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Over the last few days, we’ve some of the most disturbing attacks yet against immigrants and their families. We want to talk about what we can do and what responsibility Congress has. /THREAD
We’ve seen the Department of Justice argue in court that the U.S. Government isn’t required to provide toothbrushes or soap to children in its custody. 2/ huffpost.com/entry/justice-…
We’ve seen Trump threaten to arrest millions of immigrants in nationwide raids. We’ve seen reports that hundreds more children have been separated from their parents, even though Trump’s family separation policy is supposedly over. 3/ houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t…
Trump is now demanding that Congress give him more money for DHS and make drastic changes to asylum laws—changes that will make it harder, if not impossible, for refugees and asylum seekers to obtain relief in the U.S.—or he’ll follow through with nationwide raids. 4/
This is classic Trump extortion. He sabotaged the ACA in order to force Congress to pass repeal. He held Dreamers and TPS holders hostage to force Congress to make extreme changes to the immigration system. And, he shut down the government in order to get his border wall. 5/
It’s no surprise that Trump continues to attack immigrants; it’s what he’s done from day one. But now, Democrats control a chamber of Congress, which means they have more power to hold Trump accountable for his abuses. They can do 3 things to fight back. 6/
1. Oppose any additional funding for DHS. Trump has requested billions of dollars more for ICE and CBP. Here’s the bottom line: every dollar DHS gets, it uses to expand enforcement and deportation. We ask Democrats to oppose the DHS supplemental funding request. 7/ 
2. Cut funding for ICE and CBP. Instead of increasing money for DHS, Dems should do the opposite: cut funding. Unfortunately, the draft budget in the House would increase money for ICE and give Trump a massive slush fund to use to cage more families. 8/ indivisible.org/resource/tell-…
3. Don’t pay Trump’s ransom. Trump has been trying for two years to make extreme changes to our nation’s immigration system that will reduce diversity and prevent families from being reunited. Democrats need to resist Trump’s extortion efforts. 9/
But how do we improve conditions for families right now? The hard truth is that the safety of immigrant families will continue to be in jeopardy as long as Trump is in the White House. The best we can do now is try to mitigate the harm & push Dems to use more of their power. 10/
Our partners at @NIJC have put together a helpful resource of five investments that we can make if we’re serious about dealing with the border crisis. 11/ immigrantjustice.org/staff/blog/fiv…
And in order to make those investments that @NIJC talks about, we must divest from ICE and CBP. Trump doesn’t need any more money to address the problems at the border. He has plenty of money -- the problem is he's using it for enforcement. 12/
Congress is responsible for deciding how we spend our money, and it has the power to direct DHS to shift money away from enforcement and into humanitarian programs. 13/
For example, Congress can force DHS to halt ICE raids in order to pay for additional medical supplies at the border; and Congress can instruct ICE to release thousands of individuals needlessly held in detention and place them into community-based alternatives to detention. 14/
Call your MoC THIS WEEK and tell them to Defund Hate. Tell them to: vote NO on the border supplemental. Giving DHS more money gives it more capacity. More capacity means more families harmed. /END
