July 2025 Updates

 Citizens’ Climate Lobby: Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a climate action group that lobbies representatives at the national and state level. They work with media and do grassroots outreach. Specific areas of interest are electrification, healthy forests, permitting reform, and putting a price on carbon. The CCL annual conference will be July 20-23 in Washington D.C. This will include information sessions, networking, and lobbying every Congressional representative. Our local Inland Valley Citizens’ Climate Lobby chapter will host a tabling event at the Claremont Farmers’ Market on July 13 from 8:00 am to noon. Come on by! Monthly chapter meetings are held at Napier Center on the second Saturday of each month at 9:15. All are welcome.

NCNW, Pomona Valley Section: On July 19, NCNW hosts their annual Quartermania, a fast-paced, fun-filled quarter auction where bids start at just 25¢. Tickets (available here) are limited, and include lunch, a paddle, and door prize entry. Bring your quarters & your crew!

Prison Library Project: The Prison Library Project, part of the local Claremont Forum is a volunteer driven program focused on delivering books to incarcerated individuals nationwide. 2025 marks the 40th year of service. Books may be donated and volunteers are welcome. Shopping at the Claremont Farmers’ Market helps support the Prison Library Project.

Sustainable Claremont: Sustainable Claremont engages people in education and action to create a more sustainable community environmentally, socially, and economically. Some of the actions are tree planting, raised bed gardening, maintaining the urban forest, community composting and sustainability dialogs. The Claremont Home Energy Retrofit (CHERP) began as a Sustainable Claremont working group before it expanded statewide. They also host Claremont’s Earth Day Fair and the annual Green Home Tour.

State of Play - Refugee Justice 

The latest: As of June 23, the Trump administration’s indefinite refugee ban remains in place. Tens of thousands of already-approved refugees remain stranded in increasingly dangerous conditions overseas. Only a very small number of refugees and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders are now being resettled and allowed to access Reception and Placement (R&P) support under exceptions to the refugee ban. These include a small group of white South Africans and others granted waivers by the Secretary of State, and approximately 160 refugees protected by an injunction under the Pacito v. Trump lawsuit. At this time, it remains uncertain how the recent implementation of a travel ban might impact this group of prospective refugee arrivals. 
On June 17, the Trump administration filed their reply brief in the Ninth Circuit, asking the Court to overturn the district court’s injunctions that have permitted the group described above to be processed and resettled. We continue to wait for the judge in the Pacito case to appoint a third-party neutral arbiter to review which additional refugee cases qualify for processing and resettlement while the lawsuit continues in court. While we wait, we’ll be using this space to highlight another of the eight amicus briefs filed in the ongoing challenge to the refugee ban.  

• On May 27, a group of 17 former U.S. Department of State, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services government officials filed an amicus brief in support of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and plaintiffs’ position that the Trump administration’s suspension of the program “is an unlawful attempt to dismantle the comprehensive statutory framework laid out by Congress, and that this indefinite suspension is causing ongoing and irreparable harm to refugee applicants and their family members as well as nonprofit resettlement agencies that support refugee arrival and integration.” The brief outlines how the USRAP implements Congress’ intent to create a uniform, permanent system to process and resettle refugees fleeing conflict and persecution, and delineates the complexity of their admission through the program–from the rigorous security screening, USCIS interview, and adjudication to the health screening, travel clearance and booking, and arrival in the United States. Finally, the former government officials describe how the indefinite pause “heightens the risk of irreversible and adverse health consequences” for vulnerable refugees and undermines U.S. foreign policy interests.  

Senate Parliamentarian finds some budget bill provisions violate the chamber’s rules. Senate Republicans continue to work on the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would cut the social safety net in order to massively increase immigration enforcement and provide tax cuts for the rich. As a reminder, the budget reconciliation process allows legislation to overcome a filibuster and pass with a simple majority (instead of the Senate’s usual 60 required votes). However, some of the bill’s provisions are reviewed by the

Senate parliamentarian–a nonpartisan advisor on Senate rules–who determines whether they comply with the “Byrd Rule,” which prohibits provisions that are “extraneous” to the budget.  Over the weekend, the parliamentarian found that several immigration provisions of the budget bill violate the Byrd Rule, enabling Democrats to challenge the bill on the floor if the provisions remain in the bill and forcing 60 votes to pass it. These rulings, while advisory, are almost never ignored. So far, the immigration-related provisions found in violation include: 

• Barring lawfully present immigrants, such as refugees and asylees, from accessing SNAP 

• Limiting funding from some federal programs for “sanctuary cities”

• Providing state and local officials the authority to arrest of people suspected of being undocumented

• Limiting when judges can block the federal government with injunctions

• Banning the federal government from settling lawsuits by paying money to anyone other than the United States, unless the payment directly remedies harm or pays for services rendered 

See ongoing analysis from the National Immigration Law Center as new parliamentarian rulings emerge here. Tell your Senators to vote no on the budget bill here. Register to join tonight’s virtual community webinar about the bill and how to take action. 

World Refugee Day commemorated across the country and in Congress. Every year, June 20th marks World Refugee Day to honor refugees and highlight their rights, needs, contributions, and dreams. Celebrations and community events took place across the country, including in Washington, D.C. where leaders delivered the Ecumenical Declaration to the Trump administration. The declaration–signed by 600 churches and more than 3,000 people of faith–asserts our collective commitment to advocate for the protection of refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and other vulnerable people and encourages elected leaders to uphold policies that reflect our values of justice and compassion. 

In Congress, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA-36) introduced a resolution recognizing World Refugee Day, cosponsored by 23 Senators and 49 Representatives. The resolution reaffirms the imperative to restore asylum protections and the USRAP and calls upon the Trump administration to uphold the nation’s commitment to protect and welcome people fleeing conflict or persecution. 

There are still ways to stand in solidarity with forcibly displaced people. You can sign the #WeWillWelcome pledge, launched on World Refugee Day by Refugee Advocacy Lab, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Refugee Congress, Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), Refugees International, Save Resettlement, and Welcoming America, here!