Month: June 2018

MORNING MESSAGE

Jeff Bryant

Charter School Chain Wants Profits From Detained Children

Separating refugee and immigrant children from their parents at the border isn’t just a cruel injustice to the families affected; it’s also good business, and the latest enterprise wanting in on the action is a Texas-based charter school chain connected to the operator of detention centers reaping the biggest share of federal government contracts. In developing its collaboration of charter schools with migrant children detention centers, Southwest Key seems to be perverting the idea of an authentic prison-to-school pipeline designed to rescue children from deep injustices and harm. Instead of behaving as a public institution operating altruistically for the benefit of these vulnerable and traumatized children, Southwest Key is following in the pathway of an opportunistic industry.

ACLU Hosts Texas Border Protests

“>ACLU hosts hundreds at ‘Keeping Families Together’ immigration rally in Texas. USA Today:“On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas, along with several pro-immigrant organizations from around Texas, partnered for a protest rally in front of the federal courthouse in Brownsville. The rally brought hundreds from Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, as well as major cities from across the country. Titled “Keeping Families Together,” the rally aimed at keeping the conversation about immigrant rights alive in the national arena. Organizers spoke on behalf of immigrant parents they have met in the last month, including one named Velma from Guatemala. “Donde estan mis hijos?” asked Christina Patino Houle, RGV Equal Voice Network on behalf of the immigrant woman who was detained on May 22 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and separated from her son. The event was the brainchild of Natalie Montelongo, a Brownsville native and national campaign strategist for immigrant rights for the ACLU.”

Both Sides Gird For SCOTUS Fight

The fate of the Supreme Court could ride on these 2 senators. Politico: “Sen. Susan Collins took a notable phone call Thursday as she enters the eye of the Supreme Court confirmation storm: It was White House counsel Don McGahn, sounding out the moderate Maine Republican in what she called a “preliminary discussion” of the high court vacancy. Republicans control the Senate by a single seat and Arizona Sen. John McCain has been absent for months. That means any single GOP senator has enormous sway over President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick. None matter more than Collins and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who also received her own call from McGahn on Thursday. Then on Thursday evening, the two were part of a small group of bipartisan senators to meet directly with the president himself. A year ago, the two moderate Republicans, along with McCain, stopped Obamacare repeal in its tracks while helping to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Now, as they weigh how to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, the two are about to be squeezed more than ever — by liberals seeking a Republican to stop the court from outlawing abortion rights, among other potential conservative rulings, and by their fellow Republicans looking for a show of party unity on a hugely consequential vote. But the two senators said Thursday they won’t simply fall in line behind whomever Trump nominates.”

Some ICE Agents Want Agency Abolished

More than a dozen ICE agents call to dissolve agency. The Hill: “More than a dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents have signed a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen calling to eliminate ICE and shift its work to another bureau. At least 19 ICE investigators signed the letter to Nielsen, saying they were concerned that the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration was preventing them from carrying out the agency’s other duties. Investigators “have been perceived as targeting undocumented aliens, instead of the transnational criminal organizations that facilitate cross border crimes impacting our communities and national security,” the letter states. The agents who signed the letter are members of Homeland Security Investigations, a section of ICE.”

Riot Police At Portland ICE Protests

Protests at Portland ICE facility draw federal agents in riot gear. CBS: “Department of Homeland Security agents formed a barricade around an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, after protesters blocked access to the facility. Protesters have been gathering outside the facility for over a week. Trevor Ault of CBS affiliate KOIN-TV.”

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MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

How to Cover a Revolution

“RED ALERT,” read the New York Post’s headline after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s primary victory over Joe Crowley, a ten-term incumbent in the 14th Congressional District. Powerful Democrats were undoubtedly rocked by the triumphs of Ocasio-Cortez and others from the populist left. These voters don’t want the corporate-friendly candidates that big money buys. Democrats should stop chasing paydays, and start chasing people instead. Party leaders and journalists, take note.

SCOTUS Swing Vote Kennedy Retires

Kennedy’s retirement could open the door to new attack on legal abortion. NBC: “President Donald Trump has long vowed to nominate Supreme Court justices who would work to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. He now has his chance. The retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, a swing vote who sometimes sided with his liberal colleagues on contentious social issues, sets up what is likely to be a bitter political fight over abortion heading into the fall midterm elections. Abortion rights advocates issued dire warnings. The ‘right to access abortion in this country is on the line,’ the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said. And Trump’s pledge “should set off alarm bells for anyone who cares about women,” said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy group.”

Kennedy Upheld Gay Rights, Also Guns, Big Money

Kennedy’s legacy: gay rights, unbridled money in politics. The Intercept: “While appointed by Ronald Reagan, and quite conservative, Kennedy has occasionally been a wild card. For instance, he wrote the opinion for the 5-4 majority in Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. He likewise authored the majority decision in Boumediene v. Bush, where the Court held that prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay had the right to habeas corpus review. But Kennedy’s greatest legacy will likely be writing the notorious 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which declared that the First Amendment prohibits restrictions on so-called “independent expenditures” by corporations and unions. Kennedy’s ruling contains some of the silliest, wackiest, most preposterous pronouncements in the tens of millions of words extruded by the Supreme Court in its 229-year history.”

Unions Gird For Fight After Janus

After Supreme Court loss, school-employees unions gird for fight to keep their members. LA Times: “Leaders of school employee unions in California and nationwide know the future after Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision to strike down mandatory union fees: They’ll have to fight hard in faculty lounges, custodial offices and school bus depots to hold onto each member as anti-union forces try to pull them away. The battle over school employees will be intense in California, where their unions, fueled by member dues, have long been a political force. Their strength has helped the state remain a bastion of liberalism and labor-friendly policy even as labor’s fortunes have suffered elsewhere. Declining enrollment and the growth of mostly non-union charter schools has already made inroads on membership of local unions, including United Teachers Los Angeles. Teachers union membership in L.A. Unified has dropped from 42,000 to 31,000 since 2007, according to the school system. Now anti-union forces funded by conservatives and corporate interests plan an aggressive campaign to reduce union clout, even to “deliver the mortal blow” as one fundraising appeal put it.”

