CALL TO ACTION
Our number one action in this new administration is going to be laser focused on Legislative: delay, delay, delay, and stick to our values!
FIRST: ACTION NEEDED NOW -
VOTE EXPECTED MONDAY!
The Laken Riley Act is named for a young woman killed by an undocumented man in Georgia a year ago. The attacker had been charged with shoplifting but was not detained. The legislation would require federal officials to detain undocumented people who commit crimes of theft and burglary, among other charges, requiring their detention until they are deported, a violation of due process.
We know that immigrants are less likely than citizens to commit crimes. This bill is not about keeping communities safe, it's about stoking fear and division. It's designed as a mechanism to kick-start Trump's mass deportations, including for minor infractions. It applies to Dreamers, legal immigrants in limbo, and refugees. It will hand MAGA extremists unchecked power, including allowing state AGs like Texas' Ken Paxton to sue the federal government.
Senator Peters and Senator Slotkin are expressing support for this Bill!! Call them to insist they vote against SB5!
Talking points:
This bill weaponizes immigration policy by detaining immigrants without due process.
It allows state AGs like Ken Paxton to decide federal policy.
Dems cannot capitulate to Trump's bad policies. We must stand up for our values.
Other talking points can be found here.
Contact Senator Peters at 202.224.6221
Contact Senator Slotkin at 202.224.4822
THEY BOTH VOTED YES IN THE LAST VOTE; WE HAVE A DAY TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS! This is a betrayal of Democratic principles.
Also contact Senator Schumer to keep the Democratic Caucus unified in opposing the Trump Agenda; call him at 202.224-6542
But we're not done yet...once this passes the Senate, it will go back to the House! We must push our Reps to vote NO (looking at you CD11 & CD8! Stevens and McDonald Rivet voted yes last time.) Call this weekend, find your Rep's number here!
More guidance from National on this bill can be found here.
SECOND:
Call our Senators - all three listed above - to unilaterally oppose Trump's grossly unqualified nominations! These people cannot responsibly run our country! Oppose Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Linda McMahon, Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem, Russell Voight - keep an eye on proceedings with this handy AP confirmation tracker, currently at a delightful 0 for 22! Keep calling on this - it's about values, values, values!
CHECK OUT THIS NEW TOOL FROM NATIONAL TO HELP YOU QUICKLY CONTACT YOUR SENATORS ABOUT NOMINATIONS.
THIRD:
The SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act is an extreme voter suppression bill, prohibiting states from accepting and processing a voter registration application without proof of citizenship. This would preclude using driver's licenses or other state ID to vote.
Birth certificates are not easy to obtain for many Americans. People who have changed their names, such as many married women, would not be able to rely on birth certificates alone. In the last session, the Senate voted this down as unnecessary and burdensome, but the House plans to resurrect it soon. Call to demand our Senators and Representatives oppose this bad bill!
INDIVISIBLE NATIONAL NEWS
Group Leaders Our indispensable Indivisible Regional Organizer, Scott Ickes, begins his 2025 Michigan Group Leader calls this month! These calls strengthen the network and strengthen our impact through community and cooperation. They are for Group Leaders - how you define a group leader is up to you. If you've been part of these sessions last year, you know their value. Join us to chat about anything on your mind; that's what community is for!
Agenda for Tuesday, January 28 at 7-8pm ET
Welcome to some of the new group leaders in Michigan!
Share out about your local Help Over Hate Weekend of Action events.
Q&A Panel with StateWide Indivisible Michigan sharing best organizing practices. New Group Leaders can ask Established Group Leaders anything, all things, about getting organized and organizing in Michigan! If we can't answer your question, we'll do our research and get back to you asap!
Sign up for Thursdays in January with Leah and Ezra's Q&A - these "Bracing for Impact" sessions are always fascinating discussions. Register and send them a question here.
Past calls can be found here!
Listen to a great perspective from Leah on Chris Hayes’ podcast -- listen here (scroll down) or click on the image below. EXCELLENT LISTENING FOR ALL ACTIVISTS!
Sign up for Indivisible’s rapid response text messaging program Text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to receiving actions a few times a month.
SWIM AND PARTNER UPDATES
Indivisible Fighting 9 starts the new year with a bang! Many groups have been revitalized with new members since November, and the Fighting 9 is no exception! They are tackling the four pillars of resistance: Block, break, bridge and build. This is how we resist!
Our Democracy Working Group is back for 2025 - you may remember the phone rally held for Lame Duck in December! Group action is really effective in getting our legislators' attention! DWG will be meeting again on January 24th to chart the course ahead. Stay tuned for actions coming your way!
Greater Grand Rapids Indivisible has asked SWIM to co-sponsor a member session on Michigan's Legislature and how bills become laws. It's complicated! As we begin this year focusing on our legislature both in the state and at the federal level, we need to be clear-eyed about what is possible and how fast (read: slow) the process is. Watch for details - we are targeting an event for April!
