.

Then, because no gathering of Indivisibles would be complete without a little Indivisible-style constituent pressure, we took our conversations to Capitol Hill to meet with our members of Congress’ staff to demand they cut funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in this September’s budget fight. 

📣 What does democracy look like? This is what democracy looks like.

This fight to defund hate is the most important advocacy fight we'll have this year. Today’s visit to Capitol Hill was just the jumping off point for Indivisibles: we’re holding a national #DefundHate Week of Action that starts with a national call-in day on September 9 and ends in a massive day of district office visits and other events on September 13. 

Whether you’re a longtime Indivisible group member or a new-to-the-movement activist, we need you to get involved in this work to fight back against Trump’s racist deportation machine. The first three action items in our weekly to-do list are things you can do right now to get ready for this fight.

Now, let’s take all that energy and make the rest of August recess count. Here’s what we’re focused on:

 Your 5 weekly to-dos 

1. Tell us you’re all in for the September fight by texting Defund Hate to 977-79. We’ll send you the latest updates on our plan for the Week of Action, and we’ll let you know when events are registered near you. 
2. Call your member of Congress right now at 1-844-909-0232 to tell them you demand that they cut funding for ICE and CBP in this September’s budget. We’ll give you a script and connect you directly with your representative’s office.
3. Get up-to-speed using our Defund Hate toolkit with tips on planning an August recess event (great practice for September!) or beginning to organize your local September day of action. We’ve even got a leave-behind you can print and use to guide your conversations with your members of Congress and their staff.
4. This August, demand your representative publicly support a formal impeachment inquiry in the House. This weekend, we told you more about Impeachment August. The ask is simple: find a town hall or register your own district office visit and demand that your representative in the House support a formal impeachment inquiry. As of today, a majority of House Democrats support an inquiry-- but we need many, many more to speak out to guarantee we learn the truth about Trump’s crime and corruption.
5. Use this script to call your senators now to say their thoughts and prayers are not enough. After the mass shooting in El Paso and Dayton, every senator should publicly demand Mitch McConnell call an emergency session to debate and vote on gun violence prevention legislation AND cosponsor S. 42, which would close loopholes and require background checks for all gun purchases. Read more in our updated resource here.

 A note on “Public Charge” (Stephen Miller’s wealth test)

This morning, Trump rolled out a new regulation that imposes a harsh new restriction on immigrant families, known as “public charge.” The new rule, which will go into effect in October, could have a devastating impact on potentially millions of families. The regulation would allow Trump to deny green cards (and by extension citizenship) to immigrants based on their likelihood to use public benefits, even benefits for which they’re eligible (good reminder here: IMMIGRANTS PAY TAXES). It is essentially a wealth test on millions of immigrants. 

Trump — and Stephen Miller — have repeatedly tried to extort Congress to get it to pass extreme restrictions to family-based immigration, only to have Congress reject each of those attempts. With this new rule, Trump is trying to make those extreme changes unilaterally, with millions of immigrant families paying the ultimate price. 

To learn more, check out the resources from the Protecting Immigration Families coalition.

 2020 Update 

Spotlight — 2020 Candidates on Gun Control and White Supremacy: The tragic events of the last week highlight the need for our 2020 candidates to have bold and clear plans to enact meaningful gun control and fight the forces of white supremacy. Many candidates have already put out plans to reduce gun violence, but far fewer have directly addressed the scourge of white domestic terrorism.

→ Shootings in Dayton and El Paso refocus Democratic priorities on gun control. While some candidates, like Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, have already had strong plans on gun control that include commitments to federal registries and action by executive order, others have not prioritized the issue. In the wake of the appalling shootings last weekend, Secretary Castro and Senator Warren (among others) rolled out expansive plans to reduce gun violence and fight domestic terror. Be sure to stay updated on what sets those plans apart. 

→ Candidates are getting real about Trump and white supremacy.  The president is a white supremacist and his campaign thrives on that ideology. Senators Warren and Sanders, as well as Rep. O’Rourke, have all said as much, and we need the rest of the field to have that kind of clarity too. Calling out that fact will be essential if Democratic candidates want to prove that they understand the stakes of this election and the harm that is committed in service to white supremacy.

 Find an IndivisiEvent near you 

 All This Work Costs Money 

We outlined a lot of work in emails to you over the past week. We’ve talked about gun violence and racism. We’ve talked about impeachment and the fillibuster. We’ve talked about beating Trump, taking back the Senate, protecting the Democratic House and more. And that’s just scratching the surface of what’s coming.

It takes a lot of things to get all of that done. And one of our jobs at Indivisible is to provide tools and resources so that we can make all of that calling, pressuring, pushing, speaking out, demanding and doing the work as easy and effective as possible for you. 

If you can, please chip in $10. Your donation supporting Indivisible Action will fund those tools and is an investment in winning in 2020, impeaching Trump and pushing forward all of our progressive priorities. 

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 IndivisWin of the Week 

After the Gathering this weekend and our IndivisiLobby Day today on Capitol Hill, it was impossible to pick just one win of the week… so we made a gif instead!

Like we said last week, Republicans’ strategy is a relentless assault on our values, our sanity. They’re hoping that we let cynicism take over. That we begin to opt-out. That we stop resisting. That we compromise on one crisis to address another. This has been their strategy long before Trump became president. (It was important enough to say again.)

Your members of Congress are home right now for August recess until September 9, and they all need to hear from you on defunding hate. On impeachment. On preventing gun violence and standing up to NRA lobbyists. So, stay angry, get organized, and let’s get to work.

We’re in this together.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

P.S. We talked a lot about We Are Indivisible (THE BOOK!) this weekend. We cannot wait to share it with you and we’re getting closer and closer to its publication. It’s a story of democracy under threat. It’s the story of a movement rising up to respond. And, it’s a story of what comes next. Remember, you can pre-order your copy here.