Fed Inspectors Audit Trump Family Separations

Federal officials launch two reviews into Trump’s handling of migrant children. Politico: “The GAO and the Health and Human Services inspector general both launched reviews Wednesday into the Trump administration’s handling of thousands of migrant children separated from their families at the border. The GAO told Rep. Frank Pallone (N.J.) that it will audit the systems and processes used to track families as they were separated, including how the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement monitored each minor in its care, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO. Pallone, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, last week urged GAO to audit HHS and the Department of Homeland Security as the agencies work to reunite children in their custody with their parents. President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week purporting to rescind the separation policy, but agencies said they lacked the authority to put families back together. Meanwhile, the HHS inspector general announced that it will review the safety and health protections in the agency’s shelters for migrant children. Senate Democrats last week called for the review, citing reports that some children were receiving substandard care.”

More from OurFuture.org:

New York, New York, What a Less than Wonderful Town. Sam Pizzigati: “The ultimate real-life test of “trickle down” — the notion that we all prosper when the rich get richer — may well be New York. The Big Apple, after all, certainly abounds in rich getting richer. No city in the world now hosts more of humanity’s super rich. Researchers at Wealth-X last month put the New York billionaire total at 103, ten more than Hong Kong. Top 1 percenters in New York overall are now taking in over 40 percent of the city’s income, about double the top 1 percent’s income share nationally in the United States. Numbers like these don’t happen by accident. Local and state officials in New York have worked diligently for decades to make their city as attractive as possible to the ten-digit set. But there are toxicities we inevitably nourish when we set no limits on how much our awesomely affluent can grab and pocket. Ever-widening gaps between our richest and everyone else, the story of contemporary New York helps us see, stretch our social fabric. At some point, that fabric will tear. Can’t we just mend any torn social fabric? Easier said than done when the rich hold most all the thread.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

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MORNING MESSAGE

Larry Stafford

Go Bold, Ben: A Progressive Earthquake Shakes Maryland

A Progressive earthquake just shook Maryland’s establishment politics to their core. Ben Jealous’s primary victory puts Maryland within striking distance of the progressive governor we deserve and need. His victory marks the ascendance of a movement that’s grounded in progressive values, led by women and people of color, to shape a new direction for politics that breathes new life into the electoral system, in our state and beyond. Go bold, Ben. You demonstrate when you really tap into our state’s electorate with progressive ideas, you can win.

SCOTUS Rules Against Workers In Janus

Supreme Court rules non-union workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public sector unions. CNBC: “The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that non-union workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public sector unions. ‘Compelling individuals to mouth support for views they find objectionable violates that cardinal constitutional command, and in most contexts, any such effort would be universally condemned,’ wrote Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the court’s opinion in the case, Janus v. AFSCME. The case, one of the most hotly anticipated of the term, is the second in two days to hand a major victory to conservatives, following Tuesday’s holding by the court that President Donald Trump’s travel ban is constitutional. Some experts have said that a holding in favor of Janus would be the most significant court decision affecting collective bargaining in decades.”

Upstart Ocasio Defeats NY Dem Incumbent Crowley

Crowley surprise tops huge night for left. The HillP “Veteran Rep. Joe Crowley’s (D-N.Y.) stunning defeat on Tuesday night rocked the political world, as progressive candidates stormed to victory in primaries held across the country. Crowley, the chairman of the House Democratic caucus who was seen as a potential future speaker, lost in a massive upset to progressive challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old organizer for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign. Other liberal candidates won primary challenges in top House and gubernatorial races. Former NAACP President Ben Jealous, who was endorsed by Sanders, won the Democratic primary in Maryland’s governor race. And activist Dana Balter won her House primary in upstate New York. Those victories illustrate that voters have an appetite to buck the political establishment, as progressives seek to move the Democratic Party farther to the left.”

Families Must Be Reunited, Judge Says

Judge orders U.S. to reunite families, stop border separations. NBC: “A federal judge in San Diego ordered immigration agents on Tuesday to stop separating migrant parents and children who have crossed the border from Mexico and to work to reunite families that have already been split up while in custody. U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by an anonymous woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo and backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which pursued it as a class action as U.S. authorities began a “zero tolerance” policy in early May. President Donald Trump issued an executive order to end the family separations last Wednesday, but the government has yet to reunite about 2,000 children with their parents.”

Azar Says HHS “Can’t” Reunite Families

Top official says government can’t reunite migrant families under current law. The Hill: “The head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Tuesday he is powerless to reunite migrant children with their parents unless Congress changes the laws regarding detention time limits. Under questioning from Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, HHS Secretary Alex Azar indicated it’s the responsibility of Congress or the courts to reunite the 2,047 migrant children still in the agency’s custody. ‘We are working to get all these kids ready to be placed back with their parents as soon as Congress passes a change, or if those parents complete their immigration proceedings,’ Azar said. ‘We do not want any children separated from their parents any longer than necessary under the law.’ Current law says families can’t be detained for more than 20 days. If a parent is in immigration detention with the Department of Homeland Security for longer than 20 days, their children must be placed in the custody of HHS. That agreement, known as the Flores settlement, dates back to 1997, but last week the Department of Justice asked a federal district court to modify it amid the current border crisis. ‘I cannot reunite them, though, while the parents are in custody because of the court order that doesn’t allow the kids to be with their parents for more than 20 days. We need Congress to fix that,’ Azar said.

SCOTUS Upholds Muslim Ban

Supreme Court upholds Trump travel ban. WaPo: “The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that President Trump has the authority to ban travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries if he thinks it is necessary to protect the United States, a victory in what has been a priority since Trump’s first weeks in office and a major affirmation of presidential power. The vote was 5 to 4, with conservatives in the majority and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. finding that a string of unprecedented comments and warnings from Trump about Muslims did not erode the president’s vast powers to control entry into this country. The president reacted on Twitter: ‘SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP TRAVEL BAN. Wow!’”

