Blue 812 News Issue 5

Jan 26, 2025

Seven of the seemingly hundreds of executive orders from Trump have to do with restricting immigration. One of them, an attempt to roll back birthright citizenship, was promptly met with lawsuits from the ACLU and others. Even more Executive Orders aim to overwhelm the immigration system with changes, including some that threaten refugees on their way to Indiana.

Exodus Refugee, a resettlement agency in Indianapolis, posted on their social media that they and other advocate groups have been instructed to stop aiding refugees who have arrived in US. The assistance can range from caseworker support, job assistance, housing, even navigating local bus routes and US banking system. Agencies who receive their funding through the State Department were notified last week that all work must end.

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This order affects incoming Afghan refugees granted status for assisting the US during the War in Afghanistan, and more than 30,000 individuals from other countries who have arrived since Oct. 1st. IndyStar reporters spoke to immigration lawyers to try to make sense of what might happen in Indiana.

Meanwhile Indiana lawmakers here are pushing their own immigration crackdown. Included is SB 172, which would charge a law enforcement officer with a misdemeanor if they refuse to cooperate with state or federal agencies in enforcing immigration laws. The bill calls for the same penalty for people who create policies barring police from cooperating in enforcing immigration laws. No sanctuary cities in the Hoosier State. The Indiana Latino Democratic Congress has also published an update on HB 1393, which passed out of committee last week. The update includes several action items you can take on.

Pete Hegseth was confirmed as US Defense Secretary, a 51-50 vote with VP Vance casting the deciding vote. Republican senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell joined all Democrats in voting no on his confirmation. Hegseth was confirmed despite allegations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and inexperience. Read more at Politico

IndyStar’s newsletter included a few interesting fiscal notes from Gov. Braun's two-year budget proposal:

For the past year, AG Todd Rokita has been arguing that women’s private abortion information “does not belong to the patient." Instead, Rokita has demanded that "terminated pregnancy reports" (TPRs) be open to public inspection. Earlier this week, our newly elected Governor Mike Braun paved the way for Rokita's crusade against privacy with his Executive Order forcing the Department of Health to comply with Rokita's orders. TPRs don’t include patients’ names, but do contain other potentially-identifying information like age, city, county, education, marital status, race and ethnicity, date of the abortion, etc.

When these reports were being released previously, anti-abortion groups would scour TPRs for alleged wrongdoing. In fact, Voices for Life reported that their “enforcement team” had used TPRs to submit over 700 complaints about supposed illegal actions since 2022. (These were generally complaints about doctors not filing reports on time or other red tape bullshit—nothing about patient safety.)

In one suit from Voices for Life, supported by Rokita, it was argued that the state legislature intended TPRs to be public records expressly for citizens “to examine whether abortion providers are complying with the law.” So now the true motive comes to light: while Republicans have long claimed that abortion reporting and data collection are done under the guise of protecting patients—another use is to serve as tools for criminalization. Read more from Jessica Valenti's Substack, Abortion Every Day, or at WFYI

Also this week, Gov. Braun defunded Martin University - Indiana's only predominantly Black university - and issued an executive order banning DEI initiatives at the state level. In addition to prohibiting trainings, events, and activities centered around building cultural awareness and supporting marginalized communities, Braun's budget proposal would defund the Indiana Commission for Women and the Indiana Native American Indian Affairs Commission, and cut the Indiana Civil Rights Commission's budget.

These are the high-priority bills from MADVoters’ bill tracker

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Sample Script: "My name is [name]. I'm contacting you today to urge you [support / oppose} [bill number]. This matters to me because [reason]. Thank you.”

other bills to watch:

from Indiana State Teachers’ Association: HB 1136 Update
HB 1136, a controversial bill proposing the dissolution of five school corporations and their conversion into state-run charter schools, appears to be stalled. Last week, ISTA and members of the Indiana Educational Equity Coalition met with Rep. Teshka, the bill's author, to discuss its intent and implications.

The meeting confirmed that the bill targets Indianapolis Public Schools, citing declining enrollment and financial struggles. For now, HB 1136 is unlikely to move forward as IPS has been tasked with proposing its own plan to address these issues.

from Indiana State Teachers’ Association: Senate Committee Action on SB 146
This week, the Senate Education Committee voted to amend SB 146, initially containing a provision essentially mandating teacher participation in the state health plan. ISTA raised concerns that this would undermine collective bargaining and local decision-making.

Thanks to advocacy efforts, Sen. Rogers agreed to remove this mandate. ISTA now fully supports the revised bill, which includes:

From Women4Change Indiana: Attacks on Women’s Rights
While we didn’t see significant legislative movement this week, the introduction of several bills targeting women’s access to healthcare and freedom of choice remain concerning…In the meantime, utilize the following links to get familiar with these bills and contact your legislators to oppose committee hearings for each of them: SB 170, SB 171, SB 240, SB 241, SB 245, HB 1212, HB 1325, and HB 1334.

From Women4Change Indiana: Voter Suppression Efforts
Another alarming trend is the series of bills introduced to make it harder for Hoosiers to vote. With voter turnout already low in Indiana, these bills threaten to further disenfranchise eligible voters, particularly students, low-income communities, and people of color.

