Truth and Action Roundup 1.30.2026

View this email in your browser Welcome to the Truth and Action Roundup, your reliable weekly source for information, inspiration, and opportunities for action during the second Trump administration.  Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to continue receiving it. When we look back over our lives, do we see the thread that stitches together all the distinct moments that led us to who we are today? I try to look back often, to clarify who I have been and who I am becoming. It is a reminder and call to pursue Jesus in all things, even when, and especially when, they are challenging, painful, and isolating. I have been many things in my life: a firefighter, a barista, a teacher, and now a Sojourners employee. I am grateful for all the years I spent learning so many things; each season brought me closer to who I am now, but not all are weighted equally in my mind. I am most proud to have been a teacher, although not a typical K-12 teacher. I had the privilege of working around the world, training teachers to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) and building community-based English programs alongside talented and passionate teachers. In Montana, I have had the privilege of spending my days in the presence of incredible people who work hard to learn the language of the place they now call home. I have witnessed their dedication and sacrifice. The hours spent after work, away from their families and the comforts of home, to sit in a classroom with me and each other. I treasure the community we have created outside of the classroom, the Friendsgivings, the hikes, the coffee dates. I have felt the generosity of my friends in attending their children's birthdays, and the solace when people have moved away. It has been this role that has shaped and fortified my love for my immigrant community, and why I advocate for and work to protect my neighbors against what we are seeing in the United States. Although I have been doing this work for a long time, it was a summer night in September of this year that shifted my quiet, non-confrontational self into an assertive, unrelenting advocate for immigrants' rights. I think back to the night I received a call from my student while they were being detained, “Cortnie, ayúdame.” I remember the callousness in the border patrol agent's voice as he grabbed the phone and spoke to me. As he told me, he was arresting my students, my friends. The following days were filled with the commotion of vigils and speaking to news outlets. And then it was the quiet, unseen work of lawyers, family members, and friends, who were fighting for them for many weeks while they were imprisoned in a camp 1,000 miles from their home in Montana. In the end, they were released, and I am more tuned into the hopelessness of detainees, the tireless work of advocates, and the depravity of detention. For me, it has always been about caring for my neighbors, the ones who have left their country and family behind for a better future, or for those who are learning a new language in their home country so they can get into college to secure a future. I have always thought, “Is this not the commandment of Jesus, to love my neighbor and build them up using whatever I have to give?” I believe now, more than ever before, that our voice, our presence, and our privilege matter. That we are to accept our call to radical hospitality, being generous with all that we have been given. We are also called to act justly in our advocacy and service toward those marginalized by society. And our answer to this calling must be a resounding “yes and amen.” —Cortnie Brooks, Sojourners In the News Here’s a look at what happened this week: 1. The cruelty of the Trump administration’s deportation regime continued to be felt across the country, with Minneapolis the epicenter of both brutality and resistance. In the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents last Saturday, President Trump has sent his border czar, Tom Homan, to take over ICE’s operation in Minnesota. Trump has suggested he would seek to “de-escalate” ICE’s operations, but as of this writing, raids continue. Childcare providers, especially Somali Americans, are dealing not only with the threat of ICE officers but also with harassment from strangers inspired by a xenophobic viral video. Churches continue to be central hubs for resistance against the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out mass deportations, from rapid response efforts and protests to legal clinics and other social services for migrant people. 2. International affairs remained turbulent, with the seemingly rising chance of military conflict between the U.S. and Iran leading the way. The threat of war between the U.S. and Iran appeared to loom closer this week after Trump demanded that Iran immediately make a deal that abandons its nuclear program and stated that a U.S. armada is moving toward Iran “with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose.” Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez said on Sunday that she has had “enough” of U.S. orders as she navigates domestic political pressures and keeping the White House happy as it demands Venezuela resume its oil production. President Trump claimed to be unaware of her comments. South Sudan launched an offensive against opposition forces in three counties in Jonglei state. Fears for civilian safety there rose after a senior army commander was filmed urging his troops to kill civilians. Under the plan drafted by Trump’s new Board of Peace, Trump would have sweeping powers over the future governance of the Gaza Strip and the well-being of its people. Italian officials are voicing outrage over a plan for ICE agents to help provide security at the Milan Winter Olympics. