"Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it."
Martin Luther King, Jr. - A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches.
Visit the IHB website at: https://www.indivisible-IHB.org.
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Key actions for the upcoming week include the following:
We are so very grateful for all that you do each week! Please stay warm, safe, and engaged!
The IHB Leadership Team
Thanks to everyone who has been coming out in the cold this past week to oppose the cruelty and lawlessness of ICE. When we stand up publicly for due process, when we say, “REIN IN ICE, NOW,” it provides important social proof for others (fellow community members and elected officials) that they should join us in our outrage. Let’s keep it up!
Actions for Today and Tomorrow – Continuation of IHB’s Anti-ICE/Fascism Weekend of Action
Upcoming Actions:
If you have questions about any of the above (or to share your ideas for rally themes and/or locations), contact Nancy Wahler: nancywahler@gmail.com.
COURAGE COLLECTIVES
SUMMARY: An explanation of Courage Collectives, the action-oriented evolution of Indivisible’s One Million Rising (OMR) initiative, was presented at the November 17th Monday Meeting at WBW. The slides for the kick-off meeting presentation can be accessed HERE if you are interested in joining the group.
We are seeing cracks in the Pillars supporting the regime. While their frustration grows, we need to lean in. There will be a Zoom meeting every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. You can also contact Deb at dstravers@comcast.net to sign-up or get more information. Or see her at the Monday meetings at WBW before the meeting starts.
IHB continues to support the following Courage Collective initiatives which are focused on the Business pillar:
COURAGE COLLECTIVE - ACTIONS
Overall Actions - The IHB Courage Collective had an initial meeting on Thursday, January 15. Ten of the sixteen people who signed-up attended. Deb Travers gave an overview of what Courage Collective is about and a model for how the team could function. There will be weekly meetings on Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. for an hour. New members are welcome. Slides from the Jan 15 session can be found HERE.
!! 1. The Ground Avelo Campaign - Watch This Space for Upcoming Actions.
As you wait for your next Avelo actions, please check-out this article that outlines the "how" associated with this win. Click HERE.
!! 2. Shame on Citizens Bank – Let’s take what we learned from our Avelo campaign and apply it to Citizens Bank!
Summary: We want to force Citizens Bank (CB) to quit funding CoreCivic and GEO, who build and run the for-profit prisons being used to hold ICE detainees under deplorable conditions. Citizens Bank has not pulled the trigger on this yet, but we are about to turn up the heat!
Action 1: Social Media Campaign.
We continue to target the Citizens Bank Facebook page this week. As people go to the page to write wonderful things about CB’s customer service and philanthropy, they will also get a dose of the truth about Citizens’ funding of for-profit prisons. Get to their Facebook page using this link: https://www.facebook.com/CitizensBank.MortgageLoans/mentions and feel free to leave them a comment yourself. We need to amplify this message.
Action 2: Send an email to Dan Fitzpatrick (daniel.k.fitzpatrick@citizensbank.com).
If you haven't already done so, write a letter to Citizen's Bank executives to voice your anger. We continue to “correspond” with emails to Dan Fitzpatrick, President, CB Mid-Atlantic, letting him know where we plan to protest next. Click HERE to see an example. Remember that it is very important to use your own words and not make something a form letter.
We have Mr. Fitzpatrick's attention; he is sending people from his team to support the branch manager on the days we protest at the Concord Pike location. We need to keep up the pressure.
Action 3: Anne Elmlinger set-up a meeting with Vicki Miller of Indivisible Philadelphia to discuss their plans for a multi-state day of protest against Citizens Bank. Stay tuned for more information from the Rally Team as it develops.
During this meeting, we shared other tactics that both groups are implementing and agreed to utilize each other’s ideas – why reinvent the wheel?
For more details, please contact Deb Travers at (dstravers@comcast.net).
Save the contact information below on your computer and/or in your phone:
[If you have not tried it, please take a look at Democracy I/O. This tool will allow you to send an e-mail to all three of our MOCs with just a few clicks.].
As part of our on-going advocacy efforts, the following are actions for your attention and action this week:
!! 1. To: Senators Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester and Representative Sarah McBride (contacts 1, 2, and 3 above).
SUMMARY: ICE violence and abuse have ramped up after the killing of Renee Good on January 7, in Minneapolis, MN. Congress must use the tools that they have to end this lawless violence and withhold their votes from any funding bill which would increase ICE’s already massive budget.
ACTION: Contact our MOCs asking that they refuse to vote for any bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security unless it strengthens restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol, ends deployments in our cities, and limits DHS’s authority to transfer funds for detention.
SAMPLE MESSAGE:
BACKROUND: Indivisible has created a web page that makes it easy to email your legislators: https://indivisible.org/
!! 2. To: All IHB Members - Celebrations - Immigration Advocacy
? A HUGE thank you to all the IHBers who sent emails this week to House Leadership in support of HB94!!!! A total of 194 emails have been sent to date.
Action: If you haven't sent your email yet, it's not too late. We're asking for a vote by the end of January 2026. Please see the Advocacy section of the January 11 Sunday email for complete details.
? HB151 - an Act that prohibits the operation of private detention facilities in the State of Delaware - has been voted out of Committee this week and is now placed on the Ready List.
Action: This is another bill that we want to put up for a vote as soon as possible! Watch your email for this action request.
