The ACLU and the Women’s March have stepped up their efforts to stop Trump’s crackdown, and Indivisible launches its midterm plan

Want to help children separated at the US-Mexico border? Here's how

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How to help children separated from parents at the border

You’ll have heard the horrifying news about the rate at which children are being separated from their parents at the Mexico-US border.

Between May 6 and May 19 a total of 658 children were taken away from their parents, as more than 600 adults were prosecuted for crossing the border illegally – a crackdown ordered by Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielson.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The US-Mexico border between the Anapra neighborhood of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and Sunland Park, New Mexico. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP

There’s no good news in this – but there are things people can do to help.

The ACLU has put together a tool and script for people to call their senators and urge them to stand up to the Department of Homeland Security. The Women’s March has launched a petition demanding the Trump administration end the practice of separating families. The group plans to deliver it to Ivanka Trump.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Screenshot from actblue.com Photograph: ActBlue

People can also use this Act Blue tool to donate to eight different charities working to protect children separated from their parents at the border. The organizations include Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, United We Dream, and Kids in Need of Defense.

Indivisible launches midterm plan in 50 states

Indivisible435 is a new effort by the progressive organization, which is made up of about 6,000 groups across the country, to influence the coming elections.

While Indivisible groups are launching action in 50 states, Indivisible has targeted 73 races, in 13 states in particular, which it believes could swing left.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest From Indivisible.org Photograph: Indivisible

The organization has published a “deep dive” into its political program on its website, but here’s a primer:

For decades, the political establishment has told progressives that it’s a waste of time and resources to compete in vast swaths of the country. Shamefully, too many of us listened to this “conventional wisdom,” and bought into a narrative that discounts millions of Americans. And that means, for too long, and in too many districts, we’ve allowed far-right conservatives to drive the conversation and win without a fight. This strategy alienates millions of people, including working people and communities of color.

Here’s how to get involved.

Riot charges against Trump inauguration protesters dropped

Seven people charged with rioting during Trump’s inauguration have had their cases dropped after “a DC judge determined that the government intentionally misrepresented information and withheld evidence from the defense”, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People protest at Trump’s inauguration. Photograph: Michael/Pacific/Barcroft Images

Federal prosecutors originally told the court they had a single video of a protest-planning meeting. But prosecutors admitted on Wednesday they had another 69 undercover videos relating to the inauguration protests, which they had not turned over to the defense.

From the Washington Post:

During a hearing Thursday in DC superior court, Judge Robert E Morin pressed prosecutors about the omission. “It was intentional. Your office represented there was only one video,” Morin said. “The government has not offered any explanation as to why they did not inform the court of these additional videos.”

Obviously, it’s not the first time the government has misrepresented information relating to the inauguration.

What we’re reading

“Why are so many white-collar professionals in revolt?” asks Gabriel Winant, here at the Guardian. Winant says teachers, graduate workers and medical workers have all been unionizing recently. In part it’s because traditional “white-collar autonomy has been eroded. The testing regime imposed on public schools has routinized teaching. Nurses do paperwork rather than spend time bedside, and hospitals are systematically understaffed.”