To All Members of the Campus Community:

In light of President Trump’s recent executive orders on increased border security and stricter enforcement of immigration laws, I would like to remind all students, staff, faculty, and administrators of the resources available at the Dreamer Resource Center (DRC) at Sacramento State to undocumented students and students from mixed-status families. I strongly encourage the campus community to utilize the DRC and familiarize themselves with the center and its multidimensional programming. We must take care of and support one another.

The DRC is designed to help make the dream of a college degree a reality for undocumented students and students from mixed-status families. The DRC offers programs and services that help students overcome the unique challenges that get in the way of achieving academic, personal, and professional excellence. DRC events are open to campus and community members. 

Amongst its different services, the DRC hosts ongoing immigration briefings and consultations presented by attorneys from the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CFLAF). The foundation makes presentations on know-your-rights, naturalization, and citizenship; updates on new executive orders; Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); and other changes enacted by the new administration. The briefings are held on the second and fourth Monday of each month (March 27, April 10 and 24, and May 8) from noon to 2 p.m. in the River Front Center, Room 1027. CRLAF is available for drop-in immigration legal consultations on the first and third Monday of each month (March 20, April 3 and 17, and May 1 and 15) from noon to 2 p.m. in the River Front Center, Room 1027. The DRC calendar is available here.

The DRC also offers ongoing Dreamer Ally Trainings, which provide an overview of federal and state policies that impact undocumented students on a day-to-day basis, the unique conditions experienced by these students, activities to better understand the needs of this population, and tools to become allies and ultimately advocates for undocumented students and students with mixed-status families. Attendees receive a Dreamer Ally decal upon completion of the training. To RSVP for the next training on Thursday, March 30, at 2 p.m., please visit https://springdreamerallytraining.eventbrite.com. I highly encourage all staff, faculty, administrators, and students to attend a Dreamer Ally Training. 

I also want to remind the Sacramento State community that we are aligned with and committed to Chancellor Timothy P. White’s statement: 

“The California State University is committed to being an inclusive and welcoming institution of higher education that is enhanced by our global community. As such, we will continue to make every lawful effort to provide a safe and welcoming campus environment for all of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of our community. 

“Our university policy departments will not honor immigration hold requests, and our university police will not contact, detain, question, or arrest individuals solely on the basis of being – or suspected of being – a person who lacks documentation.”   

In the event of being approached by federal officials on campus, please contact the Sacramento State Police Department. If approached outside of campus, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) provides advice on its website. 
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I again highly encourage students, faculty, and staff alike to become acquainted with the programming the DRC offers so we can all do our part to help support undocumented students and students from mixed-status families. As I have mentioned before, we are a Hornet Family and are committed to ensuring that our undocumented, international, and DACA students can continue their studies without fear. This commitment extends to all of our students, regardless of political persuasion, ethnicity, age, sex, gender, disability, religion, sexual identity, nationality, or documentation status. 
As always, we must band together to support one another.

Sincerely,

Robert S. Nelsen

1. The Remaking of America
In his latest column, Roosevelt Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz argues that 2017 could be remembered as a turning point in U.S. and world history as Donald Trump takes power and both the Republican and Democratic Parties struggle to redefine themselves and their agendas for a new era.

2. A State of Emergency
Roosevelt Fellow Todd Tucker writes in Politico that while courts could try to intervene to block Trump’s trade plans, such as a 10 percent tariff on imports, the broad powers delegated to the presidency could allow Trump to declare the decline of American manufacturing a national emergency.

3. Fighting for the Franchise
The Intercept reports that Florida’s high court will consider a petition to allow a ballot referendum that could restore voting rights to people with felony convictions. Read more on this initiative from Roosevelter Carl Amritt, who has worked closely with Floridians for a Fair Democracy.

