The Amp

A lot has been happening on immigration in the past few days. Congress was unable to override President Trump’s national emergency declaration about the border. Meanwhile senators introduced bills to protect Dreamers and recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED). The House’s counterpart of this legislationg, the Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6), now has 221 co-sponsors and is expected to come to a vote in the coming weeks. Also legislators in Florida are considering legislation that would out-law “sanctuary cities” and require local law enforcement to comply with federal requests to detain undocumented immigrants. When discussing these legislative proposals, cite the values of Community, Voice, and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s 4 Tips to Keep the Border Conversation on What Really Matters; Communications to Protect Dreamers and our Nation’s Values and Immigration Policy Solutions: Promoting Family Unity; United We Dream’s Dream and Promise Act Digital Toolkit
• Hashtags: #DreamAndPromiseNow; #WeAreNotFooled; #PresidentNotKing

In what was seen as a partisan political move, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rushed the New Green Deal to a vote in the Senate yesterday without any priror hearings or markups. Supporters of the plan dubbed this a “bluff vote” and evidence that some Congressional leaders are not serious about addressing climate change and creating good green jobs. When talking about these developments, cite the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Take Action: Sign and share this petition.
• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking About Economic Justice; Center for American Progress’ CAP’s John Podesta, Neera Tanden Praise Green New Deal Resolution; The New Republic’s The Story Behind the Green New Deal’s Meteoric Rise
• Hashtags: #GreenNewDeal; #GND

It’s National Farmworker Awareness Week to raise awareness about farmworker issues, honor their everyday contributions, and gain more allies to help advocate for better living and working conditions in the fields. Since 1999, Student Action with Farmworkers has coordinated this week of action to draw attention to the fact that farm work is the third most dangerous job in the United States and has few federal labor protections such as overtime, unemployment insurance, and protection when joining a union. Talk about farmworker rights citing the values of Voice, Economic Security and Community.

• Take action: Join or organize an event near you.
• Messaging and communication tools: Student Action with Farmworkers’ What is NFAW?; 2019 Messages; and Ideas for Action + Social Media; The Opportunity Agenda's Talking About Economic Justice
• Hashtag: #NFAW2019

Muslim Women’s Day is a designed to celebrate Muslim women and “flood the Internet with positive representations of who Muslim women are.” This year's theme is “Muslim Women Talk Back to Immigrant Life.” Talk about this day using the values of Voice and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Talking about the Travel Ban; The Muslim Girl's #MuslimWomensDay Returns for a 3rd Year on March 27!
• Hashtag: #MuslimWomensDay

On March 28, 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark that under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, children who are born in the United States to non-citizen parents are indeed U.S. citizens. Wong Kim Ark had been born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants who were barred from ever becoming U.S. citizens under the Chinese Exclusion Act. He was denied re-entry to the United States after a trip to China and sued the federal government. Trump has suggested that he could end “birthright citizenship” by executive order. Discuss this anniversary citing the values of Equality and Community

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking about the American Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment; The Center for American Progress’ Leading Constitutional Law Scholars Say Trump Is Wrong if He Thinks He Can Eliminate Birthright Citizenship Through Executive Action; American Immigration Council's Ending Birthright Citizenship Could Put All Americans’ Nationality in Jeopardy; Asian Americans Advancing Justice’s Wong Kim Ark, Constitutional Citizenship & Asian Americans; PBS American Experience’s United States v. Wong Kim Ark; Bill Moyers’ Becoming American: The Chinese Experience; Asian American Heroes website
• Hashtag: #WongKimArk

Today is labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez’s birthday. In California, this is a state holiday that is observed on April 1 this year. This hook coincides with the end of National Farmworker Awareness Week (above). Discuss the on-going issues faced by farmworkers and the importance of unions, citing the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking about the Importance of Unions and Economic Security
• Hashtags: #CesarChavez #CesarChavezDay

It’s also the International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day dedicated to “celebrating the accomplishments and victories of transgender & gender non-conforming people while raising awareness of the work that is still needed to save trans lives.” When talking about this day, cite the values of Voice and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: Human Rights Campaign’s International Transgender Day of Visibility; The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Tips for Putting Intersectionality into Practice; GLAAD's Media Reference Guide; Trans Student Educational Resources’s TDOV.org; Broadly’s Stock Photos Beyond the Binary
• Hashtags: #TransVisibility; #TDOV