House To Vote On Immigration Bill

Ryan says House to vote Wednesday on immigration. NPR: “House Speaker Paul Ryan said the House will vote Wednesday on a broad Republican immigration bill. But he’s not predicting it passes. The Wisconsin Republican told reporters Tuesday the measure contains “the seeds of consensus” among Republicans on immigration. He said those issues will be dealt with “hopefully now, but if not, later.” The bill’s defeat seems likely. Ryan is also declining to discuss a narrower bill Republicans are considering that would focus on curbing the Trump administration’s separation of migrant families when they enter the U.S. illegally. He said discussing that bill would ‘undercut’ leaders’ efforts to win votes for the wider-ranging measure. It would give young immigrants a chance at citizenship, fund President Donald Trump’s border wall and require the government to keep migrant families together.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW

MORNING MESSAGE

Larry Stafford

Go Bold, Ben: A Progressive Earthquake Shakes Maryland

A Progressive earthquake just shook Maryland’s establishment politics to their core. Ben Jealous’s primary victory puts Maryland within striking distance of the progressive governor we deserve and need. His victory marks the ascendance of a movement that’s grounded in progressive values, led by women and people of color, to shape a new direction for politics that breathes new life into the electoral system, in our state and beyond. Go bold, Ben. You demonstrate when you really tap into our state’s electorate with progressive ideas, you can win.

SCOTUS Rules Against Workers In Janus

Supreme Court rules non-union workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public sector unions. CNBC: “The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that non-union workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public sector unions. ‘Compelling individuals to mouth support for views they find objectionable violates that cardinal constitutional command, and in most contexts, any such effort would be universally condemned,’ wrote Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the court’s opinion in the case, Janus v. AFSCME. The case, one of the most hotly anticipated of the term, is the second in two days to hand a major victory to conservatives, following Tuesday’s holding by the court that President Donald Trump’s travel ban is constitutional. Some experts have said that a holding in favor of Janus would be the most significant court decision affecting collective bargaining in decades.”

Upstart Ocasio Defeats NY Dem Incumbent Crowley

Crowley surprise tops huge night for left. The HillP “Veteran Rep. Joe Crowley’s (D-N.Y.) stunning defeat on Tuesday night rocked the political world, as progressive candidates stormed to victory in primaries held across the country. Crowley, the chairman of the House Democratic caucus who was seen as a potential future speaker, lost in a massive upset to progressive challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old organizer for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign. Other liberal candidates won primary challenges in top House and gubernatorial races. Former NAACP President Ben Jealous, who was endorsed by Sanders, won the Democratic primary in Maryland’s governor race. And activist Dana Balter won her House primary in upstate New York. Those victories illustrate that voters have an appetite to buck the political establishment, as progressives seek to move the Democratic Party farther to the left.”

Families Must Be Reunited, Judge Says

Judge orders U.S. to reunite families, stop border separations. NBC: “A federal judge in San Diego ordered immigration agents on Tuesday to stop separating migrant parents and children who have crossed the border from Mexico and to work to reunite families that have already been split up while in custody. U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by an anonymous woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo and backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which pursued it as a class action as U.S. authorities began a “zero tolerance” policy in early May. President Donald Trump issued an executive order to end the family separations last Wednesday, but the government has yet to reunite about 2,000 children with their parents.”

Azar Says HHS “Can’t” Reunite Families

Top official says government can’t reunite migrant families under current law. The Hill: “The head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Tuesday he is powerless to reunite migrant children with their parents unless Congress changes the laws regarding detention time limits. Under questioning from Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, HHS Secretary Alex Azar indicated it’s the responsibility of Congress or the courts to reunite the 2,047 migrant children still in the agency’s custody. ‘We are working to get all these kids ready to be placed back with their parents as soon as Congress passes a change, or if those parents complete their immigration proceedings,’ Azar said. ‘We do not want any children separated from their parents any longer than necessary under the law.’ Current law says families can’t be detained for more than 20 days. If a parent is in immigration detention with the Department of Homeland Security for longer than 20 days, their children must be placed in the custody of HHS. That agreement, known as the Flores settlement, dates back to 1997, but last week the Department of Justice asked a federal district court to modify it amid the current border crisis. ‘I cannot reunite them, though, while the parents are in custody because of the court order that doesn’t allow the kids to be with their parents for more than 20 days. We need Congress to fix that,’ Azar said.

SCOTUS Upholds Muslim Ban

Supreme Court upholds Trump travel ban. WaPo: “The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that President Trump has the authority to ban travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries if he thinks it is necessary to protect the United States, a victory in what has been a priority since Trump’s first weeks in office and a major affirmation of presidential power. The vote was 5 to 4, with conservatives in the majority and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. finding that a string of unprecedented comments and warnings from Trump about Muslims did not erode the president’s vast powers to control entry into this country. The president reacted on Twitter: ‘SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP TRAVEL BAN. Wow!’”

House To Vote On Immigration Bill

Ryan says House to vote Wednesday on immigration. NPR: “House Speaker Paul Ryan said the House will vote Wednesday on a broad Republican immigration bill. But he’s not predicting it passes. The Wisconsin Republican told reporters Tuesday the measure contains “the seeds of consensus” among Republicans on immigration. He said those issues will be dealt with “hopefully now, but if not, later.” The bill’s defeat seems likely. Ryan is also declining to discuss a narrower bill Republicans are considering that would focus on curbing the Trump administration’s separation of migrant families when they enter the U.S. illegally. He said discussing that bill would ‘undercut’ leaders’ efforts to win votes for the wider-ranging measure. It would give young immigrants a chance at citizenship, fund President Donald Trump’s border wall and require the government to keep migrant families together.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW

MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

For Immigrant Children, Empathy Is Not Enough

As I write these words, my family is welcoming its newest member into this world. The joy of a new child’s birth heightens our natural human instinct for empathy. It makes it even more shocking that we now witness the brutality of a government – our government – as takes children, some as young as eighteen months old, from their parents. Empathy is a beautiful thing, but for these children, empathy is not enough. It’s time to remember that we also bear historical and moral responsibilities for the plight of these children, so we can dedicate ourselves to stopping the violence against them in all its forms.