4. The Anti-Domination Approach
In a Washington Monthly review of Roosevelt Fellow K. Sabeel Rahman’s new book Democracy Against Domination, Kevin Carty writes that Rahman articulates a populism that serves as an alternative to laissez-faire libertarianism and moderate managerialism. 

5. The New Sheriffs
At Vox, Matt Yglesias notes that while Trump is putting together a Wall Street-friendly team, House Republicans already have a detailed plan to weaken financial regulation. And as Roosevelt Fellow Mike Konczal tells him, that starts with depowering the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Financial Stability Oversight Council. 

1. Looking Ahead to 2017
In her year-end blog post, Roosevelt President and CEO Felicia Wong reflects on the work that the Roosevelt Institute has done this year and how it has laid the foundation for many important fights in the year ahead, from taming corporate power to rewriting the racial rules and empowering a new generation of leaders.

2. The Return of Voodoo Economics
Roosevelt Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz argues that Donald Trump’s economic promises are based on the “big lie” that big tax cuts and higher infrastructure and defense spending can coexist with lower deficits – and it’s going to cost American workers.

3. Police Violence in the Trump Era
Roosevelt Fellow Dorian Warren writes in Ebony that the Trump presidency, with its promises of a harsh “law and order” approach, brings with it an increased threat of police violence against black and Latino Americans, and the only solution may be local movement-building and activism.

4. The Student Debt Crisis Is Real
In the Boston Review, Roosevelt Fellow and Senior Economist Marshall Steinbaum makes the case that the cost of acquiring a college degree has become a toll that Americans must pay to enter the workforce, and that the best response is to expand free public college and eliminate the gatekeepers to higher ed.

5. Remembering FDR's Call for Unity
Reflecting on Barack Obama’s post-election call for shared commitment to democratic norms, Roosevelt Senior Fellow David Woolner recalls FDR’s own message about the importance of national unity and what it means in the face of electoral interference by the FBI and Russia.

1. Learning from Trump
On Medium, Roosevelt Fellow Mike Konczal analyzes Donald Trump’s campaign speeches to understand how he won white working class voters and finds that he emphasized job creation and the harmful effects of trade, eschewed attacking the rich or talking about poverty, and used a set of easy-to-grasp symbols and catch phrases.

2. Defending Dodd-Frank
Mike Konczal also testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the impact of regulations on short-term financing, arguing that Dodd-Frank has improved the health and stability of the financial system and that the law should be built upon, not rolled back under the new administration. Watch it here or read his prepared remarks. 

3. How the WTO Shaped the Carrier Deal
Roosevelt Fellow Todd Tucker looks at the difference between the deal Trump cut with Carrier and Washington state’s prohibited deal with Boeing, placing both in the larger context of a globalization regime that pits workers against each other to fight for scraps.

4. Infrastructure for the Rich
Roosevelt VP of Research and Policy Nell Abernathy tells Grist that Trump’s infrastructure plan is good for corporations and private interests, but bad for anyone who wanted an economically transformative vision or an effort to address the growing crisis of climate change. 
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5. The Impact of Paid Family Leave
In a new report, “What to Expect When Your Employees Are Expecting,” Roosevelt @ GW student Adam Graubart examines how paid family leave policies have affected economies in California and New Jersey and makes the case for a similar policy to be implemented in Washington, D.C. A final vote on the plan will take place on December 20.

 1. Democracy Against Domination
In the American Prospect, Roosevelt Fellow K. Sabeel Rahman discusses how most of today’s modern abuses of private power call for the antitrust remedies that were enacted during the Progressive Era and that we need to get serious about enforcement. Learn more about Rahman’s new book Democracy Against Domination in his Q&A with Dissent Magazine.

2. How Democrats Can Recover
Roosevelt’s Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz discusses his recent Vanity Fair piece on the Leonard Lopate Show. In a wide-ranging conversation, Stiglitz touches on the emergence of Donald Trump, the need to keep pushing a progressive economic agenda for working-class Americans, and proposes ways in which the Democrats can address these challenges. 