!! 3. To: All IHB Members - Advocacy Opportunity - Immigration
Summary: We are looking for innovative ways to engage our growing membership. We have heard from many of you that you want to do more and are looking for ways to get more deeply involved.
Action: Our partner, the ACLU, is looking for volunteers to conduct Lobby Drop-ins during the next two weeks to encourage our legislators to bring HB94 for a floor vote. If interested, please contact Beth Anne Gluck (bagluck@comcast.net).
!! 4. To: All IHB Members - Take the Action to Protect to the Next Level - Immigration
Summary: The federal government is continuing to push to enlist Delaware in its immigration enforcement program, allowing ICE to build its mass deportation force here in Delaware.
Action: Tell Delaware's Leaders to take action to protect Immigrant Communities! The ACLU-DE has a new action alert to the Governor and General Assembly, calling for both stronger guidance to be issued and for policies to be passed to end all cooperation with ICE. Click HERE to add your name!
Background: In early November, Seaford Police and Delaware State Police responded to a request by ICE for assistance in detaining a man. Now, information has come to light that the Laurel Police Department voluntarily compiled and shared a list of Haitian immigrants with the FBI. In both incidents, there is no evidence of a valid judicial warrant.
Delawareans do not want our law enforcement, state agencies, and personnel, as well as local taxpayer dollars to serve the federal administration’s attempts to target our immigrant communities. Governor Meyer has reaffirmed his commitments to protecting Delaware's immigrant communities, but now he must take action.
The Delaware General Assembly took meaningful strides toward protecting immigrant communities during the 2025 legislative session — banning 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement and ICE, advancing a slate of pro-immigrant legislation, and banning citizens’ arrests — but we cannot allow our state legislators to stop here.
!! 5. To: All IHB Members - Education - Immigration
Summary: Know Your Rights Training for Businesses
Action: IHB is collaborating with Indivisible Newark to protect local businesses that employ immigrants. Join us at Newark's Build and Bond Meeting on Sunday, January 25th, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. at St. Thomas's Episcopal Church for a training session led by Helen Salita from ACLU-DE. Click HERE to learn more.
!! 6. To: All IHB members - Phone Banking Opportunity!
Summary: There are a couple of critical Constitutional Amendments related to voting, which will be voted on in this Legislative session, SB 2 and SB 3!
Action: Please put Wednesday, January 28, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. on your calendar to phone bank with the ACLU and voters in Representative districts 9 and 22 in an effort to help expand voting in Delaware. Training will be included, so newcomers please join us! Note: you will be able to do this phone banking from home!
To sign up, please email Sally Barclay sallybar913@gmail.com and she will share the information for participating with you!
Background: Branden Fletcher, Voting Rights Organizer at the ACLU of Delaware, provided an update on the voting bills in the current 2026 Delaware Legislative session at the Monday Meeting on January 12. If you missed the meeting, the slides are available HERE.
Two of the voting related bills SB 2 (Early Voting) and SB 3 (No Excuse Absentee Voting) have already passed the Senate in the first year of this 153nd Assembly, so we need to push hard to help get these bills passed in the House in this second year of the 153nd Assembly (otherwise, it's back to square one!)
*Remember for a constitutional amendment, bills must pass in two consecutive assemblies with 2/3 of legislators voting in support.
Our first action of 2026 for voting rights will be to call voters in two Delaware Representative districts asking them to call their Representative about supporting the voting bills so we can expand voting options available in Delaware and get more Delawareans to vote!
The Social Capital Work Group - We Build Community.
!! IHB Community Sing – Join the fun, all voices welcome, even off-key.
!! New Member Meetings - If You Are a Newbie or Want to Learn More.
!! Unless noted otherwise, all meetings start at 4:00 p.m. and take place at Wilmington Brew Works (WBW), 3129 Miller Road in Wilmington. Join us!
Reminders: Please come early (3:30 or 3:45 p.m.), to give yourself time to get your drink and socialize so that we may start promptly at 4:00 p.m. Because our membership is growing, do consider carpooling. And please don't forget to generously tip the wait staff at Wilmington Brew Works for making this great facility available to us! Members are encouraged to wear their IHB name tags.
Indivisible Highland and Beyond’s mission: Preserve and expand participation in our democracy by electing pro-democracy candidates and by promoting legislation and policies that advance an inclusive, representative democracy.
Find IHB on TikTok @ihbdelaware and Instagram @indivisiblehighlandsandbeyond.
Visit the IHB website at: https://www.indivisible-IHB.org. If you need help setting up your IHB account or have trouble logging in, contact IHB webmaster Sandy Dobbs at indivisiblebeyond1@gmail.com).
IHB Leaders:
| Electoral |
Lucy Comstock-Gay (lucy.comstockgay@gmail.com) |
| Legislative Advocacy: | Sheila Grant (sgrant62@gmail.com) |
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Legislative & Electoral Mailings: |
Sarah Baylin (sjbaylin66@gmail.com) |
|
One Million Rising (OMR): |
Deb Travers (dstravers@comcast.net) |
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Operations: |
Nancy Hannigan (njhannigan@yahoo.com) |
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Social Capital: |
Jill Gaumer (jill.gaumer@gmail.com) Maxine Robbins (maxinerobbins@gmail.com) |
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Communications: | Gwen Jolley (gmjolley@bellsouth.net) |