Your Dollars for Democracy will help lift every voice. $5 will print hundreds of flyers that inform people about the dangers of "Secure Communities." $15 will bring someone from Eastern Washington to hear Rep. Gutierrez in Seattle. Give today and help reclaim our communities!
Democracy Summer
Join us in lifting up every voice - OneAmerica has launched Democracy Summer, a series of coordinated events that reclaim our communities and make a real difference.
Under President Obama, families are being torn apart and deported at record rates while counties across Washington State are lining up to collaborate with ICE’s “Secure Communities” enforcement program. But the power to fight back is in our hands. Not only can we defeat these divisive programs, but together we can help redraw voting maps that will elect tomorrow’s decision makers.
We’re a nation founded on the ideals of civic participation, yet we see the tragic consequences of bad policy every day – family members deported by political expediency, dreams shattered by an unresponsive police force. What happens if we join forces to create a stronger democracy?
.Here are three opportunities to do just that this summer:
We say that every vote counts but the truth is that some votes count for less because of the way the lines are drawn for voting districts. If communities can be divided up, they will never have the opportunity to have enough voices to make a difference. Washington’s population growth, particularly of immigrants and people of color, gave us the unique opportunity to redraw the Congressional and State Legislative District maps so that we can ensure that immigrants and people of color have better representation and can have their voices heard.
The Washington State Redistricting Commission is charged with redrawing the boundaries of Washington’s voting districts every 10 years so they each have the same number of people and that groups of voters with minority interests in government are kept together. OneAmerica members and supporters have shown up at each and every public forum that the Commission has held across the state over the last couple months.
We've been partnering with the Win-Win Network and other groups to create United for Fair Representation and advocate for the "Unity Map," a new 10th Congressional district in South King County that is majority people of color. We’re also advocating for several state legislative districts to be majority people of color, including one in Yakima. These “majority-minority” Congressional and state legislative districts will lead to increased civic participation among immigrants and communities of color and help ensure that they have equal and fair representation.
Will you let them know what you think?
Final public hearing before draft maps are due:
- Tuesday, August 9 at 6:00pm, New Holly Gathering Hall in south Seattle
You can also show your support by sigining
the United for Fair Representation petition
How can the redistricting process impact the power of the immigrant community? Just look at Yakima County which is about half Latino. In the 2000 redistricting process, the Latino population was separated into three different state legislative districts, splitting the Latino vote, and as a result, Yakima has no Latino elected officials. Representatives in Yakima have consistently voted against pro-immigrant policies despite having a majority people of color in the county.
"Secure Communities,” a collaboration between ICE and local law enforcement, is being rejected by major cities and Governors across the country – including Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois – for undermining trust with the community and failing to catch serious criminals. It is also being investigated by DHS’s own Inspector General. And yet, here in Washington, 13 counties have now signed up to jump aboard this faltering ship.
There has been no consultation with the community and immigrants across our state are living in fear. As part of Democracy Summer, OneAmerica launched the Stop ICE’s Insecure Communities campaign to let every Washington State resident know how public safety is diminished when local police turn into immigration enforcement.
All summer long, OneAmerica will be meeting with local law enforcement and hosting public meetings where community and law enforcement are invited to have a dialogue about the program and how to make our communities safer for everyone. Read an editorial by two Yakima community leaders in the Yakima-Herald Tribune about our efforts to educate the public and oppose the program.
Sign the petition (En Español) to stop "Secure Communities" in Washington State!
Deportations under President Obama have reached record levels. It’s a moral outrage that families are being separated, young people are being robbed of their future, and public safety is being threatened by a system the president knows is broken. Together, we can put an end to this.
On Sunday, June 26, OneAmerica welcomed Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) to Town Hall in Seattle, as part of a 20-plus-city Campaign for American Children and Families tour, to provide President Obama a direct challenge: end deportations of parents of citizen children and DREAM Act-eligible youth; and stop the harsh ICE enforcement programs like Secure Communities. Today. The President has the power to do this.
Over 900 Washington residents came from across the state to speak out against deportation policies that are tearing apart families and communities. Watch video of the event and continue to remind Obama that Change Takes Courage.
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