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Indivisibles,

This is an important week to talk about how to make political violence
backfire. So let’s get to it. 

On Friday, Minneapolis pulled off a citywide strike with massive protests
in subzero temperatures. For those of you wondering when general strikes
in opposition to the regime are going to come and what they'll look like,
Minnesotans are showing us the way. It was [ [link removed] ]hundreds of businesses and
thousands of [ [link removed] ]clergy and school teachers and neighbors showing up in a
nonviolent and powerful display of opposition to a secret police force
that has been terrorizing the Twin Cities and surrounding communities for
weeks. Hundreds of protests joined in solidarity across the state and
around the country all without incident. 

Then the next day, the secret police force responded by murdering Alex
Pretti, a 37-year-old VA hospital ICU nurse, in broad daylight surrounded
by witnesses filming the event. He was in the midst of helping a woman
who’d been shoved to the ground and pepper-sprayed; his last words were
“Are you OK?” 

Why the regime’s lies matter. Just as they labeled Renee Good a domestic
terrorist, the regime immediately [ [link removed] ]went to work slandering Pretti.
Before his parents even got word of his death, the regime was lying about
him to Fox News. 

You should read Pretti’s parents’ statement on his murder. They have one
request: “[ [link removed] ]Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
The murder is heinous. The slander is chilling. 

Make no mistake: The regime is sending a message. It’s a message to ICE
and CBP agents that they can continue their reign of lawlessness, because
this regime will protect them from any consequences. As you read this, the
secret police who murdered Pretti [ [link removed] ]are still roving the streets. 

How we make this political violence backfire. A couple weeks ago I
[ [link removed] ]posted to Bluesky about a useful playbook for responding to political
violence. If you don’t want to read the 123-page guide, I’ll just tell you
why it’s relevant for this moment. The regime is trying to dissuade people
from doing what Alex Pretti, Renee Good, and thousands of patriots are
doing: exercising their First Amendment rights to protect their
communities from DHS. The regime wants us to obey, and they are trying to
bully us into submission with threats and violence.

The absolute worst message for us to send is that their tactics are
working. Instead, we need to massively increase the number of trained ICE
observers in our communities. Here’s the good news: Tonight the No Kings
coalition is hosting [ [link removed] ]Eyes on ICE, which is set to be the largest ICE
watch training in history. 

The way that political violence backfires is when it prompts more people
to get involved, not fewer. So I hope you’ll join and share this with
friends and family who ask what they can do now.

Now is the time for action, even as we build for bigger scale events. That
means Congress too, where we’ve seen precious little momentum. But that
may be changing.

Congressional leadership responds, finally, to the people’s organizing.
Just last week, [ [link removed] ]Hakeem Jeffries declined to whip House Dems on the DHS
funding. He said the Party is not a “[ [link removed] ]cult” and therefore would not be
unanimous. Seven House Dems then voted for the DHS funding bill, providing
the necessary margin to send the funding bill to the Senate:

* Henry Cuellar (Texas)
* Vicente Gonzalez (Texas)
* Tom Suozzi (New York)
* Laura Gillen (New York)
* Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington)
* Jared Golden (Maine)
* Don Davis (North Carolina)

These seven Dems are often on the Trump side of history, but the problem
is not only with them. This was bad leadership from Leader Jeffries and
Whip Katherine Clark whose job it is to unify the Dem caucus on key votes.
While House Republicans continue to act like the cowards and fascist
sycophants they are, House Dems missed a real opportunity to push back
because of that failed leadership. 

This isn't a “we told ya so moment.” It’s important for us to recognize
when congressional leadership has failed, and when they have moved. And
we’re seeing some movement now.

Over the weekend, Senate Dems from across the political spectrum started
promising to vote against any funding for ICE and DHS. Chuck Schumer -- no
popular figure in Indivisible circles -- [ [link removed] ]is promising that this DHS
funding bill will not pass.

This is good. It has taken too long. It is not enough. But it is real, and
it is progress, and we should celebrate it while holding them to it.

We’ve got a busy week closing out a month that has been a combination of
traumatic, depressing, existential and -- at times -- inspiring and
hopeful. For Thursday’s What’s the Plan discussion and [ [link removed] ]the new Friday
podcast, we’ll be talking to famed social movements expert Erica Chenoweth
to ground ourselves in where we are and where we’re going. One foot in
front of the other -- we’re moving forward together.

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

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Your weekly to-dos

 1. [ [link removed] ]Tell your senators to BLOCK more funding for ICE and Border
Patrol. After the killing of Alex Pretti by CBP agents, Chuck Schumer
announced that "Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed
to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included." Now
we have to ensure that Democrats hold the line. Demand that your
senators vote against legislation that gives ICE and CBP more money
while doing precious little to rein in their brutality. ([ [link removed] ]More info
here).
 2. [ [link removed] ]Then email your senators to underscore your point: Not another
dime for ICE and Border Patrol. Use our email tool to demand that your
senators reject any DHS budget that puts more money into Trump’s
deadly deportation machine, and share with friends to ask them to do
the same. 

