The Amp

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a new rule last week that would weaken fair housing enforcement. HUD wants to remove oversight measures instituted in 2015 that were designed to strengthen the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Advocates fear that the change will be less leverage to fight discrimination by withholding taxpayer dollars. Discuss this new rule by citing the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Take Action: Comment now on the new rule and encourage your networks to do so too!
• Messaging and communication tools: #FightForHousingJustice’s resources; The National Housing Law Project’s HUD Launches Administration’s Latest Attack on Civil Rights by Retreating on Fair Housing; National Low income Housing Alliance’s HUD’s Proposed AFFH Rule Is Not a Fair Housing Rule; National Fair Housing Alliance’s NFHA Opposes HUD Proposal to Dismantle Fair Housing Act, Weaken Enforcement; The Opportunity Agenda’s Realizing the Promise: How to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing; Why Fair Housing, Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity and Reforming HUD’s Regulations to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing;
• Hashtags: #KeepHousingFair; #FightForHousingJustice; #FairHousing

Also last week, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, said that the state will no longer accept resettled refugees through the federal program. The move was made possible by President Trump’s Executive Order, which gave governors veto power over the program. In contrast, more than 42 governors have reaffirmed their commitment to the refugee resettlement program. Today, advocates are urging Congressional representatives to support the GRACE Act (S.1088 and H.R.2146), which would restore resettlement and increase congressional authority over the program. Cite the values of Economic Security and Community when discussing this development.

UPDATE: Today, a federal judge blocked Trump's Executive Order on Refugee Resettlement. Read the International Refugee Assistance Project's press release. 

• Take action: Join National Call-In Day to urge Congress to protect refugees and support the GRACE Act
• Messaging and communication tools: New American Economy's Economic Costs for U.S. States to Opt Out of Refugee Resettlement; The International Rescue Committee’s Texas’s decision to pull out of the resettlement program is shameful and out of step with 42 other US states; Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services’ Statement on Texas Decision to Opt Out of Refugee Resettlement; Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society’s HIAS Decries Decision by Gov. Abbott to Block Refugee Resettlement in Texas; Church World Services’ CWS Condemns Governor Abbott’s Cruel and Immoral Decision to End Resettlement in Texas, Devastating Refugees Waiting for Family Reunification; National Immigration Forum’s ‘A Big Mistake’: Texas Governor Declines to Resettle Refugees
• Hashtags: #RefugeesWelcomeTX; #RefugeesWelcome

Below is a list of this week's communication hooks as well as events that you can use to reach new audiences and inform existing ones. Click on each link for messaging tools and hashtags.

Events and Cultural Hooks:

• Poverty Awareness Month
• Webinar - The Field Response to the Proposed Immigration Fee Increases: Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 1pm EST
• Women's March: Saturday, Jan. 18
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday, Jan. 20
• National Day of Racial Healing: Tuesday, Jan. 21
• Sundance Film Festival begins: Thursday, Jan. 23

Historical Anniversaries:

• Prohibition legalized: Jan. 16, 1919
• U.S. Marines arrest Hawai`i's Queen Lili`uokalani: Jan. 17, 1893
• Supreme Court rules in Roe V. Wade: Jan. 22, 1973
• Edward Verne Robert's birthday: Jan. 23, 1939

For a look further ahead, click here.

You don't need to wait each week for the Amp action alert to find out what's coming up. You can easily add our media hooks and events to your work calendar, which will automatically update when you refresh your calendar. Here's how:

• Google Calendar:  Follow these instructions to subscribe to calendar using an email address (not link option). Copy and paste this entire address:      o33rmu231ochbp5i16botmsvus@group.calendar.google.com 
• Outlook: Follow these instructions. Copy and paste this entire link:   https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/o33rmu231ochbp5i16botmsvus%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
• Apple iCal for Macs: Follow these instructions. Copy and paste this entire link:   https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/o33rmu231ochbp5i16botmsvus%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics