PathWays PA Policy Blog

Several items in the news highlight the need to take action for immigrants and refugees this week: Children remain in detention facilities months after the family separation policy ended. 140 children are still detained, including 117 children whose parents were deported without them.    Asylum seekers are waiting weeks for initial interviews and waiting months for determinations about their cases. This wait was cited among the factors leading to the use of tear gas at the US-Mexico border over the weekend. Citizenship wait times have also increased. Take Action : HIAS offers a number of ways to take action: Join a HIAS briefing call on November 28 at 2pm EST for an overview of the current issues facing refugees and asylum seekers, and the ways you can get involved in taking action. RSVP required. Talking points to use with Congress Other action steps are available at  https://www.hias.org/take-action Welcoming America offers a series of actions y...

While the Senate chose to skip its usual August recess this year, the House is at home with its constituents - you. Why not take the time to meet with your legislators and tell them what you are thinking about? If you're not sure how to go about setting up a meeting (or what to do once you're there), check out our information below. Decide what you want to meet about: There's so many issues to discuss right now - healthcare ,  DACA , domestic violence and the Violence Against Women Act, paid family leave and the FAMILY Act , payday lending .... Think about what matters to you, and do a little research to learn more until you feel comfortable talking about it. Set up the meeting: Prosperity Now put together a great tool for setting up recess meetings, including a sample email and information on how to contact the scheduler in your legislator's office.  If you're uncomfortable with this format, you can make it simple - find your member of Congress here , a...

On Monday, Congress came to a bipartisan agreement to end the three day federal shutdown . The legislation included six years of funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP had been operating without funding since the end of September, and, without this budget agreement, states were at risk of running out of CHIP funding by March. The agreement came at a price, though. No action was taken on the Dreamers (although there was a promise made to address the issue), and, in three weeks, we may be back here again. The budget resolution passed only funds the budget through February 8, giving Congress a short window to make decisions on a long-term plan. Action Steps Ask Congress to pass a budget that invests in everyone.  Call Congress at (202) 224-3121. Here's a sample script: "My name is ___, and I live in ___'s district. I am calling today to share my feelings on the federal budget. OUr communities are relying on programs like SNAP, rental...

Like this post? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter ! **BREAKING NEWS - A judge issued a temporary ruling  blocking the end of DACA and requiring the Administration to keep accepting DACA renewal applications. But there is still work to be done - see below!** Last year, President Trump announced the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Under DACA, an executive action based on the Dream Act , recipients must have come to the United States as a child, be in school, and not have committed any crime. Since its inception, nearly 800,000 young people have signed up so that they could live, work, and study in the United States, the country they consider home. Now, 122 DACA recipients are losing their status each day . With the loss of the DACA status comes the end of DACA recipients' work authorization, the loss of their driver's licenses, and the possibility that they may be detained and deported. DACA has now become a key part of federal budget ...