Dear John,

Donald Trump’s ICE and Border Patrol goons have been let loose on Minneapolis to create havoc, terrorize communities, and brutalize anyone with an accent or dark skin.

And in the week since the murder of Renee Good, they’ve only escalated their campaign of violence and intimidation.

Trump doesn’t want peace. He wants to provoke a backlash to justify an even more draconian crackdown — and today, Trump reiterated his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy active-duty U.S. military forces against the American people.

This is a national emergency, and we must take action — peacefully — to stop it.

We’re launching an urgent effort across all our platforms to demand Congress cease new funding for Trump’s mass deportation regime unless major systemic reforms are put in place. With federal funding scheduled to expire at the end of January, this is the time for Democrats to stand and fight.

Will you make a donation to help us educate the public and block all new funding for Trump’s masked army of immigration thugs?

Here’s the situation in Congress right now.

At the end of last fall’s government shutdown, Democrats agreed to extend funding for about three months. That funding expires on January 31, and unless they pass another bill in the next two weeks, the government will shut down again.

That means Democrats have an opportunity right now to demand real reforms to ICE and Border Patrol — if they stand strong.

At an absolute minimum, Democrats must refuse to provide any more funding for Trump’s immigration police unless they:

• Take off their masks.
• Wear IDs.
• Adopt and follow basic standards of professional policing.
• Ban armed immigration agents from aimlessly roaming our streets to provoke conflict.
• Investigate and punish agents who kill, beat, or unlawfully detain people.

Friends, I truly fear that American democracy is at a breaking point. But I also believe that we can halt and reverse our slide into authoritarianism.

We will stop Trump not with violence but with our steadfast dedication to democracy, the rule of law, and social justice. We will build an America whose strength comes not from its bombs and bullets but from its moral authority.

We will win and we will rebuild. We have no choice. You may want to scream but can’t find your voice because you’re so shocked and frightened. Please do not succumb to helplessness, despair, or fear. You are needed. Desperately.

If you’re with me, please donate to help continue to educate the public and block all new funding for Trump’s masked army of immigration thugs.

Thank you,

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action