Image/quote courtesy of Transformative Justice Coalition
Words of Wisdom
From President Biden's farewell speech:
“After 50 years of public service, I give you my word: I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands. A nation where the strengths of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure.
“Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith.
“I love America. You love it too."
We gotcha, Joe. Thank you.
If you haven't watched, be sure to view Joe's full farewell address here. It's important that we remember what a real president sounds like.
PROGRESSIVE VALUES
It's been a rough start to the new year for our friends in California. The worst of the destruction fell on the city of Altadena, one of the only original middle class Black communities, where Black families were able to build some level of generational wealth. The disgusting GOP responses to the devastation incurred by Americans in their own homes is unforgiveable. Read Michael Moore's musings on the Great California Fire here. And if you're able, there are organizations on the ground like World Central Kitchen who are serving hot meals to those affected and to first responders. Your donations to people in such times of stress are greatly needed and appreciated. We are all Californians right now.
RESOURCES TO AMPLIFY YOUR MESSAGING
PARTNER TOOL KITS
CHECK OUT FIVE CALLS
This free app makes it incredibly easy to reach out to your legislators. After signing up you will input your location. The app will give you topics to chose for your calls. When you chose your topic it will provide background information as well as who to call for your area with their phone number and a script. This could not be easier. You can obtain more information as well as sign up for their news letter here.
IDEAS FOR MESSAGING OUR VALUES
Check out this Guide to Messaging Our Freedoms from We Make The Future and ASO Communications (Anat Shenkar-Osorio). They provide sample messages for a wide range of issues from our freedom to vote to our freedom to be our true selves.
Here is a link to Anat's latest toolkit: From the Indictments to the Courts: Freedom Over Fascism Toolkit!
JOIN THE GRASSROOTS COLLABORATION PROJECT DIRECTORY
Work smarter, not harder. Collaboration is the key to getting many efforts off the ground and building capacity and effectiveness in what we do. Networking helps us achieve that. Sign on to the Grassroots Directory here and find other activists willing to help your project! We start building for 2026 now!
WANT MORE? Check out more toolkits on our website here!
STAY CURRENT ON SWIM ACTIVITIES AND PARTNERS' EVENTS
Other ways to keep current on events and issues in-between newsletters:
Bookmark our Website: www.statewideindivisiblemi.com. New events from SWIM and our partners are posted regularly! The website is repository of resources and network partners amassed since 2017.
Members: Send us your announcements, events, photos or writings to our email at info@statewideindivisiblemi.com! We need to share our successes - we're better together!
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the time being, we maintain our Meta accounts (Zuckerberg owns Facebook, Instagram & Threads), but foresee a time in the not-distant future when we will leave these platforms like we (and many others) did Twitter.
Join us on BlueSky! It's the new meet-up place for all the cool kids (no trolls and no loony billionaire owners!)
USING THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO AMPLIFY GOOD NEWS
Use these terrific resources to pick up memes to spiff up your messages, use great gifs in your newsletters and social media posts, and gather talking points for your discussions:
Into Action Labs allows you to download and add your own message(s).
MI Right to Read offers a toolkit of graphics.
Field Team 6 takes the fear out of posting on social media with this fun video explaining simple step-by-step simple instructions to social storming - at whatever level you want to dive into! FT6 also has a Field Team 6 Current Storm page with prepared posts that can be one-click shared across many platforms.
Indivisible's Trainings-to-Go include materials such as slides, handouts, or discussion questions, as well as facilitation notes/directions for the person leading the space. Start with a pilot batch of 3 Trainings-to-Go: Recruitment 101, Indivisible 101, and Tools for Building Inclusive Groups - and more are coming! These are located in the Support Hub along with a lot more! Questions or suggestions can be sent to training@indivisible.org.
STAY IN CONTACT WITH OUR ELECTEDS
Contact Michigan House of Representatives: https://www.house.mi.gov/AllRepresentatives
Contact Michigan State Senate: https://senate.michigan.gov/FindYOurSenator/
Contact the Governor:
Phone: 517-335-7858
Mail: PO Box 30013; Lansing, MI 48909
Contact the Attorney General:
MI Portal: https://www.michigan.gov/ag
Email: miag@michigan.gov
Phone: 517-335-7622
Mail: 525 W. Ottawa St. PO Box 30212; Lansing, MI 48909
Contact Members of Congress:
Phone: 202-224-3121
Representatives: https://www.house.gov/representatives
Using Fax Zero (a free faxing service):
Senators: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php
Representatives: https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php
Contact White House or Other Federal Agencies: usa.gov/federal-agencies
GET INVOLVED!
GOT IDEAS, GOOD NEWS OR QUESTIONS?
Send us your thoughts to us at info@statewideindivisiblemi.com!
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