Thread by @benwikler

If you’ve been watching the news in agony about families being ripped apart, wondering what you could do—here is what to do.

Go to familiesbelongtogether.org. Find a protest. If there’s not one near you, start one. And then spread the word like your nation’s soul depends on it.

Dozens of groups are helping organize/co-sponsoring June 30th FamiliesBelongTogether.org protests. Some:

@domesticworkers
@civilrightsorg
@ACLU
@UNITEDWEDREAM
@AFTunion
@Sojourners
@womensmarch
@avaaz
@adv_project
@SierraClub
@IndivisibleTeam
@PPact
@NARAL
@dailykos

If you have any way to get to DC on June 30 to fight for families, COME. The bigger the crowd, the more unignorable the message. On the Facebook event page for the march, 3000 already going, 19,000 interested. Share, RT, invite people. All hands on deck.

facebook.com/events/4018159…

I know how you're feeling: you want to be marching with thousands of people NOW. You don't want to wait until June 30. I know. I feel the same way. If you can organize another mass action sooner, I'll be there. Post in the replies. But also, help us make this one massive.

The core question we all should be asking ourselves: How do we win? How do we stop this administration from pulling families apart? That's the goal; strategies need to point there; tactics have to line up with the strategy. Our horror must inspire clear thinking.

Thread.

Four ways family separations could end.
1. Trump could order his admin to stop.
2. Congress could pass a law stopping them.
3. Courts could order admin to stop.
4. ICE/CBP agents could refuse.

#4 is beyond your control. #3 probably too, other than donating $. So: #1 and #2.

Right now, zero Republican senators have joined the 49 colleagues cosponsoring Feinstein's Keep Families Together Act. To pass it would require 11 Rs, and McConnell agreeing to schedule a vote.

To override a veto: 17 Rs.

Plus you'd need the House.

*Very* heavy lift.

If Republicans in Congress really start stampeding to end family separation, the admin would very likely stop doing it before being humiliated by a defeat. So the best way to think of Congress is as a lever to push the admin to act. Worth calling daily: 202-224-3121. But do more.

Constant harsh press coverage, particularly w emotional visuals, can affect this president. That's why Trump tries to shift blame to Dems & Congress. GOP in Congress doesn't want blame, so many are pointing out Trump could end this himself. That's the core point for us to drive.

As we've seen, the biggest obstacle to action on any subject is the attention span of the news cycle. Think Puerto Rico. Gun violence. Something happens; press moves on. So there's actually *value* in planning things further out. Ensures the story persists at least till then.

Anticipation of major protests can often be a powerful spur for something to happen beforehand, to defuse energy. And when the protests deal with a specific decision that could go either way, big protests can beget even bigger ones. Remember waves of energy in health care fight.

Meanwhile, big protests take time to organize. For perspective: The Women's March had 2.5 months. The March for Our Lives: 5 weeks. Those were both *wildly* ambitious timelines. June 30 is twelve days from now.

I hope this crisis ends tomorrow. I hope it's over by June 30. But it might last much longer. Officials say they might have 30,000 children in detention by August. And they have *other* harsh measures planned for summer. We have to make this untenable.
washingtonexaminer.com/news/us-could-…

Because these human rights abuses are unfolding in real time on US soil, there's every chance that shocking images/sounds/videos keep leaking out—thanks to journalists & horrified workers in detention centers. Our job: turn each of those moments into political shock waves.

Our competition: the usual flood of mind-rending news. Including a possible Mueller report on obstruction of justice this summer, or a Constitutional crisis sparked by firing Mueller or Rosenstein. Or, who knows, a war. Maintaining pressure on *this*: not easy or automatic.

You feel like your heart's about to explode. As it should be. Every act of separation is an instance of abuse; every day of separation compounds the trauma. Channel your fury and heartbreak into action—and don't expect resolution overnight. Plan escalations in advance. Outlast.

Let's make June 30 a game-changer. Register and host your own event. Plan a busload of people to DC, or the most strategic city near you. As I write this, dozens of actions are on the map. Let's make it hundreds. Let's make them huge. Twelve days. Go time.
act.moveon.org/event/families…

Ultimately, the way to stop these horrors is through elections. Register voters at your protests. (Contact @HeadCountOrg for help.) But know that the public outcry now shapes what electeds think the electoral impact of the crisis will be. So don't wait. Fight now—and vote always.

... and in the meantime, as well as planning and recruiting for protests and calling Congress, you should donate and look for other ways to help. This article & this thread have great ideas. Action begets action. Don't stop. slate.com/news-and-polit…

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