In the wake of the Paris terror attacks of November 13, Members of Congress initiated a campaign against Syrian refugees based off of fear and misinformation. As student activists, we at STAND and Students Organize for Syria are extremely disappointed in the House of Representative’s vote to pass the anti-refugee bill, H.R. 4038–and we’re doing everything we can to ensure the resettlement program can continue in a safe and responsible manner.
It is more urgent than ever for us to organize ourselves and STAND for what is right. Anti-refugee calls are flooding into Congressional offices and dominating popular media. We need to ensure that pro-refugee voices are heard and urge our Senators to oppose any efforts to stem the refugee resettlement program. We need YOUR help!
Take Action:
- Call the Capitol Switchboard at 877-429-0678 to be connected to your Senator’s office. Tell them, “My name is X and I am calling from [your state]. Please tell the Senator that I strongly support the U.S welcoming Syrian refugees. I urge [him/her] to vote no on any effort to turn away refugees, including HR 4038. Thank you for your time.”
- Help us change public opinion! Write an op-ed to your school or local newspaper to help dispel myths in popular media and call upon your elected officials to do the right thing. Send us your draft and we can help you ready it for publishing!
Social Media Actions:
Social media for Members of Congress is monitored around the clock by Congressional staffers. Make sure your Members of Congress know you’re against anti-refugee efforts!
- If you don’t yet have a twitter account, register for Twitter here!
- Find your Senator’s twitter handle at this link. Find your House Representative’s twitter handle at this link.
- Use some of the below sample tweets, or create your own! Don’t forget to use a period before the twitter handle to ensure it can be seen across the twittersphere.
Sample tweets:
.@_____ I urge you to @standnow and oppose any policy rider to block #SyrianRefugees in budget deal. #RefugeesWelcome
.@_____ Congressional attempts to block #SyrianRefugees opposed by national security figures bit.ly/1l5ILfK #RefugeesWelcome
Want to get further involved?
- Mobilize your community to make calls to your Senator(s) to oppose anti-refugee efforts.
- Advocate on your campus! You can table at your campus, arrange a photo campaign, or organize a flashmob. Let us know, and we’ll help you plan and publicize!
- Organize a protest in front of a Congressional Representative’s district office — check out the Purdue, Indiana facebook event for inspiration!
Don’t forget to take photos at any event you hold, whether it’s tabling on your campus, hosting a teach-in, or planning a protest. You an upload them to our google drive folder here so we can use them in national efforts!
Need help?
We’re here for you! Contact us at info@standnow.org so we can let you know what the most useful actions are for your state. We can read over op-ed drafts, help you place them in newspapers, and offer advice on planning a kick-ass event.