SB 10 is one of the most concerning. This bill would remove the ability for college students to use their school IDs as valid identification for voting. For many students, especially those attending out-of-state colleges or universities, this change could prevent them from exercising their fundamental right to vote.

SB 284 is another bill that reduces early voting from 30 days to just 7 days. Early voting is a crucial tool for many working-class Hoosiers who may not have the flexibility to vote on Election Day. Cutting down this window makes it harder for voters to participate in the democratic process, especially those in rural areas or with unpredictable schedules.

HB 1029 would also create unnecessary barriers to voting by limiting primary election participation only to those who have declared a political party affiliation in a timely manner. This bill effectively disenfranchises independent voters and creates a restrictive political environment that benefits only certain groups.

Why This Matters:

Voter access is a fundamental issue that impacts everything else. Whether we’re advocating for reproductive rights, economic justice, or healthcare, our ability to elect officials who represent us is essential to achieving change. These restrictive voting bills, if passed, could have far-reaching consequences, especially for women and communities that are already marginalized.

From Women4Change Indiana: Momnibus bills

Additionally, we need your help sending emails to the Committee on Health Provider Services, urging them to hold a meeting for SB 521 and SB 522. The Momnibus bills, as we are calling them, aim to improve women’s healthcare in a variety of ways. Each bill is comprised of various initiatives and programs that benefit the lives of Hoosier women and families. By following the links provided below, this action item will take less than two minutes. Once completed, send the links to three friends. Or, better yet, share these links to your internal networks or social media accounts.

HB 1002 update:

HB 1002 passed out of the Education committee Wednesday, and now moves on to the full House for a vote. This bill was heavily amended in committee, but still removes existing language that a school operator that establishes a charter school must also operate a traditional public school, which could allow school districts to fully transition to charter schools, leaving areas with no public schools at all. This, paired with HB 1136, could leave areas of Indiana with no public schools at all, including the state capitol and largest city. Read more at WFYI

Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations: https://ipbs.org/projects/2025billtracker/index.html

Indiana Coalition for Public Education: https://indianacoalitionforpubliced.org/bill-watch/

ACLU Indiana: https://www.aclu-in.org/en/our-work/legislation-advocacy

Terre Haute was the topic of a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, highlighting how President Biden’s American Rescue Plan has benefitted the Wabash Valley

Mayor Sakbun also included a list on his Facebook page

I have always believed that another way we vote is with our dollars. It seems like every day I learn of a new company donating to Republicans or their super PACs. Here are some resources to keep an eye on where your money’s going:

goods unite us (also an app)

IN safe businesses list - a non-exhaustive list of Hoosier businesses and their respective political affiliations

Nasty Women will be meeting February 4th from 5-7. Location is tentatively Meeting Room D at the VCPL. We will be discussing the INDEMs FAQ for Pamphlet Club.

Vigo County Democrats have an event on Friday, January 31st at 5:30pm at 1111 Veteran’s Square

Wednesday 2/12: Democracy Day at the Statehouse sponsored by MADVoters, StandUp Indiana, and Common Cause; League of Women Voters' League Day at the Statehouse

Thursday 2/20: Reproductive Health day at the Indiana Statehouse. Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, ACLU of Indiana, All Options, Good Trouble Coalition, Hoosier Jews for Choice, Indiana TaskFORCE, ACOG, Our Choice Coalition, and Women4Change are partnering together to urge legislators in passing bills aimed at bettering the status of reproductive health in Indiana. Register here.

On Tuesday at the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, Episcopal bishop of Washington, made a direct appeal to President Trump and asked him to have mercy on LGBTQ+ people and undocumented migrant workers. This clip shows her speaking as well as the reactions of some of the attendees. After the fact, Trump called her “nasty” and Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) called for her to be deported. Let’s take a moment to send her a postcard of thanks for her bravery and conviction: Washington National Cathedral, P.O. Box 98283, Washington, DC 20090-8283. We can also express our gratitude by phone at (202) 537-6200 or via email at [email protected]. We can watch her sermon here and share it on social media to get it wider reach, and consider buying her book, How We Learn To Be Brave.

State Senator Shelli Yoder successfully passed SB 176 out of the Senate and onto the House. This bill opens up more opportunities for Hoosiers to serve as nurses and targets Indiana’s healthcare shortage. The bill’s next stop is House consideration.

A House committee unanimously advanced a bill this week to help eliminate Indiana’s rape kit testing backlog. Rape kits that are part of a police report in Indiana must be sent to one of the state’s two crime labs. And Rep. Becky Cash’s (R-Zionsville) bill, HB 1413, would spend $2.5 million to give those labs the boost they need to clear their backlog. more at Indiana Public Media

IndyStar had a recent roundup of public safety bills. There are some good ones in the pile of literal garbage:

Senate Bill 151 and Senate Bill 196 allows felony rape and child molesting offenses to be prosecuted at any time.

House Bill 1266 and House Bill 1267 similarly increase the timeline when a sex offense can be prosecuted. HB 1267 is slightly different in that it allows a child molestation case to be filed before the alleged victim is 51 years old and also allows a rape case to come forth within 15 years after the alleged attack.

House Bill 1047 would require law enforcement agencies to make its officers undergo drug and alcohol testing immediately after they use deadly force. A little bit of accountability for the police, please? As a treat?

Trump's time in the White House runs out in:

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