Truth and Action Roundup 6.06.25

View this email in your browser Welcome to the Truth and Action Roundup, a reliable weekly source of information, inspiration, and action for the second Trump administration. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to continue receiving it. Today is Friday, June 6, and we’re continuing to monitor the changes brought forth by the Trump administration. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that our prayers and sympathies are with the victims of violence in Boulder, Colo. As we see violence in Gaza and in the U.S. escalate, we must once again remain committed to seeing the image of God in every person and condemning violence in all its forms. Next week, we enter the season of Pentecost, honoring the spirit of public witness and boldly calling on our elected leaders to model the love of Jesus. On a different note: With gratitude for our colleagues who have stewarded this newsletter over the past few months, we wanted to let you know that we— Rev. Moya Harris (Director of Racial Justice) and Chad Stanton (Political Director) — will be writing to you from here on out. Don’t worry; our goal is the same: To offer you a space for information and action during uncertain times. — Rev. Moya Harris and Chad Stanton, Sojourners  In the News Here’s what’s been happening this week: 1) We continue to see the profoundly harmful consequences Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” could have if passed by the Senate and signed into law. This week, public health and policy researchers at Yale University and University of Pennsylvania warned Congress in a letter that the House-passed bill’s changes and cuts to Medicaid, nursing home standards, and Affordable Care Act Premium Tax Credits could lead to 51,000 preventable deaths each year. Meanwhile, the latest analysis from the Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would leave 10.9 million more people uninsured, while adding $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. The moral juxtaposition of cutting taxes for the wealthy at the expense of the health and lives of low-income people is striking. 2) The Trump administration continues its cruel deportation agenda — and some people are pushing back: The bad news is that the “big, beautiful bill” would add $75 billion to ICE’s budget over the next four years, including $45 billion to enable the U.S. to detain more than 100,000 people on any given day — an 800% increase to detention funding compared to last year. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department recently announced its intent to expand its cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the 287(g) program, which deputizes local police to hold undocumented people in their jails. In Minneapolis, news of what appeared to be an immigration raid by ICE officers — many of them masked — in cooperation with local police and various other federal agents, drew hundreds of protestors who attempted to disrupt the proceedings. Local authorities have since claimed the operation was “not related to immigration enforcement,” yet an ICE spokesperson took credit for “a groundbreaking criminal operation.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) vowed that ICE agents who wear masks while conducting immigration raids “will of course be identified,” saying this would happen “no matter how long it takes.” Last month, Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (D) wrote to immigration officials to denounce agents’ use of masks, arguing such use violates Homeland Security regulations. 3) Cuts to FEMA are coming right as the 2025 Hurricane Forecast predicts an intense season. Combined with aging electrical grids and longstanding structural inequities, the cuts create additional vulnerabilities, particularly for Black and low-income communities. Miscommunication between the White House and FEMA has already caused delays and confusion this year in the delivery of urgently needed disaster assistance, creating deep concerns about hurricane season. 4) The Supreme Court unanimously ruled to revive a straight woman’s “reverse discrimination” lawsuit, ruling that federal circuit courts may no longer require “people who are White, male, or not gay to meet a higher bar to prove workplace bias in certain cases than do individuals whose minority communities have traditionally faced discrimination,” according to The Washington Post. 5) Donald Trump instituted a new ban on travel to the U.S. from 12 countries, as well as restrictions on travel from seven additional countries. The order is reminiscent of the 2017 proclamation that was widely described as a “Muslim Ban.” The Supreme Court eventually upheld a revised version of that ban in 2018. Take Action Next Tuesday join us at the U.S. Capitol for a Pentecost witness for a moral budget! Faith leaders from around the country will come to the Capitol to demand Congress pass a budget that reflects our moral commitments. The day will feature speakers and faith leaders from around the country. Please join us in person or virtually! Tell Congress to protect Medicaid! One of the asks in our call for a moral budget is the demand to preserve health care funding and oppose cuts to Medicaid. We know people will suffer because of these cuts and we need to raise our voices to make sure our elected leaders know we do not want to see our neighbors suffer. On Thursday, June 12 at 7:00 PM (EST) join us virtually for another edition of the Faithful Conversations: Leading in Divided Times series. We will have Dr. J. Derek McNeil of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, Jimmy McGee of The Impact Movement, Dr. Jemar Tisby of Simmons College, and Rebecca Wheeler Walston, of Solid Foundation Story Coaching with us to discuss “Why hasn't the American church made more progress in addressing racism?”  What We’re Reading The Word Became Flesh — And Crossed A Border | In 167 pages, Isaac Villegas' 'Migrant God' maps out the kind of faith that makes a difference in the lives of migrants. (By Karen González) In ‘Sinners,’ The Juke Joint Is More Sacred Than The Church | Churches should look far more like the Smoke/Stack Twins’ juke joint than the church Sammie’s father ran. (By JR. Forasteros) Deep Breaths  So much. All at once. All the time. Sometimes it’s hard to catch your breath. When we commit to do the hard work of staying present to all that is happening around us it’s a lot! No small wonder that we need to stop and ground ourselves. I’ve started using an app to remind me to breathe deeply as a regular practice to settle my soul and remain focused in unsettling times. Breathing has long been a practice for mindfulness and meditation. In fact, breath has always been foundational to God’s story with humanity — quite literally from day one! In the very beginning, God sent a blast of wind a.k.a. “the breath of life” into Adam and “the human became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). When God changed Abram and Sarai’s names, theologians note that not only did the name change reflect God’s promises, but the change also added the sound of breath to their names: Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 17:5,15). It was a great wind that parted the Red Sea so that Moses could lead the captive Israelites to the promised land (Exodus14:21), and a blast of wind that brought the Holy Spirit to the disciples at Pentecost: “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven came a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire house where they were staying” (Acts 2:1). At Pentecost, God’s Spirit fills the disciples with a breath of power, after which they were curiously able to speak in ways that defied logic, and their number grew from 120 to over 3,000! We, too, are invited to breathe deeply of the power of the Spirit and with a collective breath speak in ways that are generative and life-giving to those around us. Interestingly, the word “conspire” comes from the Latin word conspiarare, which means “to breathe together.” It originally referred to the act of musicians playing or singing in harmony, but I’m not sure the sentiment is all that different: we, too, desire to lift our voices as a chorus of justice in a conspiracy of hope! May the Spirit who empowered the disciples still work in curious ways through God’s people. — Rev. Andrea Saccoccio, Director of Congregational Engagement and Outreach, Sojourners The Truth and Action Roundup is compiled by Sojourners staff: President: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor Senior Research Associate: J.K. Granberg-Michaelson Senior Adviser and Director to the President’s Office: Elizabeth Denlinger Reaves Chief Program and Impact Officer: Bryan Epps Political Director: Chad V. Stanton Director of Racial Justice: Rev. Moya Harris Director of Congregational Outreach & Education: Rev. Andrea Saccoccio Editor in Chief: Betsy Shirley Mobilizing and Policy Assistant: Miriam Tellez Senior Director of Marketing: Sandra Sims Unsubscribe or update email preferences Copyright © 2025 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842