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OCTOBER 2025

Commentary

The President’s Memorandum, Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence , attempts to exploit recent political violence, to threaten civil rights and nonprofit organizations, the modern backbone of civil society.
Our faith tradition is rooted in love. We forsake political violence. We denounce sectarian violence. Our experiment of the American republic is an effort to move beyond those historic evils. We cherish our endeavor of republicanism despite its imperfections thus far. For we have faith, we can evolve it into a better place. Our progressive, liberal religious movement is grounded in critical analysis, truth-telling, conviction, nonviolence, and non-cooperation.
We all want safe communities. None of us wants the evil-doers to get away with harming our brethren and sistren in society. Yet militarization, crackdowns, and repression deliver order at the cost of free speech; they do not facilitate the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness—to thrive. And as we recently learned with Zachary Mueller, authoritarian movements require othering and villains to sustain themselves. We reject this impulse.
In practice, this memo represents another attempt to threaten, criminalize, intimidate, and censor those who advocate for our rights and government accountability, particularly in areas where the state has fallen short in serving the public good.  [click the button to continue]
 

Pablo DeJesús
Executive Director

 

Events

ACLU: Protest Safety, Know Your Rights & De-Escalation Training

Monday, October 6
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP 

Join the training to get the tools you need to take action safely, confidently, and with key de-escalation strategies in hand. Whether you're marching, rallying, or supporting from the sidelines, you'll learn how to protect yourself, your community, and stand up for your rights.

Review the ACLU's Know Your Rights portal for additional opportunities and resources.

 

Campus Engagement

Tuesdays
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP for multiple dates
October: 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, and 10/28

Recently, we collaborated to train students. We taught about and learned from past student movements. We trained on how students can play a central role in the anti-authoritarian movement. Students then built plans to launch hyper-local campus campaigns this fall.  UU Emerging or Young Adults, University-aged, are invited to join the weekly campaign planning and training calls – please share this opportunity with the youth in your networks!

No-frills Action Hour
Hosted by UUSJ’s Democracy Action Team

Wednesday, October 15
7:30 p.m. ET • 6:30 p.m. CT • 5:30 p.m. MT • 4:30 p.m. PT
RSVP (virtual)

Our Democracy Action Team is leading the way on federal engagement for UUSJ, helping to launch an ongoing series of action hours. This series enables you to contribute to the defense of our democracy and champion a positive, inclusive vision for our republic. Last month, we focused on the SAVE Act. Join us in pushing back and showing faithful defiance.

 

No Kings II - October 18, Nationwide
Endorsed by UUSJ

Saturday, October 18

With just under a month until No Kings II, we all have some time to consult with a group of friends and neighbors to create a participation plan for a local event. Consider upping your impact: organize a delegation from your congregation, church, or fellowship.

Act now! We are all needed in this fight to halt the backsliding of our democracy and turn it around. We need to attend on October 18 in force. Will you show up? 

National organizers expect this to be a c3-complaint, c3-friendly, series of events.

 

Rise for Freedom x ACLU Training Series
Hosted in partnership with UUSJ

As a member of the Rise for Freedom Coalition, we continue to partner with the ACLU to bring you in-person activist education training in your state on various dates. Venue restrictions limit space, so sign up quickly to reserve your spot. Check the following events:

Non-Cooperation Training
Hosted by Freedom Trainers

Join these training opportunities to gain skills in noncooperation and prepare to train others. Non-cooperation is a hot topic as an increasing number of U.S. residents conclude that we are living under an authoritarian circumstance. Act fast; Freedom Trainers, some of the organizers behind One Million Rising, are among the best at teaching this skill set.

Democracy Leaders Event
Hosted by UUSJ’s Democracy Action Team

Wednesday, October 22
7:30 p.m. ET • 6:30 p.m. CT • 5:30 p.m. MT • 4:30 p.m. PT
RSVP (virtual)

The UUSJ Democracy Action Team is convening Democracy Leaders in an ongoing discussion and action series about how we can contribute to a pro-democracy movement capable of thwarting the autocratic movement emerging rapidly in the U.S. Register for the Democracy Leaders mailing list.

Featured Actions

 

Defy Show Your Papers Voting Registration

In another bureaucratic end-run around Congress, Administration allies are trying to pressure an independent government board — the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) — into enacting a new voter suppression policy. The proposal would require Americans to present specific, costly, and hard-to-access documents, such as passports, before registering to vote. An estimated 21 million Americans could be shut out from the ballot box, particularly rural folks, students, women, and communities of color. 

(Familiar? Yes, it's a key part of the SAVE Act, which, in our opinion, suppresses the vote.)

Make Public Comment: Speak out against this barrier to the voter registration process.

 
 

Side With Refugees

Tell Congress the U.S. needs an admissions goal that reflects humanitarian values.

The federal fiscal year 2025 is coming to a close. Therefore,  September is a critical month for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and for all the people it serves. Too many have been left stranded by the current refugee ban.