Border Officials Dial Back Migrant Prosecutions

Border officials suspend handing over migrant families to prosecutors. NYT: “The nation’s top border security official said Monday that his agency has temporarily stopped handing over migrant adults who cross the Mexican border with children for prosecution, undercutting claims by other Trump administration officials that “zero tolerance” for illegal immigration is still in place. Kevin K. McAleenan, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said his agency and the Justice Department should agree on a policy ‘where adults who bring their kids across the border — who violate our laws and risk their lives at the border — can be prosecuted without an extended separation from their children.’ Because Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not have enough detention space for the surge of families crossing the border, many families will be quickly released, with a promise to return for a court hearing. Mr. McAleenan said that the agency would continue to refer single adults for prosecution for illegally crossing the border, and that border agents would also separate children from adults if the child is in danger or if the adult has a criminal record.”

Senate Leaders Aim For Immigration Compromise

Senate negotiators aiming to craft border bill over July 4 recess. The Hill: “A bipartisan group of senators taking the lead on immigration negotiations said they will request a briefing from Trump administration officials on the border crisis and then try to come up with compromise language over the July 4 recess. Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) met Monday evening with Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) to lay the groundwork for legislation. ‘We’d like to get a briefing that outlines the process [so] that everybody knows what it is and that’s correct, because my sense is no one knows,’ Feinstein said, referring to confusion on Capitol Hill about what the administration’s process is for handling families and other migrants who cross the border illegally. The administration has been criticized for a lack of transparency, with some lawmakers being denied entry to detention facilities where immigrant families are held.”

Battle For Congress In Seven States

Battle for control of U.S. Congress advances in seven states. Reuters: “A bitterly personal matchup in New York between a convicted felon seeking to reclaim his congressional seat from a former prosecutor is among dozens of key races in seven U.S. states on Tuesday, as voters pick candidates for November elections that will determine control of Congress. Voters in Colorado, Maryland, South Carolina, Utah, Oklahoma and Mississippi will also select competitors for the Nov. 6 elections, when Democrats will seek to wrest control of Congress from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party. Democrats need to flip 23 of 435 seats to gain control of the House of Representatives, which would stymie much of Trump’s agenda while opening up new avenues of investigation into his administration. They would have to net two seats to take the Senate, but face longer odds there, according to analysts.”

Supreme Court Votes For Gerrymandering

Supreme Court upholds political gerrymandering. NPR: “The Supreme Court again weighed in on gerrymandering Monday, this time ruling that Texas’ political map passes muster, except for one legislative district that was ruled unconstitutional. It’s a mess because it has pingponged back and forth between two separate three-judge federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. The bottom line, though, is that even though the lower court ruled districts in and around Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio had been drawn to minimize minority voting power, the Supreme Court only agreed about one state legislative district. Indeed, Republican Governor Greg Abbott gleefully tweeted today, our legislative maps are legal; Democrats lost their redistricting and voter ID claims. If today’s ruling were just about Texas, it would be important but not huge. The 5 to 4 decision, however, could have major repercussions. Five years ago, the Supreme Court, by a similar 5 to 4 split, struck down a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Back then, Chief Justice John Roberts downplayed the effect of that decision, noting that there are many other provisions of the law that give minority voters the right to sue if their voting rights are minimized. But election expert Rick Hasen of UC Irvine says those promises ring hollow after today’s decision.”

WH Diverts Criticism Into Debate Over Civility

Sarah Huckabee Sanders adopts the mantle of grievance. Politico: “Amid the ongoing family separation crisis, the White House press secretary focused the national conversation on her ejection from a restaurant over the policy. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who often has the impossible job of speaking on behalf of an improvisational president, on Monday gave herself an easier gig: She presented herself as the spokeswoman for civility. In her first press briefing in a week — she had not fielded questions since President Donald Trump caved on his signature “zero tolerance” immigration stance and signed a hastily drafted executive order ending family separations at the border — Sanders first chose to address a personal experience from over the weekend, when she was asked to leave a restaurant, the Red Hen, in Lexington, Virginia, because of the staff’s disagreement with the policies she helps promote.”

Hill Gridlock Looms

Trump’s domestic gridlock. Axios: “For President Trump’s first term, the domestic agenda appears to be all but over. Congress has little chance of doing anything notable before the election, beyond confirming judges. Whichever party ekes out a House win in November, the margin will likely be narrow. When we game out 2019 scenarios with administration officials, a number of them assume Republicans will lose the House. So Washington is gridlocked until at least January 2021 — meaning that this is it for signature legislation in Trump’s first term. The idea of Trump shifting into bipartisan mode post-election seems unimaginable. He has chosen a strategy of hot partisan warfare that looks impossible to cool. If Democrats win the House, it’s two years of subpoenas and impeachment talk. The biggest domestic accomplishment, tax reform, is behind him. So Trump — frustrated with a hopelessly dysfunctional Congress and unable to understand why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) doesn’t get rid of the legislative filibuster — is turning away from Capitol Hill and towards unilateral actions and foreign affairs. He has grown obsessed with executive orders, constantly hounding staff for ways to fix things like the border crisis without Congress. But there are strict limits on what any president can do alone.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

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MORNING MESSAGE

Tim Wilkins

How I Met Detained Minors on My Flight From Dallas

I first saw them sitting as a group in Terminal B at Dallas International Airport. Clean-cut young teens in matching sweatsuits – must be a volleyball team from a private middle school, I thought. When we got on the plane, I noticed their green wristbands and matching rubber shoes. This was no volleyball team; these were detained minors, separated from their families. I spoke with them and their handlers, and learned this is a daily occurrence. These children are polite, clean-cut, and very scared. Why? Because now, thanks to us, they’re orphans. Mr. President, these are children, not animals. This must end now.

20,000 Children To Be Housed By Military

Pentagon will make room for up to 20,000 migrant children on military bases. WaPo: “The Defense Department will house up to 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children on military bases in coming months, a Pentagon official said Thursday, the latest twist in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement effort. The agreement comes after the Department of Health and Human Services made the request. Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a military spokesman, said Thursday that the Pentagon will support it. In a notification to lawmakers, the Pentagon said Wednesday night that officials at HHS asked whether beds could be provided for children at military installations ‘for occupancy as early as July through December 31, 2018.’”