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala stated: “This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips.” A recent media investigation shows disturbing links between Ubiquiti, a tech company owned by Robert Pera, the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Russian military. Ubiquiti bridge antennae serve a critical communications need for the Russian military in Ukraine, including for drone operations, and the Russian military is easily able to acquire Ubiquiti products through a dense trade network that evades sanctions and export controls. 3. Public health continued to suffer under the malice and mismanagement of the Trump administration: The United States officially withdrew from the World Health Organization as of last week, leaving the UN agency with hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid bills. The WHO has had to make significant cuts to its expenditures—including cuts to staffing—to make up for the shortfall from the loss of U.S. dues. South Carolina is currently home to the largest measles outbreak in the United States since the disease was declared eliminated in the country more than two decades ago. As of this week, 789 cases have been reported there. Trump administration appointee Dr. Ralph Abraham of the CDC recently argued that transmission of previously eliminated diseases was “the cost of doing business within our borders...we have these communities that choose to be unvaccinated. That’s their personal freedom.” Take Action Right now, we’re asking people to demand that their senators to get ICE out of Minneapolis. In February, we’re hosting an Interfaith Nonviolent Resistance Training in North Carolina on the first of February, marking the beginning of a series of events throughout the month. See more upcoming events in February. What We’re Reading “How You Can Support Minnesota, According to Local Faith Leaders” | “Every organizer Sojourners spoke with has said that people should call and write their elected officials to demand they block funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” (by Mitchell Atencio) “To Stop ICE Killings, More Christians Need To Tell the Truth” | “In the face of this narrative machine, we can learn from the biblical prophets, who so often interrupted injustice by naming the spiritual lies injustice feeds upon.” (by Rev. Adam Taylor) Deep Breaths Beloved, today's deep breath is a prayer that was prayed yesterday by Pastor Julio Hernandez, Executive Director of the Congressional Action Network in DC at the Praying With Our Feet Action in DC. ––Rev. Moya Harris, Sojourners A Prayer of Remembrance, Lament, and Resolve O Creator of memory and mercy, we come before you carrying names that refuse to leave us, stories that cling to our hearts lives that should not have ended as they did. We remember Luis Gustavo Nuñez Cáceres, whose heart gave out far from home after cries for care went unanswered. We remember Geraldo Lunas Campos who pleaded for breath, whose final moments were marked by fear and force. We remember Victor Manuel Díaz, who sought safety and instead found confinement and death. We remember Parady La, whose body endured withdrawal in isolation, whose suffering was treated as disposable. We remember Luis Beltrán Yáñez-Cruz, whose heart stopped under the weight of detention and despair. We remember Heber Sánchez Dominguez, found alone in the night, his death unanswered, his dignity still awaiting justice. We remember Keith Porter Jr., Renée Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti, lives taken by violence, absences that still ache. And we remember Liam Conejo Ramos, and the children separated and detained–– children who learned fear before safety, who slept without their parents’ arms, who were numbered, transferred, confined, taught too young what loss feels like and their liberty stripped in the dark. We remember the children who survive only through donated breast milk, whose most basic needs depend on mercy rather than justice. Holy One, you know every name. You know every breath that was cut short. Do not let us forget–– but because remembering is an act of love. Let these names trouble our silence. Let these lives stir conscience. Let this grief move us to an embodied prayer, from lament into courage, from sorrow into faithful resistance. Teach us to remember in ways that heal, to mourn in ways that transform, to love in ways that demand justice. Until no child is separated. Until no one is treated as expendable. Until mercy governs our systems and every life is honored as sacred. We place these lives before you, and we carry them with us–– into this city, this day, and the work ahead. May these lives call us into faithful courage, to cause good trouble in the service of freedom, mercy and justice. Amen. The Truth and Action Roundup is compiled by Sojourners staff: President: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor Senior Research Associate: J.K. Granberg-Michaelson Digital Content and Community Specialist: Kassandra Tapia Chief Program and Impact Officer: Bryan Epps Political Director: Chad V. Stanton Senior Program Director: Rev. Moya Harris Digital Education and Outreach Specialist: Cortnie Brooks Policy and Action Assistant: Trinity Williams Senior Director of Marketing: Sandra Sims Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2025 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842