July 28: Indivisible Santa Fe Newsletter

National purpose with local action

Next meeting: August 3, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Christ Lutheran Church
1701 Arroyo Chamiso Road, Santa Fe

From protecting Chaco to ICE-free zones, this week is full of opportunities for action! But the main focus of the news is free and fair elections.

Demonstration - Protect Our Public Post Office 📫

Today, July 28, from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, at the main post office downtown (120 S. Federal Place), the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) is leading a demonstration to defend the postal service.

USPS faces serious threats, from attacks on voting by mail to the possibility that postal leadership will prioritize corporate profits over public interest. This demonstration will remind the public that USPS is a service, not a business, and that it needs protecting.

Please attend if you can! Reach out to Will S to help wave one of his signs, or bring your own!

Protect Our Public Post Office National Day of Action: Join or Host an Event on July 28 | American Postal Workers Union

This month marks the 251st anniversary of the USPS, and it remains one of America’s most trusted public institutions. Every day, postal workers make sure that prescription medications, paychecks, ballots, packages, and letters get delivered to every home and business in the country. Yet, the Postal Service faces serious threats. From financial challenges created by […]

American Postal Workers Uniongknowles

PNM-Blackstone Public Comment Hearing

Reminder from last week: Today, July 28, from 1:00-7:00 PM, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is holding a Public Comment Hearing regarding the application for Blackstone Infrastructure to acquire PNM's parent company, TXNM Energy. The hearing will be in the University of New Mexico Student Union Building, Ballroom C.

See the Notice of Public Comment Hearing for more details about the hearing. Visit ReliablePowerNM.com for more information about the application.

Rally to Protect Chaco Canyon

The Diné Pueblo Solidarity Coalition will hold a rally on July 29 at 1 PM at the Bureau of Land Management Offices at 301 Dinosaur Trail. The rally is to oppose the proposed removal of the 10-mile protection zone in the Greater Chaco Region.

Chaco Canyon - Last Call for Comments ✍️

The public comment period for the proposed revocation of federal protections around Chaco Culture National Historical Park ends on July 29 at midnight Mountain Time. Please add your comment! To get started, visit the BLM project home page, then click the "Participate Now" button near the top of the page.

Several organizations such as New Mexico Wild and Sierra Club are hosting their own submission pages. These sites provide guidelines for effective comments, as well as sample text.

City Council Meeting - ICE-Free Zones

The Santa Fe City Council will hold its next regular meeting on July 29. The city Immigration Committee will make public comments asking the Council to pass an ordinance establishing "ICE-free zones" – prohibiting ICE from using any city-owned properties, such as parking garages or parks, to stage their raids.

Please attend if you can. If you're asked to do so, please speak in favor of ICE-free zones during the public comment period. Please bring signs in support of such legislation.

The meeting starts at 5:00 PM. Public comments, limited to 2 minutes each, start at 7:00 pm.

Melinda H has provided suggestions for signs. Here's a small sample:

• No city resources for ICE raids
• Act now to protect our city
• City Council: Help protect our city
• Sanctuary city? Make it a law!!!

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Hands Off Our Vote! Watch Party 👀

July 30, at 6:00 PM, Indivisible is holding its Hands Off Our Vote! Kickoff Call – and Christina O is hosting a watch party! There will be snacks and beverages, but please feel free to bring a dish or beverage to share.

Please RSVP for the exact location (near Garcia St. and Acequia Madre) and parking information.

Drinking Liberally 🍷

The next monthly meeting of Drinking Liberally is drawing near! August 4, 5:00-7:00 PM, at Boxcar SF, 133 W. Water Street.

Regular protests & events

• Banner Drop - July 30, 7:30-8:30 AM at Cuyamungue. RSVP to Linda F.
• Southside HONK and WAVE - these are still happening Fridays, 8:00-9:00 AM, but they have moved to Zafarano Dr. and Cerrillos Rd.

