Installation by Paola Mendoza. Photo by Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call.

Written by Jackson Bird

This week we’re doing an early, special edition of the reFRESH solely focused on the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. border and how you can take action.

What we’re checking out…

Many of us in the United States will spend tomorrow and this weekend celebrating the independence of our nation from the United Kingdom. It’s a celebration that is never not complicated due to the imperialist and genocidal history of our nation, but this year it feels particularly uncomfortable to be celebrating liberty and justice for all when our government is actively detaining people in increasingly inhumane conditions––people who were just seeking refuge in our supposedly great nation.

So this week, in lieu of updates from our speakers or our reFRESHing Talk of the Week, we want to use this space to share five ways you can take action.

Learn more about the situation by listening to this episode of The New York Times’ The Daily podcast taking a look inside the detention center in Clint, TX as well as the latest episode of WNYC’s The Takeaway with a former Border Patrol agent on the internal culture of the agency.

Share resources like United We Dream’s Know Your Power pages and the ACLU’s We Have Rights videos so you know how to protect yourself and others from run-ins with ICE.

Contact your legislator. RAICES has an online form and e-mail template available or you can use 5Calls.Org for a phonecall script.

Donate to organizations like RAICES, United We Dream, Mijente, and local bail funds through the National Bail Fund Network.

Don’t stop talking about it. Even as we celebrate this weekend, we can’t normalize what is happening in our country by forgetting about it. It’s appalling. It’s horrifying. And it’s unacceptable. As many of us spend time with our families, let’s remember the families who are not together and work to reunite them.

Go to UnitedWeDream.Org for more resources on specific situations and in multiple languages

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