DOJ Wants Indefinite Detention Of Families

DOJ Takes First Steps Toward Indefinite Detention Of Families. HuffPost: “The Trump administration is now fighting in court for the ability to lock up migrant children indefinitely — along with their parents. The Department of Justice filed an emergency motion in federal court on Thursday to modify a 1997 settlement that prevents the government from detaining migrant children longer than 20 days. Ending the limitations on the length of time kids can be detained, the administration argues, is the only tenable alternative to splitting up families that are apprehended crossing the border illegally. Although the Trump administration argues the changes it outlined on Thursday are the only way to end family separations, the filing suggests parents and kids could be split up again down the road.”

Government Reshuffle A Path To Social Service Cuts

Trump to propose government reorganization, targeting safety net programs. NYT: “President Trump plans to propose a reorganization of the federal government as early as Thursday that includes a possible merger of the Education and Labor Departments, coupled with a reshuffling of other domestic agencies to make them easier to cut or revamp, according to administration officials briefed on the proposal. The plan, which will most likely face significant opposition in Congress from Democrats and some Republicans, includes relocating many social safety net programs into a new megadepartment, which would replace the Department of Health and Human Services and possibly include the word “welfare” in its title. Mr. Trump and his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, the architect of the plan, have sought to redefine as welfare subsistence benefit programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and housing aid. It is part of a rebranding effort, championed by conservative think tanks and House Republicans, to link them to unpopular direct-cash assistance programs that have traditionally been called welfare.”

House Vote On Immigration Bill Delayed

House vote on “compromise” immigration bill delayed until next week. CBS: “Republicans’ efforts to overhaul immigration isn’t going as smoothly as they hoped. After a vote on the more conservative of two GOP proposals failed Thursday, a vote on the more moderate “compromise” bill was pushed off to Friday — and then to next week. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, told reporters Thursday evening that more issues need to be worked out before the House takes up a vote, after House Republicans met to discuss the matter Thursday afternoon. Asked if the House would take up a vote on the compromise bill Friday, Scalise said, ‘Right now we’re going to keep working with our members.’”

Federal Judge Rules CFPB ‘Unconstitutional’

Federal judge rules that CFPB’s structure is unconstitutional. CNN: “A federal judge says the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan objected to the CFPB’s setup as an independent agency with a single director who can be fired by the president only for cause, not at will. In January, a federal appeals court in Washington said that structure is legal. Preska said she disagreed. The immediate effect of the ruling appears to be limited. It means the CFPB can’t be party to a lawsuit about a company accused of scamming 9/11 first responders. The New York attorney general, who was also a plaintiff, can move forward with the case. But the judge’s decision adds fodder to the political fight over the independence of the CFPB, which was established after the financial crisis to safeguard Americans against predatory financial institutions.”

More from OurFuture.org:

A Shining ‘City On a Hill’ Must Treat Immigrants Humanely. Leo Gerard: “By signing an executive order ending forced separation of immigrant families, President Donald Trump has admitted that this cruel practice was his administration’s policy and that he could have stopped it at any time. Despite having the power to stop taking children from parents, the Republican administration enforced the practice since April, splitting more than 2,300 youngsters, some just months-old babies, from their mothers and fathers. The administration continued to enforce it even after photographs showed toddlers wailing, and some parents were deported without their children and without information about how to find or reunite with them. A nation of immigrants bears an obligation to do better. If we are to be a “shining city on a hill”, the United States must do better.”

Imagining a Safe Haven for Our Children. Jacqueline Bediako: “Arrive on the scene. Shoot. Bang. Dead child. Gone forever. Mother crying. Blood pressure, spiked. Doom, imminent. Siblings, distraught. Funeral. This predictable chain of events is what seems to happen when police officers arrive on the scene. Calling the police doesn’t seem to protect Black children, in fact it does quite the opposite. We’ve seen children killed by police. Children of color also face disparities in access to good food, housing, education, healthcare and transport. We need to imagine a safe haven for our children, which doesn’t involve the police.”

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MORNING MESSAGE

George Goehl

How Scapegoating Immigrants Hurts All Workers

While many Americans believe Donald Trump’s policy of separating families at the border to be cruel and unnecessary, the administration is also counting on a number of Americans to ask: What about my own family? Seeing millions rally for immigrant children newly arriving to the United States, some may want to know what’s being done for the families that are already here who can’t make ends meet. It’s a valid question – but one that too often results in a race to the bottom that hurts all workers and their children.

Trump Says Immigrants ‘Infest” U.S.

Trump ramps up rhetoric: Dems want ‘illegal immigrants’ to ‘infest our country’. CNN: “President Donald Trump amplified his heated immigration rhetoric on Tuesday, accusing Democrats of wanting migrants to ‘infest our country’ and turning a speech on the economy into an angry tirade defending his harsh stance. It was a reflection of Trump’s growing frustration that the family separation crisis roiling his administration has led to accusations of child abuse and heartlessness. Privately, Trump has insisted he is right to push forward with a practice that has drawn outcry from across the political spectrum In a morning tweet, Trump used language evoking images of pests, not human beings, when describing migrants approaching the US border. ‘Democrats are the problem,’ he wrote. ‘They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!’ he wrote.”

DHS Sec. Nielsen Denies Family Separations

Nielsen was a target of Trump’s immigration ire. Now she’s his protector. NYT: “This week, confronted by images of children in cages after they had been separated from their families at the Southwest border, Ms. Nielsen served as a shield for the Trump administration against global criticism for its hard-line attempts to discourage illegal immigration. Smiling as she took the White House lectern on Monday, Ms. Nielsen read from a script defending Mr. Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy, which has separated 2,300 children from their parents yet failed to reduce the number of families trying to cross the border. She falsely said that Mr. Trump’s family separation strategy was not administration policy, wrongly insisting it was the result of legal ‘loopholes’ that only Congress can fix. Asked whether images of young children packed into detention centers and an audiotape of them keening for their parents were intended or unintended consequences of the administration’s decision making, Ms. Nielsen replied: ‘They reflect the focus of those who post such pictures and narratives. The narratives we don’t see are the narratives of the crime.’ Asked ‘how is this not child abuse,’ she responded coolly, ‘Be more specific, please.’”