Take Action: Side With Refugee

 

Side With Civil Rights Organizations and Nonprofits

This continues to be a First Amendment emergency, not a partisan issue. Across the U.S., nonprofits provide service and care. Now, some national leaders are targeting the entire nonprofit sector, especially civil rights, good-governance, and watchdog organizations. They are jeopardizing our economy and society. Remind them of the role civi society plays, and urging them to side with nonprofits. Free speech and nonprofit advocacy are on the line.

Take action: We Side With Civil Rights Organizations and Nonprofits

 

Demand Reports on Human Rights Practices

In collaboration with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), we invite you to decry deportations to locations with unverified human rights practices. The U.S. has reportedly deported immigrants to six countries where the individuals deported have no ties whatsoever. The risk of torture or abuse – particularly after reports from the CECOT prison in El Salvador – is high and an alarming concern.

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) has introduced six resolutions seeking information on the human rights practices of those countries, in an effort to provide monitoring and oversight.

Take Action: Defy the Deportations, tell Senators to demand Human Rights Reports.

 

Tell Senators to Resist the SAVE Act

Tea Party Patriots Action (TPPA), a leading conservative grassroots organization, been highlighting the SAVE Act and pressuring Senators to pass the legislation. They are advocating for its inclusion in "must-pass" legislation. This pressure tactic presents a new angle of legislative advocacy. 

UUSJ feels the bill should be treated with a standalone vote, so we can all see clearly the Senate vote dispositions on the specific matter.

Take Action: remind the Senate to resist and reject the SAVE Act, if it comes before them.

Support DACA and Dreamers

The Administration is actively eroding the legal protection DACA offers. We must urge Congress to support DACA and the Dreamers now! About 525,000 people are currently recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). They come from nearly 200 countries of birth and live in every state. Many are teachers, nurses, engineers, technicians, construction leaders, and small business owners. They contribute to our economy and are valued members of our communities.

Take Action: Support DACA & Dreamers

News

 

Wonder How Religious Your State Is?

Review the Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, released earlier this year. The study was designed to paint a statistical portrait of religion in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Or see How Party and Religion Shape Americans’ Trust in Television News, News Organizations, and Journalists, by PRRI.

Annual Conference of Oregon UU Voices for Justice

Saturday, October 18
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. PT

UUSJ and UUSC will present at the Annual Conference of Oregon UU Voices for Justice to explore ways to collaborate for the benefit of our planet, our democracy, and one another. For more details, follow the link.

Thinking of Portland, OR, these days, as the Trump administration authorizes 200 National Guard members for Portland deployment, OPB. Wondering if it's rife with violence, or plump with peace? See, Portland residents scoff at Trump threat to send military: ‘This is not a war zone’, Guardian.

October Board Meeting

Our Trustees will meet on Friday, October 10, 2025; for more information, email info@uusj.org

Economic Justice
To connect with UUSJ about our activities (info@uusj.org)

 

Government Shutdown Looms Large

The first government shutdown in almost seven years seems imminent: “That could bring some - but not all - US government services to a temporary halt.” BBC

“66 percent of Americans have heard 'a lot' or ‘some’ about a potential government shutdown, with 21 percent having heard ‘a lot.’ finds Navigator Research in their report, Americans in the Battleground Want Congress to Protect Health Care — Even If It Means Shutting Down the Government.

Recently, CBPP shared Understanding the Legal Framework Governing a Shutdown. However, the big question is whether the administration will abide by the law? See The Supreme Court’s Trump Enablers May Have Screwed Themselves, TNR, or a timeline from the first 100 days of how Trump’s federal government is upending the legal system, Axios.

More on Shutdown:

 
 

Hardball Leaders Wanted

Back in March, Minority Leader Schumer was asked to step aside, “after he voted in favor of a spending bill that averted a government shutdown and handed President Donald Trump and Republicans a victory,” USA Today. Thus began the open wondering if Schumer (and Jeffries) can become oppositional legislators? Can they lead in the face of autocracy? 

Now, in September, more Americans agree this is moving into authoritarian consolidation. Some say dictatorship, others term it a fascist regime on the rise. Many agree that Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries face a big leadership test in the shutdown fight, NBC News.

 
 

Budget and Tax Content and Clipping

 

Defending Our Democracy
Fred Van Deusen, Democracy Action Team Convener (Democracy@uusj.org)

 

Faithful Defiance of Authoritarianism: A Call to Action

In a time of rising authoritarianism, we are called to act boldly in defense of democracy and human dignity. Grounded in Unitarian Universalist principles, the following actions offer a path forward for congregations to organize, educate, and resist in faithful community.

Congregational Steps to Action

Together, these steps form a faithful, strategic, and escalating response to authoritarian threats. Each congregation's role matters—and when we act collectively, grounded in love and courage, we can defend democracy and build a more just future for all.

 
 

“The Most Fateful Election in American History” 

In ‘2026 Is the Battlefield’, Anne Applebaum, an Atlantic staff writer, and Garry Kasparov, chess world champion and host of Autocracy in America, discuss the stakes for the United States in reaction to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show. 

While Kimmel is back on the air, partially, “two powerful companies that own dozens of ABC affiliates have said they will continue their boycott,” the Atlantic segment offers a critical comparative perspective, discussing Russia, Poland, and others. Kasparov highlights that Americans have more tools, but need to use them now. Applebaum underscores the limits of comparisons. Kasporov presses the case; the midterms are more important than most realize.