Fridays: Southside HONK and WAVE Protest

Fridays 8:00-9:00 AM on the corner of Zafarano Dr and Cerrillos Rd, on the sidewalk in front of the Target. Bring your signs! Support your neighbors! A Tale of February 6 We were protesting on February 6th, with a small group on the corner of Zafarano and

Indivisible Santa FeGuest post

Walk the Talk Wednesdays

Come wave signs, Wednesdays 11 AM to noon at St. Francis & Cerrillos

Indivisible Santa FeDonovan Kolbly

Thursdays: Whole Foods Leafletting

Join SFBT each Thursday, 5:30-6:30 PM, to distribute leaflets at Whole Foods, Cerrillos Rd.

Indivisible Santa FeGuest post

The Continuing Attack on Mail Voting

On Saturday, July 25, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's injunction of parts of Trump's executive order attacking mail voting. 🎉

Just two days later, on Monday, July 27, the Trump administration made an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking them to allow the order to go into effect before the midterm elections. 😞

Corporate Money Out of NM Politics 💰🗑️

Indivisible Santa Fe is supporting a citizen-led effort to explore using New Mexico legislation to address the influence of corporate money in politics. During the July 27 ISF meeting some of the working group's members, led by Natalie C, gave an update on that effort.

The group is reviewing legislation adopted or proposed in other states. It's consulting with national and New Mexico experts. And it is building a bipartisan coalition of community organizations, advocates, and potential legislative sponsors.

The group's goal is to develop a practical, legally sound proposal that increases accountability, protects democratic self-government, and responds to widespread public concern about the role of corporate spending in elections.

The working group is beginning to contact state elected officials. It's asking ISF participants to call our state senators and representatives to let them know we support this legislative proposal, called "Corporate Money Out of New Mexico Politics."

How to Be an Election Watcher 👀

Recent newsletters have mentioned ways to help ensure that the upcoming midterm elections are free and fair:

• As a General Election Voter Protection Volunteer with the Democratic Party of New Mexico (more details coming August 10!)
• As an election worker with the Santa Fe County Clerk's office
• As an election observer with Observe New Mexico Elections

Now Free and Fair Elections NM 2026 has posted about one more way to help: as an election watcher.

The post explains how election watchers differ from election challengers and election observers. It also notes that Land of Action is offering grassroots progressive groups and individuals an opportunity to serve as election watchers.

Check it out! How to be an Election Watcher with Land of Action

Check out our resources page with lots of links to useful information, constantly being updated as we find new web resources to help fight for democracy and the rule of law.

You can help our effort to expand our digital presence, including social media on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram by following us and liking and re-posting our messages, or sharing our website with people who might be interested – they, too, can sign up and get this newsletter! 🎉 Help us get the word out!

This week we’re kicking off our largest-ever election protection program, demanding the Senate refuse to put another Trump lackey in charge of the US intelligence community, and putting in a final big push to help Abdul El-Sayed overcome massive outside spending and win the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan.

The usual intro from our co-executive director Ezra Levin will return next week, but if you like this shorter newsletter format, you can let us know here and we’ll send you a short, digest-like newsletter permanently.

In solidarity, 
Indivisible Team

Your weekly to-dos

1. Join our Hands Off Our Vote kickoff call THIS Thursday, July 30 for the national launch of our campaign to protect every single vote from Trump’s election subversion (8pm ET/5pm PT). Don’t wait until October to get into election protection formation! Our work starts NOW to build the foundation for an unshakeable movement equipped to defend voting rights and mobilize in rapid response moments if and when Republicans try to undermine free and fair elections. No matter where you live, you can help ensure every vote is counted this November.
2. Call your US senators and demand they oppose Jay Clayton -- another of Trump’s lackeys and golfing buddies -- for Director of National Intelligence. The Senate is voting on Clayton’s nomination TONIGHT. Outside of the very basic and disqualifying problem that Clayton has almost no experience tackling intelligence issues, he refused to say that Joe Biden fairly won the 2020 election during his Senate confirmation hearing. We absolutely cannot afford another Trump loyalist at the helm of American intelligence -- the implications for surveillance and opportunities for abuse of information are endless. After you’ve called, follow up with a quick email.
3. Then, call your US senators and tell them to oppose legislation that would entrench Trump-Netanyahu military partnership. Last week, the House narrowly passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with provisions that would further interweave the US and the Israeli militaries through weapons development and intelligence sharing. However, Democrats were nearly united in opposition -- proof that we do not have to rubber-stamp Trump’s partnership with Netanyahu. Our senators must reject these provisions in the NDAA, but they need to hear from their constituents. For further reading, check out today’s Substack post for more history, context, and actions you can take.
4. While your Members of Congress are home for August recess, use our Indivisible resources to schedule an in-district visit or event. If you have Republican Members of Congress, this is a great opportunity to raise your voice in opposition to their attempts to pass voter suppression legislation, pour billions into Trump’s illegal war, and hand more money over to ICE and CBP. If you have Democratic Members of Congress, urge them to refuse to give a single inch to Trump’s authoritarian takeover and illegal and unconstitutional power grabs. Read on for more about the August recess and what our MoCs left unaddressed until September.
5. With just EIGHT days until Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate primary, join a phonebank for Indivisible’s endorsed candidates in Michigan this Thursday, July 30 or next Monday, August 3 (5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT). El-Sayed is up against a record amount of outside spending for his establishment Dem, Schumer-backed opponent Haley Stevens. With $50 million pouring in to prop up Stevens, we need to bring the people power to this race to help El-Sayed across the finish line. You’ll also get to talk to voters about Donavan McKinney (MI-13) and William Lawrence (MI-07), our other Michigan endorsees. Paid for by Indivisible Action. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate 