Tent Cities Cost More Than Keeping Families Together

Trump admin’s ‘tent cities’ cost more than keeping migrant kids with parents. NBC: “The cost of holding migrant children who have been separated from their parents in newly created “tent cities” is $775 per person per night, according to an official at the Department of Health and Human Services — far higher than the cost of keeping children with their parents in detention centers or holding them in more permanent buildings. The reason for the high cost, the official and several former officials told NBC News, is that the sudden urgency to bring in security, air conditioning, medical workers and other government contractors far surpasses the cost for structures that are routinely staffed. It costs $256 per person per night to hold children in permanent HHS facilities like Casa Padre in Brownsville, Texas. And keeping children with their parents in detention centers like the one run by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in Dilley, Texas cost $298 per resident per night, according to an agency estimate when it awarded the contract for the facility in 2014. At those prices, the additional cost to operate a 400-bed temporary structure for one month at capacity would be more than $5 million. The average stay for separated kids is nearly two months.”

WH Touts Skimpy Health Plans

Trump administration puts skimpy health insurance plans in place. Reuters: “The Trump administration on Tuesday issued a finalized rule that will enable millions of Americans to buy skimpy health insurance plans that do not comply with key Obamacare coverage requirements, marking its latest effort to chip away at the healthcare law. The rule, which the U.S. Department of Labor will post Tuesday, allows small businesses and those who are self-employed to band together and buy lower-cost health insurance policies, similar to large employers. But these insurance plans would not be subject to requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly called Obamacare, which included mandatory coverage for a set of 10 essential health benefits, such as maternity and newborn care, prescription drug costs and mental health treatment. They are expected to be far less expensive than Obamacare plans. Health providers, insurers and medical groups have warned that the plans could drive up premiums and make insurance unaffordable for some people by siphoning off healthy consumers who want cheaper coverage, leaving behind a sicker patient pool with higher medical costs in Obamacare plans.”

More from OurFuture.org:

Donald Trump Has an Ugly Midterm Strategy And Democrats Need to be Ready. Robert Borosage: We are headed into what is sure to be one of the most vile electoral battles in recent history. Trump will purposefully nationalize the midterms, and cowed Republicans will fall in line. This will be a ‘base-plus election,’ (Steve) Bannon argued. Trump will be ‘on the ballot in every congressional district.’ It will be an up-down vote on Trump; ‘Trump or Pelosi’—impeachment or continue the Trump course. Trump will reprise the themes of 2016: Trump against the failed political class, America First against the feckless elite globalists, and, of course, the politics of racial fear and division. Trump will take credit for the economy, touting the benefits of his top-end tax cuts. But, Bannon warns Republicans, ‘ads on tax cuts alone [are] not going to resonate.’ The key is Trump’s right-wing nationalist populism. Trump will posture on trade, take on the Chinese, stand up for the American worker, and claim that companies are coming back home. ‘The wall,’ Bannon argued, is central to this. It is more than ‘totemic.’ Immigration ‘is about not just sovereignty. It’s about jobs,’ Bannon said.”

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MORNING MESSAGE

Tim Wilkins

Children Say NO! to Family Separations by ICE

Every child understands the pain losing one’s loved ones – even for a moment – can cause. So children have plenty to say about the U.S. government’s separation of thousands of migrant families, with no promise to parents or children they’ll ever see each other again. That’s why children wanted to play a leading role in our Father’s Day protest at the Ursula Border Patrol Processing Center in McAllen, Texas. They joined a delegation of Congressional Democrats to demand an immediate end to family separations.

Trump Digs In On Separating Families

Why Trump is digging in on separating families at the border. CNN: “Logic suggests that the White House, under crushing political pressure, would be forced to back down on its hardline immigration policy amid outrage over searing depictions of kids separated from their parents at the southern border. But while the swirling political crisis over the ‘zero tolerance’ approach to undocumented migrants might convince a conventional White House to seek a way out, this administration is so far digging in. It is sticking to a strategy of falsely blaming Democrats and past administrations for a practice that it decided to adopt and could change anytime it wanted to. ‘The United States will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility,’ President Donald Trump declared on Monday. A climbdown on this issue would represent more than a huge embarrassment for the President. It would undermine his political image and philosophy and require him to admit he’s wrong and to temper instincts that force him to counterattack.”

All 5 First Ladies Speak Against Family Separations

All 5 first ladies speak out against family-separation immigration policy. ABC: “All five living first ladies have weighed in on the the Trump administration’s immigration policy this week, an unusual move even as Melania Trump had her spokeswoman issue a statement on it. The policy of separating children from their family members when they cross the border illegally has prompted debate in Washington, with many rights groups calling the practice inhumane. The Trump administration has said it’s simply enforcing a law to prosecute adults that come into the U.S. illegally and that children cannot be housed with adults while they are going through the criminal process.”

China Trade War Escalates

Europe and Asia markets slide after Trump threatens new tariffs on Chinese products. WaPo:“European markets opened down and Asian ones dipped dramatically after President Trump threatened China with tariffs on $200 billion in products, renewing fears of an all-out trade war that could hit the global economy. ‘Asian countries that have close trade ties to China such as South Korea and Japan are bracing for side effects of the trade war,’ said Park Jin-woo, a researcher at Seoul’s Center for Trade Studies at the Korea International Trade Association. Dips in Asia, and then in Europe, sparked concern that U.S. markets could also take a Tuesday morning hit.”

Supreme Court Punts On Gerrymandering

The Supreme Court decided not to decide Wisconsin’s gerrymandering case. But here’s why it will be back. WaPo: “On Monday, the Supreme Court surprised observers by deciding not to decide Gill v. Whitford, the high-profile case about partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin. Instead, the court remanded the case back to Wisconsin district court to give the plaintiffs “an opportunity” to provide better evidence about whether they had the right to bring the suit at all. That means the litigation about partisan gerrymandering is likely to continue. While any subsequent decision will come too late to affect the 2018 elections, it’s certainly possible cases will be decided in time to affect the 2020 elections… (Justice) Kagan suggested a First Amendment argument could allow the Democratic Party or other political groups to have standing as plaintiffs, enabling them to represent members across the state. For example, members of the disadvantaged party might complain that a biased legislative map harmed its ability to mobilize supporters or recruit candidates to run for the legislature. This would switch the focus from the individual whose vote was diluted to the political party whose functions were undermined.”

