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Time to Act! Oppose the Presidential Proclamation
on Asylum Seekers

Last Friday, President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation banning entry into the U.S. between designated ports of entry, denying people their full right to seek asylum in the United States along the southern border. The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security have issued a new joint rule ensuring that migrants subject to the Proclamation are ineligible for asylum in the U.S.

It is not a crime to seek asylum at a border, port of entry, or other location within the U.S. The right to petition for asylum is firmly established in both the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act and international law as a critical means of protection. JRS/USA continues to oppose any effort to limit entry into the U.S. and requests for asylum based on place of origin, religion, or vulnerability.

As an organization working with asylum seekers, refugees, and others who have been forcibly displaced in over 50 countries around the world, JRS witnesses first-hand the risks that individuals and families take as they flee their homes in search of peace. JRS Mexico is currently responding to the needs of the migrant caravan by providing legal services, emergency food assistance and psychosocial support for those who have suffered trauma.

To protect the rights of asylum seekers and continue the American tradition of providing due process to all, it is crucial that we take action. Please take a moment today to send a letter to the Administration and your policymakers urging them to oppose this Presidential Proclamation and advocate for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees.

Thank you for taking action.
Executive Director
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA

GREAT NIGHT FOR NEW MEXICO!

The losses in Texas, Florida, and Georgia weigh heavy on our hearts as we celebrate astonishing victories in our NM state and federal races. Xochi’s still in the running as of 7:30 this morning!! There are still absentee and other votes to be counted. But progressives can take courage and comfort in the enormous strides we have made in just a few short years and the Andrews and Betos and Staceys and Xochis will return, multiply and win next time.

Congratulations to all the hardworking Democratic House candidates who won last night.  And to those who came so close, thank you for your efforts in trying to make NM a better place to live and raise a family.  It was a great night for women and progressives in NM.  Let’s be a presence in Santa Fe to push for bold progressive legislation that effectively tackles the challenges we face in NM and the rest of the country.

But first, take a break and join PDA on Nov. 14 for a wrap up with Dede and then some open mic song, poetry and story as we gather in hope and solidarity and plans for actions going forward.

Laura

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PDA CNM DIGEST November 7, 2018

Alert!
Upcoming BLM Oil and Gas Lease/Sale

Most of us have heard about the upcoming BLM oil and gas lease/sale that will effect the Greater Chaco Area and the people who live there. But maybe you didn’t know that some of this BLM lease/sale land is in the Rio Chama watershed on the east side of the Continental Divide. If it’s in the Rio Chama watershed it’s in the Rio Grande watershed. 70% of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority drinking water is San Juan Chama Diversion water. A pollution event on the Rio Gallina could shut down the surface drinking water usage for over 600,000 users of the ABCWUA. See the short ABCWUA film below. We are all stakeholders and it’s all connected.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5VR2_rMcw4&feature=youtu.be

This article published yesterday and written by Laura Paskus can help tie our current and future water dilemma all together. The water in the Chama is at risk. Horizontal fracking has changed everything. When they extract the 6 million gallons from the aquifer to frack a single well it may cause a draw on the surface water. This is exactly what the current Texas v New Mexico lawsuit is all about. It’s also what the Texas v New Mexico lawsuit on the Pecos was all about. And we lost that suit. This is a water issue from the potential surface and subsurface pollution standpoint. As well as a water issue from the extraction of water to frack and the disposal of water in only who knows where places. We are not putting all of the pieces together.

Here is a link to the NEW documentary film Sacred Land Sacred Water.  It explains the extreme dangers of fracking in the Albuquerque Basin. Watch it. Protect the water.

Mike Neas

Next MRCOG Board Meeting

Date: November 8, 2018
Time: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: MRCOG Board Room, 809 Copper Ave. NW, ABQ

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PDA CNM DIGEST October 29, 2018

How to Pack the Supreme Court
by Richard E. Rubenstein – Counterpunch
July 9, 2018

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/07/09/how-to-pack-the-supreme-court/

“In 1937, therefore, the Roosevelt administration introduced a bill giving the president the power to increase the number of Justices to a maximum of 15. Reflecting criticism of the “Nine Old Men” blocking the progressive agenda, the Reform Bill of 1937 authorized the President to nominate one new Justice for each sitting judge with at least ten years’ service on the Court who had not retired after reaching the age of 70 1/2. The maximum number of new Justices that could be nominated was six. The same legislation also gave Roosevelt the power to nominate additional jurists to lower federal courts, up to a limit of 50. Famously, however, the legislation, which opponents called the “court-packing bill,” was bottled up in a Senate committee and failed to pass.

There were two reasons for this. First, conservative Democrats joined Republicans to oppose Roosevelt’s “tinkering” with a sacrosanct institution. Second, and probably more important, the Justices began to approve New Deal measures that they had previously been inclined to invalidate. Even before introduction of the Reform Bill, Justice Owen Roberts, the key swing vote, began to join the liberals in deciding important cases, a change of heart that some wags called “the switch in time that saved Nine.” Roosevelt thus lost the battle but won the war.” (interesting the swing vote judge was named Roberts)

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PDA CNM DIGEST October 9, 2018