Dear MoveOn member,
The Statue of Liberty is one of our most salient symbols of the timeless promise our country has made to welcome those seeking refugee and a life in America. That's why we built one in the nation's capital last week:
Despite the famous words of welcome written on the Statue of Liberty, the Trump administration has dramatically escalated attacks on immigrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees—attacks that are both illegal and immoral: putting children in cages, forcibly separating families, illegally preventing people seeking asylum from applying, banning Muslims from entering the country. And news of these attacks keep coming: Reports of 1,700 more children separated than previously disclosed, attempts to get billions more for the deportation machinery of ICE and CBP, and more—including the news this week that a sixth child, previously unreported, had died in U.S. custody last September.
But we believe that America can be better than this and that we must lift up a vision of a welcoming and inclusive America. That's why we worked with United We Dream, Families Belong Together, the Center for Popular Democracy, Sanctuary DMV, and Casa de Maryland to build an interactive art project in Washington, D.C., this weekend to bring the Statue of Liberty to the Capitol and renew our promise.
For three days, our statue, built and designed by renowned local artist Cesar Maxit, stood in front of Union Station, in view of the Capitol, where people could show the world that America Welcomes immigrants and refugees. The statue was visited by people from all walks of life, including members of the House and Senate such as Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Ilhan Omar and Senator Jeff Merkley, along with thousands of other visitors, families, activists, and more.
MoveOn members have been at the forefront of some of the largest fights to stop the Trump administration's vile policies—taking to the streets, demanding change from Congress, and doing important work locally to stand with the immigrant rights movement and leaders who are working tirelessly.
But our work is far from over. Trump built his campaign on racist, xenophobic scare tactics, and his administration has turned his words of hate into policies that hurt and terrorize entire communities. He will continue to implement cruel policies and extort money for his deportation force—and we need to be ready, as a united movement, to build the country we want to see.
This replica Statue of Liberty was one way to show the world—and decision-makers in Congress—that we demand welcoming immigration policies rooted in dignity and morality. In the coming months, we'll need more forward-looking, bold actions that lead with our values.
Thanks for all you do.
–Corinne, Emma, Chris, Michael, and the rest of the team
P.S. Here's an image of the "America Welcomes" sticker—just click here to get one free.
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with MoveOn?
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Contributions to MoveOn.org Civic Action are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. This email was sent to Eddie Alfaro on May 24, 2019. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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