Don't Shoot PDX is demanding that Senator's Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and all United States Senators who uphold the U.S. constitution vote AGAINST the Senate confirmation of Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. Chad Wolf supported Donald Trump in developing and implementing the "no-tolerance" immigration policy that includes child and family separation. As one of the key overseers and lead deniers of this morally bereft policy, thousands of immigrant children are separated from their families, were locked in cages, and many have never been reconnected. Chad Wolf denies the harm caused by these inhumane, cruel policies. His active support of these policies will be scripted in the historical record as crimes against humanity. 

In addition to these abhorrent actions toward immigrant communities, Chad Wolf is responsible for violence toward fellow Oregonians. He openly defended the actions of the "Federal Officers" in Portland. Those who experienced their brutality know that these "Federal Officers" used dangerous chemical agents, shot non-violent demonstrators, snatched protestors and non-affiliated civilians off of the streets and held them illegally for hours with no access to attorneys or notification for the reason of arrest, wore no identification, and demonstrated excessive violent force toward members of our community. Federal Officers also targeted medics with chemical agents and projectiles (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/08/portland-protests-medics-police) Please join us in raising this collective demand that Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and all United States Senators who have a moral conscience stand on the side of Human Rights by voting against the confirmation of Chad Wolf.

In Addition to his moral depravity, Acting Senator Wolf was never properly nominated, confirmed or approved by the Senate to take over as the Secretary of the DHS. Below is a synopsis of the unethical and unconstitutional moves made by President Donald Trump to maneuver Wolf into power:

• People can be appointed into “acting” roles for a short time while awaiting the completion of the nomination and confirmation process, but that time has lapsed in this instance.
• Trump has publicly stated that ​he​ prefers to circumvent the Constitution because it is easier to appoint people to positions like “Acting Secretary of DHS” and keep them there indefinitely (or for as long as Trump sees fit) than it is to go through the entire approval process. This is unconstitutional.
• In mid-September a federal judge in Maryland ruled that Chad Wolf was in his role unlawfully, as was his second in command. Articles detailing this case and the opinion can be found here https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/politics/judge-chad-wolf/index.html here https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/us/politics/homeland-security-illegal-gao.html.
• In response, Trump formally nominated Wolf for the position and on September 23, Wolf had a Confirmation hearing before a voting committee in the Senate. This committee’s purpose was to vote amongst themselves to determine whether Wolf’s nomination should proceed to the full Senate.  His written testimony can be found here https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/09/23/submitted-written-testimony-acting-secretary-chad-f-wolf-us-senate-committee 
  A transcript of the proceedings can be found here https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/chad-wolf-dhs-secretary-senate-nomination-hearing-transcript-september-23 
• On September 30, 2020 the Senate panel sent the nomination for a full Senate vote (read herehttps://www.rollcall.com/2020/09/30/wolf-nomination-for-homeland-security-secretary-advances/).  Wolf secured the nomination along party lines. This means that the next step is for the entire Senate to vote on whether to confirm him. If the Senate votes in his favor, he will become the official Secretary of DHS.
• The Senate vote date/time has not yet been set.  Some think the vote could take place after the election, but some think it could advance before then.​    

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Please help us by sharing this petition widely. Your support will help to curtail the President's plans to further empower corruption, greed, and racism over human lives.