June 30th Calls to Action
Military families standing up for our communities and our country
It continues to be a challenging time with so many issues feeding the headlines. Meanwhile, we are watching as the Senate pushes forward with the One Big Beautiful Bill and the administration targets immigrants including military families. All the while, military families are carrying the weight of the Israel-Iran conflict as it continues to escalate into a volatile standoff, with U.S. troops increasingly exposed to danger, uncertain deployment timelines, and the looming threat of a broader regional war. It’s a lot to process, and it’s no wonder that a new survey found that military and veteran spouses experience depression and anxiety at two to three times the rate of the general population.
It’s easy to be frustrated and feel like our voices aren’t being heard. Make sure you are taking care of yourself because we need every voice in this fight. When democracy and our communities are threatened under the guise of protection and patriotism, our voices matter.
Here are this week’s calls to action for military families:
Call now to stop the One Big Beautiful Bill.
The Senate is currently in session for a marathon voting process known as a “vote-a-rama” — which means any senator can offer any amendment to the One Big Beautiful Bill for as many hours as he or she wants. That means there’s still time to stop this harmful legislation from becoming law.
The bill contains many harmful provisions like cutting federal SNAP funding by about 30% - the largest food assistance cut in history - while also increasing work requirements for SNAP participants. It’s terrible news for the thousands of military and veteran families who use SNAP, Medicaid, and other programs under attack by this legislation. It’s a big bill with big consequences, for military families and for our communities.
What can you do?
Call your representatives ASAP to tell them your concerns about how this legislation will impact military families and our communities, and ask them to vote “no” on the final vote.
Speak up on behalf of military families being detained and deported.
Last week, ICE agents in New Orleans detained the wife of a Marine veteran while she was attending her immigration appointment. Immigration officials also violently detained a landscaper and father of three Marines in Southern California.
ICE has deported Shirly Guardado, a military spouse and mom of a 11-month-old baby boy. She did everything she was supposed to do to stay in the US legally: her husband‘s petition for her was approved by USCIS in 2023, she has a SSN and employment authorization.
Last month, Nicolle Saroukos, an Australian citizen and wife of a U.S. Army lieutenant, was detained and deported when attempting to visit her husband at his duty station in Hawaii. Despite previous visits without issue, she was strip-searched and detained, before being denied entry without clear justification.
The wife of an active-duty Coast Guardsman was arrested at the end of April by federal immigration authorities inside the family residential section of the Key West Naval Air Station.
What can you do?
Share their stories on social media to raise awareness.
Call your representatives to tell them to stand up for vulnerable military families and ensure they have the support they need to navigate complex immigration issues.
Contact your Congressional members to make sure they support the military families legislative package.
Last month, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Jen Kiggans (R-VA) introduced a bipartisan legislative package that aims to improve services and benefits for military families.
Included in the package is the Care for Military Kids Act, the Servicemember Healthcare Freedom Act, the Coast Guard Parity Act, and the Bonus Act, all of which make meaningful reforms to improve health, personal, and financial outcomes for servicemembers and their families. Read more about it here.
The Care for Military Kids Act allows military families to remain on their home state’s Medicaid throughout their military career, and will be especially important if Republicans are successful in pushing through their cuts to Medicaid.
What can you do?
Call or email your Congressional members to make sure they are signed on to support these key measures to improve the lives of military families.