Target: Mark J. Hetfield, President and CEO of Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
Goal: Support fight to continue America’s role as a leader in global humanitarian aid.
The abrupt freezing of two billion dollars in already-approved humanitarian aid cut off life-saving services around the world and deepened the urgent plight of extremely vulnerable populations. In the process, countless American workers lost their jobs. This ForceChange petition highlighted some of the ramifications of the Trump administration’s attack on the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and called for a course correction. America’s courts have provided the needed pushback that America’s politicians will not.
In an important legal win, a federal judge presiding over one of the many lawsuits filed in the wake of the USAID shutdown ruled that the Trump administration must immediately pay the organizations that have already conducted humanitarian work or have already been promised funding. When the administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court upheld the decision by a narrow margin. This decision was a seeming rejection of the notion that the president and his administration can simply ignore and override Congressional decisions about funding. More importantly, the decision signals that vital humanitarian work that benefits millions of people may soon commence again.
Sign the petition below to celebrate this strike against executive overreach and this essential victory for compassion and empathy.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Hetfield,
Your organization lamented “the irreparable damage that the Trump administration has already inflicted on our staff, the people we serve, and the reputation of the United States as a leader and a reliable partner.” But you backed up these words with decisive legal action. Thank you for taking a stand for the vital humanitarian work conducted globally.
And congratulations on the affirmation the courts have given to this hard-won cause.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Julia Larson