3. Stay Woke
In a Mic round-up, Roosevelt network and other young leaders share how young people can take action and lend their support to the causes they care about under a Trump presidency. The network's Joelle Gamble, Brenna Conway, Dominic Russel and more remind readers that organizing and community are essential. 

4. How Much Will Black Lives Matter Now?
Roosevelt Fellow Dorian Warren joins Capital & Main’s post-election Q&A series about how to carry the fight for racial justice into the Trump era. He offers specific ideas about what people can do in the months ahead to protect communities: “We have no choice — our backs are to the wall.” 

5. Socializing Finance
In a thorough and thought-provoking Jacobin Magazine piece, Roosevelt Fellow J.W. Mason takes a look at the toll the financial sector currently takes on the real economy. He outlines the bold, groundbreaking steps that could be taken to make sure Big Finance works for the American public and broader economy, not the other way around.

 1. The Infrastructure We Need
A new report by Roosevelt Senior Fellow Damon Silvers, Senior Program Associate Eric Harris Bernstein, and Roosevelt @ University of Michigan member Dominic Russel argues that we must make transformative investments in high-speed rail, universal broadband, and a carbon-reducing power grid to create the foundation for a 21st century economy—and we must do so in ways that are inclusive and targeted.

2. The Winning, Unheard Message
An election night survey conducted by Democracy Corps finds that Roosevelt’s Rewrite the Rules message appeals to voters who want bold economic reforms, but as Joan Walsh notes, many who might have agreed with Hillary Clinton’s economic positions did not hear enough about them during the campaign.

3. The Next Four Years
In Vanity Fair, Roosevelt Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz argues that to regain voters’ trust, Democrats must steer away from neoliberalism and embrace a boldly progressive economic agenda. On Medium, Roosevelt Fellow Mike Konczal warns that progressives should not expect to find room for compromise with the newly empowered GOP—but we can be ready to oppose it.

4. The Growing Campus Movement
Roosevelters across the country have been joining and leading efforts to organize against the policies of the Trump administration. GW Today reports on a White House protest led by groups including Roosevelt @ GW, leaders of Roosevelt @ Cornell talked to The Cornell Daily Sun about their efforts to foster dialogue between different campus groups, and UCLA Roosevelter Francesco Arreaga calls on his school to uphold its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the Daily Bruin.

5. Giving Students a Voice in Their Community
Roosevelters at Binghamton University held a launch event for their Binghamton Blueprint, which received local news coverage. Their report outlines student solutions to local issues focused on poverty, economic development, and public education. Read it here.

1. The Fight Continues
Roosevelt President and CEO Felicia Wong writes in The New York Times’s“Room for Debate” series that while many are still reeling from Tuesday’s defeat, a progressive agenda to rewrite the rules of the economy remains the best way to “bring together Macomb County white voters in Michigan, who went for Reagan and Obama and now Trump, with people of color.”

2. The Crisis That Never Ended
Felicia Wong also appeared on Marketplace Morning Report to discuss the election, noting that the financial crisis that began in 2008 never really ended for tens of millions of Americans in key states, and they voted to change their circumstances.

3. Wall Street's Huge Win
Roosevelt Fellow Mike Konczal notes that Donald Trump’s victory delivered an overnight windfall of $50 billion to the eight riskiest and largest financial institutions because of markets’ confidence that the unified Republican government will roll back financial reform.

4. The Millennial Movement
Nicole Felmus, Ricardo Jaramillo, and Danielle Deiseroth of Roosevelt @ Columbia University write in The Columbia Spectator that, rather than being discouraged by the election, progressive millennials must get and stay engaged in the local, state, and federal policymaking process.

5. An Opening on Trade
Roosevelt Fellow Todd Tucker writes that Trump’s opposition to investor-state dispute settlement in trade deals could create a bipartisan opportunity to reform America’s network of trade agreements, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll stick to his position.