Kobach Ordered To Attend Remedial Legal Classes

Kris Kobach ordered to attend legal classes for violating basic legal concepts. ThinkProgress: “A federal judge on Tuesday struck down Kansas Secretary of State and notorious voter suppression architect Kris Kobach’s documentary proof of citizenship law, and ordered Kobach, who decided to represent himself in the litigation and repeatedly violated basic rules of civil procedure, to attend six hours of continuing legal education classes. During trial in March, Kobach argued that he had evidence that a significant number of non-citizens were registering to vote in Kansas. The only way to prevent this type of voter fraud, he argued, was his law which required voters to show a proof-of-citizenship document like a passport or birth certificate when they registered to vote. The ACLU, which represented the voters in the lawsuit, argued that the law disenfranchised eligible voters, especially students and low-income citizens. According to the ACLU, the Kansas law blocked more than 35,000 people in that state from casting a ballot between 2013 and 2016 — about 14 percent of all new voter registrations.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

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MORNING MESSAGE

Leo Gerard

Where’s that $4,000 Raise the GOP Promised Workers?

When Republicans in Congress passed a big, fat tax break bill in December, they insisted it meant American workers would get raises totaling $4,000 to $9,000. But something bad happened to workers on their way to the repository. They never got that money. In fact, their real wages declined because of higher inflation. At the same time, the amount workers had to pay in interest on loans for cars and credit cards increased. And, to top it off, Republicans threatened to make workers pay for the tax break with cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. So now, workers across America are wondering, “Where’s that raise?” It’s nowhere to be found.

Father’s Day Vigil At McAllen Detention Center

Groups demand Trump administration end separation of families during McAllen vigil. KCBS:“Families from across the Rio Grande Valley made their voices heard during a vigil in McAllen on Sunday afternoon. Several groups attended the vigil including the National Domestic Workers Alliance, United We Dream, the ACLU, America’s Voice, People’s Action, Women’s Refugee Commission, Faith in Action, Women’s Refugee Commission, La Union Del Pueblo Enter and NETA. During the vigil, the groups called upon the Trump administration to end the ‘cruel’ policies of separating parents from their children at the border and traumatizing immigrant families. George Goehl, who is the Director of People’s Action, said during the vigil, ‘This administration has been off the rails since Day 1 but this is a new kind of off the rails. History shows us in situations like this if we do not stand up en masse and say, ‘this is not ok,’ it’s hard to get back on track. Our nations’ history is marked by moments where we heeded the call to stand down hatred and racism and there are moments where we didn’t show up. This is a moment when we can and must show up and shut this down. Here’s the thing, Donald Trump can make that happen immediately, this does not require an act of Congress, he can do this today right now on Father’s Day and we demand that he does just that.’”

Outrage Grows Over Family Separation

Outrage grows as families are separated. CNN: “The White House’s ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy and resulting separations of undocumented parents and kids is exploding into the most emotive and politically unpredictable test yet of President Donald Trump’s effort to change the character of America. As outrage grows over traumatic stories of families being torn apart, the big question this week in Washington is how long the controversial practice will be politically sustainable amid a wave of criticism.
A related issue is whether Trump will pay a political price for his false claim that the separations are the fault of Democrats, and not the result of his own administration’s change in how undocumented immigrants are treated. Those questions are likely to be shaped by increasing calls for the administration to consider the morality of separating families. It’s not just the usual Democrats who are criticizing the administration — some prominent Republicans, including first lady Melania Trump and former first lady Laura Bush, religious leaders and influential figures in Trump’s conservative evangelical base are also speaking out.”

Inside McAllen Detention Center

Inside look at Border Patrol facility in Texas housing hundreds of children. CBS: “Inside an old warehouse in South Texas, hundreds of children wait in a series of cages created by metal fencing. One cage had 20 children inside. Scattered about are bottles of water, bags of chips and large foil sheets intended to serve as blankets. One teenager told an advocate who visited that she was helping care for a young child she didn’t know because the child’s aunt was somewhere else in the facility. She said she had to show others in her cell how to change the girl’s diaper. The U.S. Border Patrol on Sunday allowed reporters, including CBS News correspondent David Begnaud, to briefly visit the 55,000-square foot facility.”

Leading GOP and Dem Lawmakers Unite Against Separations

Leading Republicans Join Democrats in Pushing Trump to Halt Family Separations. NYT:“Leading figures of both parties demanded on Sunday that President Trump halt his administration’s practice of separating children from their parents when apprehended at the border, as the issue further polarized the already divisive immigration debate in Washington. Republican lawmakers, the former first lady Laura Bush, a conservative newspaper and a onetime adviser to Mr. Trump joined Democrats in condemning family separations that have removed nearly 2,000 children from their parents in just six weeks. The administration argued that it was just enforcing the law, a false assertion that Mr. Trump has made repeatedly. The issue took on special resonance on Father’s Day as Democratic lawmakers visited detention facilities in Texas and New Jersey to protest the separations and the House prepared to take up immigration legislation this week. Pictures of children warehoused without their parents in facilities, including a converted Walmart store, have inflamed passions and put the administration on the defensive.”

Hundreds March To Texas Tent City Holding Detained Kids

Hundreds march To TX tent city holding kids. NPR: “With chants of “families united” and “free our children now,” hundreds of people marched to the tent city in Tornillo, Texas, where children have been detained for immigration violations. The Father’s Day march near El Paso was primarily organized by Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who is also running for Senate against Ted Cruz. He says the march was the brainchild of Veronica Escobar, who is running to fill his seat in the House, as well as other community leaders. The march came together on short notice: O’Rourke announced it late Friday. Protesters gathered at a port of entry from Mexico, on the U.S. side, to begin the march. ‘There were lots of families out,’ Monica Ortiz Uribe, a reporter who was covering the march, tells NPR. ‘I saw dads carrying sons on their shoulders, parents pulling their toddlers in wagons, and I saw also a young boy with a sign that said ‘Keep families together.’”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW

Join People’s Action to demand #JusticeOnFathersDay, #FamiliesBelongTogether

Every day, more families are being told there’s no room in the United States for those who seek refuge from violence. More than 1,800 children have been already separated from their parents at our borders and put in detention. This strikes at the heart of who we are as a nation, and a communities across the country are rising up to demand the Department of Justice end this practice now.
Join People’s Action this Father’s Day to demand an end family separation now!