P.S. From Michigan to Hawaii, Tennessee to Minnesota, some of our toughest primaries against establishment, corporate-funded Dems are coming up in the next two weeks. We have a real opportunity to build a stronger Democratic Party by electing progressives dedicated to defeating fascism and fighting for working families, not capitulating to Schumer and the status quo -- but that fight takes funds and lots of on-the-ground grassroots momentum. If you can chip in today, you’ll help us continue to mobilize Indivisibles across the US to get out the vote for our endorsed candidates in this final stretch.

Hill Update: House Republicans tacked the SAVE Act onto everything and then fled town 

On Friday, the House adjourned for over a month of recess, with the Senate set to join them on August 7. The House won’t return until August 31, and the Senate until after Labor Day -- and in the meantime, there are a number of bills that have the potential to seriously impact Americans just waiting on ice.

• Legislation with a side of voter suppression was the name of the game for House Republicans before going on recess last week. When the SAVE America Act – Trump’s bill that would make it much, much harder for people to register to vote – couldn’t get enough votes to pass on its own, the House GOP broke it up piecemeal and attached it to the National Defense Authorization Act, reconciliation 3.0, and a faux congressional stock trading ban. This legislation is SO unpopular that Trump and his sycophants have to hide it in other bills. Even with these desperate tactics, the bill still doesn’t have a path forward in the Senate – by itself or attached to these other bills.
• Reconciliation 3.0, the latest Republican effort to bypass the filibuster in order to fulfill Trump’s agenda (see the backgrounder on reconciliation here) passed the House last week. The bill would give Trump more funding to wage his illegal war on Iran and, you guessed it, implement parts of the SAVE America Act. Due to deep divisions between House and Senate Republicans, the bill could be DOA in the Senate, but that hasn’t stopped the GOP from talking about a FOURTH reconciliation bill, possibly during the lame duck period after the election.
• And through it all, working families are struggling to pay for groceries, gas, and healthcare while our taxpayer dollars fund Trump’s death and destruction in Iran and ICE kidnappings and killings on our own streets. All too often, Members of Congress use the August recess as an excuse to hide from responsibility -- but you can get loud to make it impossible for them to avoid accountability.

Good News for a Change

Last week, ICE officially withdrew its plans to convert two Pennsylvania warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill counties into concentration camps.

DHS intended to jail up to 9,000 immigrants in the facilities, but eventually gave up after the state denied drinking water and wastewater permits and local communities rose up in protest. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro emphasized the health, safety, and infrastructure risks the detention centers would pose.

This news is part of a growing wave of warehouses offloaded by ICE, in no small part due to local resistance and organizing for immigrant justice. Our pressure campaigns are working -- and we have to keep up the fight.

 Upcoming events + Election shifts

These nationwide events, calls, training sessions, and electoral volunteer opportunities are coming up soon. For even more Indivisible happenings, check our national calendar and get in touch with Indivisible groups near you!

Follow Indivisible National on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to their text messaging program, where they send rapid response actions a few times a month.