 3. [ [link removed] ]Join tonight’s No Kings Coalition Mass Call: Eyes on ICE[ [link removed] ].
Tonight at 8pm ET, the No Kings coalition is hosting a training on how
to exercise your right to monitor ICE, CBP, and other law enforcement
agencies as they terrorize our communities. Over 100,000 are already
signed up to join us. We hope you’ll be there, too!

 4. [ [link removed] ]Plan an ICE Out action at your senators' home offices. Our calls 
and emails are critical, but it's also very important that we turn up
the pressure on senators publicly, in their home states. We encourage
you to plan creative, nonviolent, and lawful actions that honor the
lives taken and highlight our demand to rein in ICE.

P.S. Over the past few weeks, Indivisible helped lead the ICE Out For Good
weekend of action and Friday’s national solidarity events with Minnesota.
These major mobilizations are only possible because of grassroots
donations, but because we’ve been focused on organizing these days of
action and putting pressure on Congress, we've had something of a pause on
fundraising. [ [link removed] ]So: We’re asking everyone reading this -- if you can,
please consider chipping in to help us continue leading in these moments
and organizing the ever-growing opposition to the Trump regime.

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Stand with Minnesota

Despite constant teargassing, brutal detentions, and the murders of Renee
Good and Alex Pretti, Minnesotans have stood up against Trump's invasion
of their state in remarkable numbers and with tremendous courage. Braving
frigid temperatures, they've been demanding Minnesota's corporations stand
with their customers and staff and demand that ICE and Border Patrol leave
the state; yesterday, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce released an open
letter that [ [link removed] ]failed spectacularly to meet residents' courage with
anything like their own.

[ [link removed] ]Minnesota organizers have asked that the rest of us help turn up the
heat on the state's biggest regime-friendly corporations. Call or email
Target, Hilton, Enterprise, Home Depot, and Delta Airlines to demand they
take action to get ICE out of our communities FOR GOOD.

Whether they’re actively cooperating or keeping quiet in the face of ICE
and Border Patrol brutality, each of these corporations is standing by as
armed, masked secret police terrorize the communities in which they
operate. We need to make sure they know: It's got to stop.

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Fight Back With Friends

Want help activating your community? Fight Back With Friends is a monthly
program that equips Indivisibles with the tools they need to connect
anyone who might need a little support getting civically engaged.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month, we highlight a major action you can
take and invite others to join. We provide talking points, useful
resources, and general guidance on helping those new to activism get
involved. This month (tomorrow, if you’re reading this Monday), we'll be
talking about the DHS appropriations bill that would give even more money
to ICE and CBP, and how to keep pushing back.

Here’s how Fight Back With Friends works:

 1. [ [link removed] ]Sign up for the Fight Back With Friends call on the fourth Tuesday
of every month.

 2. Download the Empower App on your phone or tablet. Want to learn about
the Empower app? Join the call!

 3. Use the ready-to-go messaging and resources to take action and invite
friends, neighbors, and family to join you.

Pro-democracy activism depends to a tremendous degree on personal
connections. People are far more likely to trust folks they know over any
other source when making sense of what’s happening and, more importantly,
what they can do about it. Fight Back With Friends empowers you to help
empower them. Join us tomorrow and on the fourth Tuesday of every month
and become their trusted messenger!

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IndivisiWIN of the week

For weeks, Indivisible Brooklyn has defied the bitter cold to protest
outside Chuck Schumer’s home and office to demand that he use his position
as Senate minority leader to rein in ICE. They spent the past week, every
single day, loudly demanding that he block the upcoming DHS appropriations
bill that would provide Trump's secret police with more funding instead of
more guardrails.

[22]Members of Indivisible Brooklyn standing in a blizzard outside
Schumer's home

On Saturday, following the killing of Alex Pretti, Schumer announced he
was prepared to do just that. Crucially, his statement didn’t just say
he’d vote against the funding; it made clear he would work to unify the
caucus against it.

Indivisible Brooklyn has been sowing the seeds of this critical
development with creativity and tenacity. And they're not stopping! On
Sunday they were out in the snowstorm to make sure Schumer knows they're
going to hold him accountable. 

This is what effective organizing looks like! Indivisible Brooklyn won't
let up until this fight is won, and neither should we; head back up to the
to-dos to call and email your senators if you haven’t already! 

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Upcoming Events for you

These nationwide events, calls, and training sessions are coming up soon.
For even more Indivisible happenings, [ [link removed] ]check our national calendar and
get in touch with [ [link removed] ]Indivisible groups near you!

Happening This Week
[ [link removed] ]Monday (tonight!): No Kings Coalition Mass Call: Eyes on ICE  (8-9pm
ET)
Learn how to participate in a local ICE watch and know your rights when
recording and monitoring law enforcement.

[ [link removed] ]Tuesday: Fight Back With Friends monthly call (6:30-7:30pm ET)
Learn about the DHS funding fight and use relational organizing tools to
help friends, family, and neighbors to take action.

[ [link removed] ]Thursday: “What’s the Plan?” with Leah + Ezra (3pm ET)
Our weekly interactive Q&A with our co-founders and executive directors
Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin. 

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latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text
messaging program, where we send rapid response actions a few times a
month.

[ [link removed] ]Indivisible Facebook

[ [link removed] ]Indivisible Bluesky

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