Truth and Action Roundup 7.3.2026

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. This week marked the close of the Supreme Court term with a flurry of decisions, reflecting both tension and unexpected convergence across ideological lines. Among them, many found relief in the court’s 6-3 decision in Trump v. Barbara to uphold birthright citizenship. In her concurring opinion, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pushed back against narrow interpretations of the Constitution, illuminating the enduring power of the 14th Amendment. Quoting historian Eric Foner, she reminded us that its framers crafted “language that transcended race and region,” fundamentally expanding the meaning of freedom in this nation. This moment invites both gratitude and resolve. The 14th Amendment stands as a corrective to the moral failures embedded in the nation’s founding, a declaration that dignity and belonging are not bound by race, origin or status. Yet, even as we acknowledge this victory, we remain clear-eyed: The work of justice does not end with a single ruling. As we move closer to the midterm elections, we must stay vigilant, recognizing that new challenges to these hard-won protections will surely arise. As the nation commemorates 250 years of its founding, people of faith are called not only to reflect on the past but to imagine what is still possible. We are invited to bear witness to a vision of a country that more fully reflects the heart of God, a country that honors the humanity of all people, embraces the stranger, and chooses love over harm. Whether or not you choose to observe the Fourth of July, let this be a moment to recommit yourself to the work of justice, serving others with purpose, grace, and a hope rooted in something deeper than circumstance. –Rev. Moya Harris, Sojourners P.S. We are continuing to build an intentional community of people looking to enact their faith in our Sojourners Faith and Practice Forum on Mighty Networks. Please consider joining us. In the News The Supreme Court made several important rulings on voting rights, citizenship, and presidential authority. The court confirmed that states may count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day if they were mailed on time upholding grace-period laws in about 30 states, including rules for military and overseas voters. The court also turned down Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship. It ruled that children born in the United States to undocumented or temporary residents are citizens under the 14th Amendment. In another decision, the court gave the president more power to remove leaders of independent federal agencies. Still, it temporarily protected Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and the head of the U.S. Copyright Office from being removed by Trump, suggesting that some agencies might not be affected by this new rule. Election officials faced pressure from Congress, the Justice Department and federal law enforcement. Speaker Mike Johnson tried to link the SAVE America Act to the yearly defense bill, but the plan failed when 14 Republicans joined Democrats to block the vote. The bill, which would require national voter ID and proof of citizenship, has stalled in the Senate. A federal judge turned down the Justice Department’s request for New Hampshire’s full voter registration list, which included private information. This decision is another setback for the administration as it tries to get detailed voter data from states across the country. Two ICE agents went into a Syracuse polling place during New York’s primary to question a poll worker about a social media post that criticized an immigration officer. Voting continued as normal, but state prosecutors are now looking into the incident because of concerns about federal law enforcement at polling sites. Additionally, ICE detained more than 10,000 people over the last five days across the United States as part of a push to reach an internal goal of 2,000 arrests per day. International ceasefires remained fragile while Venezuela faced a humanitarian crisis. Israel launched new attacks on southern Lebanon just two days after signing a U.S.-brokered deal, including a large explosion in Majdal Zoun. Since March, the conflict has killed more than 4,000 people, injured over 11,000, forced more than 1 million people from their homes and destroyed thousands of buildings, making several southern villages unlivable. The United States and Iran started indirect talks in Doha after more military strikes put their fragile ceasefire at risk. They are negotiating over reopening and managing the Strait of Hormuz, but still disagree about Iran’s control of the waterway and the details of a long-term deal. In Venezuela, two strong earthquakes damaged or destroyed nearly 60,000 buildings and forced many people to leave their homes. More than 100 people who had been deported the day before the earthquake were killed when their hotel collapsed. Rescue teams keep searching through the rubble, while aid groups warn that hundreds of thousands of children need urgent help. Take Action • We’re demanding an end to the blockade against Cuba and providing resources to those in need on the island. • We invite you to join us on July 13th for Poll Chaplain training to help protect our elections in November. What We’re Reading • “As U.S. Blockade Squeezes Cuba, Christians Push Solidarity Over Sanctions”| As Cuba continues to face severe blackouts, economic crisis, and political pressure, Christians on the island and their allies in the U.S. are working to save lives and advocate for Cuban freedom. (By Ethan Meyers) • “Why These Conservative Evangelicals Rejected Christian Nationalism” | Political theorist Stephen Wolfe, along with ministers Zachary Garris and Sean McGowan, all believe the government has a role to “promote true religion.” (By Liam Adams) Deep Breaths Ancestor Langston Hughes speaks loudly this weekend. Take a moment to listen. ––Rev. Moya Harris, Senior Director of Programs Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me.) Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed— Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above. (It never was America to me.) O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”) Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars? I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one’s own greed! I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean— Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years. Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That’s made America the land it has become. O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home— For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore, And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came To build a “homeland of the free.” The free? Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we’ve dreamed And all the songs we’ve sung And all the hopes we’ve held And all the flags we’ve hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that’s almost dead today. O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free. The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME— Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again. Sure, call me any ugly name you choose— The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives, We must take back our land again, America! O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be! Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— All, all the stretch of these great green states— And make America again! 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 Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842