On this day in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress created the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public work-relief program to combat unemployment. The corps provides historic precedent for proposals like the Green New Deal. Use this anniversary to discuss the values of Opportunity, Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking About Economic Justice; Center for American Progress’ CAP’s John Podesta, Neera Tanden Praise Green New Deal Resolution; The New Republic’s The Story Behind the Green New Deal’s Meteoric Rise
• Hashtags #CivilianConservationCorps; #GreenNewDeal; #GND

Join the Prison Fellowship and its partners in celebrating Second Chance Month to recognize the dignity and potential of 70 million Americans with criminal records who have repaid their debt to society. Cite the values of Redemption and Mobility.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Foster Successful Reintegration; Prison Fellowship's model resolutions for state and local officials, petition and social media toolkit;
• Hashtags: #SecondChanceMonth #SecondChances and #SecondPrison

This month is also Medicaid Awareness Month, with a different topic each week. This week, advocates will focus on "The War on Medicaid." Next week (April 8), the focus will be on how Medicaid Expansion has helped millions. When talking about Medicaid, cite the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Talking about Economic Justice; Protect Our Care's Fact Sheet and Shareable Graphics; Center for American Progress' Who Receives Medicaid? A State-by-State Breakdown; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' Medicaid Briefs: Who is Harmed by Work Requirements?
• Hashtag: #MedicaidMatters

This is the Census Day of Action, marking one year ahead of Census Day 2020m when the 2020 Census will be in full swing. It’s on all of us to educate our communities about the importance of the 2020 Census. Discuss the values of Voice, Equality, and Community on this day.

• Messaging and communication tools: Census Counts’ Day of Action comprehensive toolkit; The Opportunity Agenda’s Census Data: A Fair and Accurate Count; The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Census Resources; Protect Democracy’s Explainer: The Paperwork Reduction Act and the Census and the ACLU’s Census Citizenship Question Illegally Discriminates Against Immigrants
• Hashtags: #CountMeIn; #Census2020; #SaveTheCensus

Today at 11:59pm is the deadline for commenting on the Trump administration’s proposed rule on SNAP reporting requirements. Cite the values of Economic Security and Community when discussing this proposal.

• Take action: Encourage your networks to submit comments via platforms by Center for American Progress, FRAC and Feeding America.
• Messaging and communication tools: Center for American Progress’ Hands Off SNAP Digital Toolkit and Hands Off SNAP Key Messages; The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking about Economic Justice; The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Resources on SNAP and Work or Resources on Time Limits; and Trump SNAP Proposal Would Cost Many of Nation’s Poorest Their Food Aid; Center for American Progress’ #HandsOffSNAP: Don’t Let Trump Take Food Away from Struggling Workers and Families
• Hashtag: #HandsOffSNAP

This day marks the anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Use this occasion to talk about the accomplishments of Dr. King as well as his unfinished work, such as the Poor People's Campaign. Cite the values of Equality, Voice and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Opportunity for Black Men and Boys: Public Opinion and Equality; The Kairos Center's Quotes from Rev. Dr. King’s Last Years: “A Revolution of Values”; The MLK Center's MLK50Forward.org; Poor People's Campaign's weekly themes. Hashtags: #IHaveADream, #PoorPeoplesCampaign

On this day in 1931, the first Scottsboro Trial started. Despite lack of evidence, nine African-American teenage boys were ultimately convicted of rape by an all-white jury. The trial has particular relevance this year as the Supreme Court considers the case of Curtis Flowers and racial bias in jury selection. Use this anniversary to discuss the continued need for criminal justice reform, especially as it affects people of color living in poverty. Cite the values of Equality and Voice.

• Messaging tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s 10 Lessons for Talking About Criminal Justice Issues;  The Road Ahead for Social Justice: Broken Windows Policing and Transforming the System: Criminal Justice Policy Solutions
• Hashtags: #transformcj; #unbreakablecj; #CurtisFlowers

Today is labor organizer and activist Dolores Huerta's 89th birthday. Use this anniversary to discuss the concerns of immigrant workers in the U.S. today. Cite the values of Equality, Voice and Economic Opportunity.

• Messaging tools: Independent Lens’ "Dolores" (Documentary) and The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking about the Importance of Unions and Economic Security
• Hashtag: #doloreshuerta and Twitter handles: @DoloresHuerta and @Dolores_Movie