The administration’s decision to bring an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in September 2017 put over 800,000 immigrant youth at risk of deportation. The administration has also terminated Temporary Protected Status—a humanitarian form of immigration status for those who cannot safely return to their home country due to extraordinary circumstances, like armed conflict and environmental disaster—for 98 percent of all holders. Congress must act immediately to protect DREAMers and TPS holders from deportation and provide a permanent, legislative fix that provides a pathway to citizenship.
Currently, federal law does not explicitly prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, federal funding, education, credit, and jury selection based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Equality Act would amend existing civil rights laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.
The bipartisan, bicameral Fair Chance Act (S.387/H.R.1076) would require hiring managers in the federal government and federal contractors to wait until the job application process is further along before inquiring about past criminal convictions. This policy, known as “ban the box,” is one way to help even the playing field in the job market for returning citizens.
In the face of the unabated, preventable epidemic of gun violence, Congress must act. The vast majority of Americans, including gun owners, support common sense policies like background checks for every gun sale to prevent senseless violence.
The Background Check Expansion Act (H.R.8) and the Bipartisan Background Checks Act (S.42) will expand the federal background check requirement to include the sale or transfer of all firearms by private sellers, including those sales conducted online or at a gun show.
In a time of unprecedented need, the US's role in refugee resettlement has reached a historic low.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is the United States' most comprehensive resource for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. VAWA is up for reauthorization every five years - including this year. Each reauthorization provides a new opportunity to enhance these safeguards and ensure survivros of gender-based violence have access to the resources and protections they need.
In the 116th Congress, Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL) introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 (H.R.4). The bill would improve the voting process in the United States by modernizing the preclearance formula to cover states with a pattern of discrimination that puts voters at risk, protecting voters from the types of voting changes.
The cost of living in the United States has long eclipsed the minimum wage. At $7.25 per hour, an employee who is working 40 hours per week, 52 weeks a year, earns only $15,080. An increase to the minimum wage is imperative if we expect people to be able to support themselves on a full-time job. It's time that our federal minimum wage becomes a living wage. Urge your member of Congress to support the Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 582/S. 150).
The Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal money for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger for all federally administered health care plans. This is more than just a reproductive rights issue. It is an economic and racial justice issue, as the Hyde Amendment disproportionately impacts low-income individuals and limits their access to abortion services.