 
 

Authoritarianism in the Mainstream

If you missed UUSJ’s insightful and informative session with Zachary Mueller, Political Strategist and former Senior Director of Research at America’s Voice, on how American authoritarianism has leveraged anti-immigrant sentiment, review the video HERE.

 

Talking Past Persuadable Voters?

Recently, Third Way, a center, moderate think tank, argued in Was it Something I said? that many of the words used to talk about issues are red flags “for a sizable segment of the American public.”  Asserting that such individuals leave conversations because “they fear cancellation, doxing, or trouble with HR if they make a mistake.” 

UUs love many of the words and phrases tagged, deploying them to speak about root causes and harms. That may present a problem as UUs engage their neighbors and friends across political boundaries in the quest to find common ground for moral concern. 

Our volunteers may not fully agree with Third Way, but they take moral persuasion, advocacy, and mobilization seriously, so the article is worth considering.

 

Articles That Have Caught Attention:

Immigration Justice
Steve Eckstrand & Terry Grogan, Immigration Action Team Conveners (Immigration@uusj.org)

 

Polling On Immigration

The Washington Post issued a report that has been circulating since late August, These House Democrats seek a new middle ground on immigration. Updated polling results have advocates and political strategists hand wringing, and Democrats looking for a response. 

The backdrop “A July Wall Street Journal poll found that 45 percent of voters believed Republicans in Congress were best able to handle immigration, while only 28 percent of voters said the same for congressional Democrats; 17 percent of respondents said they trusted neither party to handle the issue.”

These results, alongside PRRI findings in June that “Six in Ten Americans Oppose Exporting Undocumented Immigrants to Foreign Prisons Without Due Process.”

 

Potent and Prevalent Hate of Immigrants

If you missed UUSJ’s insightful and informative session with Zachay Mueller, Political Strategist and former Senior Director of Research at America’s Voice, on how American authoritarian forces have leveraged anti-immigrant sentiments, review the video HERE.

The Demographics Are Shifting

In a recent Pew report, “What the Data Say About Immigrants in the U.S.,” researchers find that “After more than 50 years of rapid growth, the nation’s immigrant population is now in decline.” Several years ago, our volunteers noted that the constant thump of anti-immigrant stump speeches was having a profound impact on the narrative in the U.S. about our status as a nation of immigrants. With the new climate of hostility and the enforcement regime in full effect, the demographics are now shifting in response. Between January and June 2025, the U.S. experienced the first decline in the foreign-born population since the 1960s.

In an earlier report, Americans’ Views of Deportations, Pew found “most say arrests of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be allowed at protests or in homes, but not at places of worship or schools.” We find that scary.

The Onslaught Continues

Recently, our immigration team caught wind of 8 CFR Part 287, the Codification of Certain U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Law Enforcement Authorities, which, in our opinion, signals continued overreach, crackdown, and militarization of immigration. It means our work for justice won’t end anytime soon. We will have our work cut out for us.

For some context, see New Federal Task Forces Under 287(g) Could Form ‘ICE Army’ From National Guard, State, Local & College Police, White House ‘Operation Homecoming’ Plan Calls for 20,000 Additional Personnel — DHS Looks to Mobilize National Guard, a post from May by Unicorn Riot.

 

Articles shared by the team

 

Environmental and Climate Justice
To connect with UUSJ about our activities (info@uusj.org)

 

On The Endangerment Finding

A strong comment letter was submitted to the EPA last week on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, Climate Mayors, C40 Cities, and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law regarding the protection of the Endangerment Finding (EPA) and GHG Vehicle Standards. Overview by NPR, Businesses face 'chaos' as EPA aims to repeal its authority over climate pollution.

 

Con Job or Conscientious Science

WATCH: Trump calls climate change ‘the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world’, PBS Newshour. The reaction by various global climate science experts was swift and comprehensive, Science Media Centre.

 

AI and Data Centers

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is building off its groundbreaking Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States report of 1987 and leading a conversation about the implications of AI and Data Centers. As massive data centers are being built or proposed across the country to support the growing use of AI programs, the burden of operating these facilities is having an impact on the surrounding people and land. See ‘A time to form unlikely allies’: Experts urge response to AI Data Centers in Creation Justice (deck) from a recent UCC Webinar (video).

Data center projects are not federally mandated and therefore, are not subject to the National Environmental Policy Act; consequently, each state's environmental policies pertain.

Interested in the topic, review:

 

Special Treatment Since 1913

Oil Change International just released the latest totals on U.S. handouts to Big Oil and Gas -- they found a whopping $34.8 billion in handouts from the U.S. federal government every year! Read the report here: Paying for Climate Chaos.

Fossil fuel subsidies and handouts have more than doubled since 2017!  Watch and share this explainer video from former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich.

But Nuclear is not the alternative. For more on that, see Food & Water Watch’s piece 5 Reasons Why Expanding Nuclear is a Terrible Idea.

 

Environment and Climate Coverage

 
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