Indivisibles,

Late last week, we got yet another look at Donald Trump’s Stephen-Miller-written-vision for America when he double downed on his white supremacist agenda and outlined his views for immigration reform. The proposal equated to nothing more than a nativist ransom note disguised as supporting Dreamers, and, in the words of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, represented just another piece of “an unmistakable campaign to make America white again.”

We cannot forget that the crisis faced by 800,000 Dreamers is a crisis created by Donald Trump when he eliminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program five months ago. And it’s a crisis that was made worse by Mitch McConnell and his Republican enablers when they decided to use the government funding debate as an opportunity to pit kids against kids and falsely present the Continuing Resolution as a choice between CHIP and the Dream Act.

Last Monday, 81 Senators and 266 Representatives voted to reopen the government without providing relief for Dreamers. And we’re still baffled by the “bipartisan” “deal” struck by Republicans and (some) Democrats in the Senate that provides no guarantees or relief for Dreamers and their families.

Yes, this is a mess the Republicans started. But now, Democrats need to fight harder than ever to clean it up.

Democrats don’t control Congress, but their votes were needed to pass Republican spending bill. On January 19, they held strong by withholding their support for another short-term funding bill until Republicans came to fix the messes that they created. But just three days later, Democrats gave in, gave away their leverage, and voted to approve a short-term funding bill without protections for Dreamers.

The next continuing resolution (CR) runs out on February 8. Making a call to your members of Congress (MoCs) is the most impactful thing you can do right now. Here’s what you can do:

1. Visit DreamerPledge.org to read our latest analysis. Find out if your members of Congress (MoCs) are Dream Heroes or Dream Killers.
2. Use our Dream Hero call script if to thank your Senators who voted to protect Dreamers. And use our Dream Killer call script if your Senator voted to fund the government without protecting Dreamers.
3. Make your call using our toll-free line at 1-855-980-2355. You’ll be prompted for your zip code and immediately connected to one of your Senators.
4. Call back again and you’ll be connected to your other Senator!
5. Once you’ve talked to both your Senators, make a call to your Representative using the Dream Hero or Dream Killer script.

Let your members of Congress know you’ll keep fighting, and you expect them to fight too. Make a call, show up, don’t give up. We’re going to continue this fight until Dreamers have protection and all elected officials who side with Trump’s bigoted agenda are voted out of office.

This week on Capitol Hill

Thanking Dream Heroes and holding Dream Killers accountable is our top priority leading up to the February 8 CR vote. But there’s still a lot moving on the Hill. Here’s what’s happening this week:

• Trump gives his first State of the Union tomorrow night. Trump will wrap up a chaotic January by giving his first State of the Union tomorrow night at 9pm ET/6pm PT. The theme of the speech is “Building a Safe, Strong, and Proud America.” He will likely highlight his infrastructure plan (catered to billionaires and corporations) and immigration framework (written by the White House’s chief nativist Stephen Miller). Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our up-to-the-minute analysis all night!
• The Senate will vote on a 20-week abortion ban. Republicans may bring the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” to the Senate floor for a vote early this week. This bill requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, so it’s unlikely to pass. Still, be sure to call your Senators now and tell them to stand against this attack on women’s health.
• Trump will officially release the framework for his infrastructure plan. The framework, which leaked last week, leans heavily on funding from private investors to finance the rebuilding of our nation’s infrastructure -- which means weakened labor and environmental standards, higher state and local taxes, and higher costs to repay via tolls and user fees.

From retirements to a government shutdown to the Women’s March to the one year anniversary of the Muslim Ban, 2018 has already proved to be as relentless as 2017. But we have a long way to go, and a lot of work to do, to defeat the Trump Agenda in Congress and at the ballot box in November. Be sure to read our latest Indivisiblog post about what to expect in February.

Your weekly #TrumpThreatLevel

In addition to giving you the tools and resources needed to fight the Trump legislative agenda, week after week, we keep track of all the ways Trump is a national security threat. Here’s how he’s made us less safe this week:

• The New York Times reported that Trump tried to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Let’s be clear: firing Mueller would be a constitutional crisis. No one is above the law, not even the President of the United States. Here’s what you can do right now to prevent Trump from firing Mueller (and ensure you’re ready if he does).
• Trump reportedly plans to issue an executive order to keep the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay open forever, condemning those there to die without charge or fair trial. This gives international terrorism groups a recruitment tool and diminishes the US’ moral credibility on the global stage.
• The Trump Administration released a bogus “report” on terrorism without consulting the Department of Homeland Security. This document stretched and misrepresented facts in order to achieve racist conclusions justifying the bigoted Muslim ban. Nearly one year after the original Muslim ban, this report shows how the administration continues to inflame racial and religious tensions in the name of “security.”

Chip in to support Indivisible’s Institutes!

Last year, we hosted two Indivisible Institutes -- intense, weekend-long training sessions for hundreds of Indivisible group leaders (think of it like IndivisiSchool!). Participants of the Phoenix and Atlanta Institutes were trained in advanced organizing skills and campaign strategy, equipping them (and their groups) to tackle big new projects. And based on the success of these Institutes, we want to host six (!) more this year -- but we need your help to make more Institutes a reality. 

Thanks to your help, we fully funded the Institutes last year (each costs about $100,000), and we’ve funded the majority of the upcoming Institutes! But in order for us to cover training on electoral strategy and how to use political tools in the next Institute, we need to raise another $25,000 to cover election-related trainings.

We’re providing these trainings because we’ve heard from groups across the country that they want to hit the ground running this year when it comes to winning in November. Institutes will help provide the knowledge and skills needed to build the big blue wave in the midterm elections! Your donations will cover trainings to teach group leaders:

• How to both register and contact voters
• How to endorse candidates, and make your endorsement impactful
• How to work with other organizations and partners
• How to launch a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) effort in your community

Chip in now to help us reach our $25,000 goal in order to provide this crucial training to our group leaders to build power ahead of November!

Thanks for everything you do and for being a part of our movement!

In solidarity,
The Indivisible Team