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MORNING MESSAGE

George Goehl

Why I’m Going to the Border for Father’s Day

As more reports surface of children seeking asylum at our borders being separated from their parents, there has been much consideration of the impact and effect on children. As Father’s Day approaches, I can’t help but wonder how I would cope if my daughter was taken away from me. The thought of her feeling unprotected and abandoned is hard to fathom. That’s why I’ll be spending this Father’s Day at our southwest border, together with people who are as outraged as I am by Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions’ campaign to terrorize children who look to the United States, seeking nothing more than refuge. I believe we all hope to live in a world where delivering on a child’s expectation that their parents can make them safe is within reach for every child, and every family.

Protests Against Family Separations Spread Nationwide

Marches across the U.S. protest separation of migrant families. NYT: “Demonstrators in Los Angeles were joined by activists in dozens of other cities across the country on Thursday evening to protest the separation of migrant families under President Trump’s zero-tolerance crackdown on illegal immigration, enacted in May. Organizers said more than 5,000 people had signed up to join the Families Belong Together rallies, aimed at halting one of the most widely debated new fronts in the Trump administration’s campaign to slow the flow of migrants across the southwest border from Mexico and Central America. ‘Our goal is to shine a light on the family separation happening at the border and other points of entry into the United States and about the trauma that family separation inflicts on these children and their families and how wrong and, frankly un-American that is,’ said Shannon McClain, a marketing specialist from New York who has helped coordinate the campaign. Ms. McClain said she began planning for the rallies after learning about the campaign on Twitter. Interest in the event grew exponentially, she said, as volunteers, many of them outraged mothers, jumped in to help.”

Faith Communities Denounce New Asylum Rules

How the clergy are turning on Trump. Ozy: “Workers worried about the impact of immigrants on the economy and just plain racists were a big part of Trump’s winning hand in 2016, but so too was the Christian right. Many of these religious voters were unnerved by Trump’s personal morality but pleased with his commitment to cultural conservatism on abortion and other issues. When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, with its heavily Latino congregants, called the new asylum rules ‘immoral,’ it was noteworthy, albeit not surprising. But when the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution this week calling for immigration reform that includes a pathway to legal status — even as Vice President Mike Pence addressed the group’s annual meeting — it was striking. ‘God commands His people to treat immigrants with the same respect and dignity as those native born,’ the resolution read. Will this religious revival put pressure on Trump to change course?”

NY AG Sues Trump Foundation For “Persistent Illegal Conduct”

New York files civil suit against President Trump, alleging his charity engaged in ‘illegal conduct’. WaPo: “New York’s attorney general filed suit against President Trump and his three eldest children Thursday, alleging “persistently illegal conduct” at the president’s personal charity and saying that Trump had repeatedly misused the nonprofit organization to pay off his businesses’ creditors, to decorate one of his golf clubs and to stage a multimillion-dollar giveaway at 2016 campaign events. In the suit, Attorney General Barbara Underwood asked a state judge to dissolve the Donald J. Trump Foundation. She asked that its remaining $1 million in assets be distributed to other charities and that Trump be forced to pay at least $2.8 million in restitution and penalties. Underwood also asked that Trump be banned from leading any other New York nonprofit organization for 10 years — seeking to apply a penalty usually reserved for the operators of small-time charity frauds to the president of the United States.”

Trump OKs $50b China Tariffs, Wants More

Trump announces tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. CNN: “The United States will impose a 25% tariff on $50 billion of Chinese exports, the president said early Friday. The penalty is designed to punish China for stealing American technology and trade secrets. It will apply to roughly 1,100 exports and will target the Chinese aerospace, robotics, manufacturing and auto industries. Trade between the two countries ‘has been very unfair, for a very long time,’ Trump said. ‘This situation is no longer sustainable.’ US customs agents will begin collecting the duties on July 6, the administration said. The president gave the green light after a meeting Thursday with top economic officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The move represents a serious escalation of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies — just as Trump has also picked fights with allies Canada, Mexico and the European Union over steel and aluminum. Beijing previously promised to respond to this tariff with retaliatory tariffs of its own on $50 billion of US products such as cars, planes and soybeans.”

No State In U.S. Where Minimum Wage Is Enough

There’s not a single US state where a minimum wage worker can afford a 2-bedroom rental. CNN: “There’s not a single state, county or metropolitan area in the entire United States where a full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour can afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment. And if those workers wanted to? They’d have to work 122 hours a week. Every week. All year. This is according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, or NLIHC, which calls attention to the gap between low-income wages and the high cost of rent throughout much of the United States. The NLIHC found US workers need to earn $22.10 an hour to afford a “modest” two-bedroom rental. That’s about three times the federal minimum wage.”

More from OurFuture.org:

Congress Hosts Charter Schools Roadshow, Ignores Black Parent. Jeff Bryant: “One of the more disturbing aspects of the push to create more charter schools was on full display during a Congressional hearing this week when charter proponents stacked the agenda with biased testimony and completely ignored the lone witness who could attest firsthand to the real impact these schools have on communities of color. The lone dissenting voice in the battery of speakers lined up to give glowing praise to these privately operated but publicly funded schools was Jonathon Phillip Clark, an Iraq War veteran and Black Detroit parent with seven children in the public-school system. Clark described his community as an ‘education desert’ ravaged by Michigan’s policy of school choice, where charter schools open and close seemingly at random, and public schools are shuttered because of the uncertainties created by charter school competition.”

Wage Theft: To Fight the Crime, Address the Motive. Sam Pizzigati: “The American economy rests ultimately on trust, a mutual understanding between employers and employees that each side, in the end, will behave honorably. A fair day’s wage, as the classic formulation puts it, for a fair day’s work. This covenant gets broken, of course, on a regular basis. The most damaging betrayals? They come when employees put in that fair day’s work and don’t get paid a full fair day’s pay. Labor market analysts today have come to call these betrayals ‘wage theft,’ and this thievery is thriving. Corporate execs have had, for nearly five decades now, a powerful incentive to cheat their workers. Let’s end it.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW