Social justice
The Problem
The promise of America is that of an equal society. Early colonists came to the Americas seeking religious freedom. In the centuries since, we have marched forward, seeking equal justice for our Black brothers and sisters, for women, members of the LGBTQIA community, and Native Americans. We still have a long way to go in fulfilling that promise.
Our Solution
This platform lays out the policy prescriptions to achieve justice for all people in the United States, and live up to the promise of equality under the law.
Racial Justice
I will seek to end the physical, political, legal, economic, and environmental violence waged against Black, Brown, and Indigenous bodies by police forces through the following policies:
Establish special prosecutors in every state in the nation to investigate the use of force by law enforcement.
Establish a fully independent national citizens review board to investigate police misconduct.
Establish an immediate release to body-cam footage in all instances of alleged police misconduct.
Require any state who wishes to receive federal funding to mandate their officers to body cameras at all times. Those cameras should not be able to be turned off or have their records altered by officers.
End the physical, political, legal, economic, and environmental violence waged against black, brown, and indigenous Americans by police forces.
End the massive disparities in the availability of financial services, health disparities, environmental disparities, and educational disparities that lead to social disruption.
Enact H.R. 1498, the End Racial Profiling Act of 2017, to ensure that law enforcement does not use racial profiling to attack communities of color.
Restore the Voting Rights Act and fully re-enfranchise Black citizens. They had their voting rights stripped due to a felony conviction. They have paid their debt to society and deserve the right to vote.
Ban the box, so that formerly incarcerated individuals do not carry the scarlet letter of their former incarceration when applying for jobs or housing.
I support H.R. 40 to study the economic effects of slavery, but the era of commissions is over, and I support tangible direct reparations to the American descendants of slavery.
Criminal Justice Reform
Beyond co-sponsoring the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, I will:
Require settlements for police abuse of force to come out of police pension funds. This way, taxpayers are not on the hook for instances of police brutality, and departments have a strong incentive to hold police officers accountable.
End Qualified Immunity, which has allowed police misconduct to continue by without personal repercussions.
Require all instances of the use of force by an officer to be reported and allow police disciplinary records to be open to the public.
Improve training, policies, and practices to deter law enforcement from using force, and mandate that all use of force policies require physical violence as a last resort. Law enforcement is in a state of flux, where we have the opportunity to radically reform old structures. Nonetheless, future law enforcement organizations will need to train their members to have the skills to adequately serve their communities, such as: recognizing implicit bias, understanding the roots of discrimination, having cultural competency, and being capable of engaging with individuals with cognitive or other disabilities.
Increase federal oversight of police departments with patterns or practices of unconstitutional, race-based policing.
End cash bail. 60% of the nearly 750,000 people in jail are not convicted of a crime. Low-risk citizens should be able to return to their jobs and families, minimizing the disruption to their lives while reducing overcrowding.
Restrict fines and fees levied before trial. Charging pre-trial fees forces lower-income people (often minorities) into debt even if they are later acquitted.
Cap the assessment of fines and fees to a percentage of income for low-income individuals.
End the War on Drugs and legalize cannabis by removing it from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act.
Demilitarize police forces by returning weapons of war and surplus military equipment to the military branches from which they came.
Withhold federal funding from agencies that employ stop-and-frisk and do not ban chokeholds.
Abolish the death penalty.
End all federal private prison contracts.
Abolish mandatory minimums to make sentencing fair and just, and reinstate federal parole.
Abolish civil asset forfeiture.
End for-profit greed in our criminal justice system, top to bottom, by making prison and jail communications, re-entry, diversion, and treatment programs fee-free.
Amend the only exception in the 13th amendment by removing the phrase: “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” This change would end the prison-industrial complex’s ability to perpetuate a modern-day slave system by guaranteeing a fair wage for work performed while incarcerated.
Increase the funding for public defenders through a federal formula that ensures every jurisdiction has enough public defenders to meet their needs.
Cut the national prison population in half and end mass incarceration by abolishing three-strikes laws and mandatory minimum sentences, as well as expanding the use of alternatives to detention.
Transform the way communities interact with law enforcement and the judicial system. We must end our reliance on law enforcement to handle mental health emergencies, homelessness, maintenance violations, addiction, and other social ills. Justice must be served by expunging minor drug convictions, and future injustices avoided by closing the school-to-prison pipeline. Children who interact with the justice system are not just vulnerable, but also at a place where intervention is necessary. The justice system should seek to set troubled children up for future success, not ruin their lives through criminalization and incarceration.
Reform our broken prison system, enact a “Prisoner’s Bill of Rights,” and ensure a just transition for incarcerated individuals upon release.
Reverse the criminalization of communities by ending cycles of violence, providing social support to survivors of crime, and investing in social services for our communities.
Ensure law enforcement accountability through robust oversight over police technology, including banning the use of facial recognition software for local law enforcement.
I will co-sponsor four pieces of legislation proposed by Ilhan Omar:
1. The National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board Act;
2. The Bill to Criminalize Police Violence Against Protesters;
3. Amendments to the Insurrection Act that curtail any President’s ability to deploy the military domestically without Congressional consent; and
4. The creation of a Federal Emergency Relief Fund for rebuilding communities after social and civil rights unrest
End White Supremacy
Ending “White Caller Crime.” We have seen countless videos of White people threatening to call the police on black people for merely existing in white spaces. “White Caller Crime” calls waste public resources and puts people of color at risk. We can end this malicious practice by designating calls to the police because a person of color is engaged in an innocuous activity as a federal hate crime.
Currently, domestic terrorism ranks only number 5 on the FBI’s list of priorities. White nationalist crime must be a top priority for the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
We must prioritize the collection of data on cases of white nationalist violence. Currently, police departments and law enforcement agencies lack the resources for the government to collect reliable data to determine the threat white nationalism proposes. We must require state and local governments to report suspected incidences of bias-motivated crime. Policymakers and the public must have access to this data to promote accountability.
Require that incidents of bias-motivated crime be the responsibility of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, rather than state or local governments, who have often failed to investigate and prosecute such crimes appropriately.
We can prevent minorities from being incarcerated for the same crimes where white adults walk free by standardizing prosecution and sentencing. This standardization starts by designating hate crimes as domestic terrorism when the offense meets the threshold, regardless of the alleged perpetrator’s race, beliefs, or ethnicity.
Address White nationalism in the military. 22% of military personal surveyed claim to have observed white nationalism or racist ideology from their fellow service members. We must make the background check process thorough enough to ensure white nationalists are not serving in the military or any law enforcement agency. We must also create a culture in the military that sees White nationalism and treasonous ideologies associated with them (like the Lost Cause) as antithetical to their oaths to the United States Constitution. Such a culture would include encouraging service members to report colleagues who engage in any White nationalist activity. A first step would be to rename all military bases who are named after Confederate traitors.
Women’s Rights
Every person should have the right to make decisions about their bodies and make their own reproductive choices. I will always defend the constitutional right to privacy, and the ability to seek abortion services legally, including for the trans community.
Enact equal pay for equal work by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Enact Barbara Lee’s H.R. 1692, Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act to repeal the Hyde Amendment and fully fund Planned Parenthood, Title X, and other initiatives that protect women’s health, access to contraception, and the availability of abortion services.
Oppose all efforts to undermine or overturn Roe v. Wade.
End sexual harassment, discrimination, and violence in the military by taking reporting, investigations, and disciplinary measures out of the chain of command through the implementation of an independent review board.
LGBTQIA+ Rights
Champion the Equality Act, the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, and other bills to end discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
Seek enforcement of the Equal Access Rule to grant transgender people accommodation in homeless shelters corresponding to their gender identity.
Ensure LGBTQIA+ people have comprehensive health insurance without discrimination from providers.
Advance policies to ensure students can attend school without fear of bullying and work to provide the mental health services that will reduce suicides substantially.
Ban conversion therapy.
End discrimination against LGBTQIA+ families in immigration.
Allow members of the transgender community to serve in the military openly without the fear of prejudice.
Combat HIV/AIDS stigma by ending discrimination in blood donations against members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
End discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people and families in the foster care and adoption systems.
Fund federal resources to prevent violence against members of the transgender community, especially transgender women of color, ensuring that members of the community are safe wherever they reside.
Stop the targeting of LGBTQIA+ people by law enforcement that results in higher rates of incarceration by repealing FOSTA/SESTA.
Enact the decriminalization of sex work.
More than half of lesbian, gay, or bisexual patients, and 70 percent of transgender patients, have experienced some kind of discrimination in healthcare services. Extensive training as part of their schooling is needed for healthcare providers so that they can be equipped with the tools necessary to treat their transgender patients. The federal government must also mandate an increase in sexual orientation and gender identity data collection across state agencies and update the existing ones.
Transgender, non-binary, and nonconforming people have special needs when interacting with social services that must be met without bias or discrimination. Training for public-facing government employees should include implicit bias, cultural humility, the basics of gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and intersex status and conditions, issues affecting the transgender community with respect to the particular agency, the general rights and protections afforded by federal and New Jersey law to transgender individuals, as well as on any relevant guidelines, directive or policy.
Trans women are being killed at much higher rates than other groups of people. It is difficult for trans people, especially trans women of color, to secure jobs so they have to turn to dangerous underground sex work to make a living. The community is in dire need of job security so that no member of the community will be in danger while trying to make enough money to survive. An employment program can be constructed that is targeted towards the transgender population, specifically transgender people of color. This program would help the community find secure jobs, job referrals, career coaching, resume reviewing, and legal services.
We must provide legal advice and legal education for transgender people so that they can be aware of their rights and what is protected under the law. Legal advice should be offered to the community on how to fight housing discrimination, credit discrimination, and discrimination from insurance providers, and legal advice for name changes.
Transgender individuals are also consistently denied housing due to their gender identity even though it is illegal to do so. LGBTQIA+ exclusive housing programs should be provided for those suffering from housing insecurity.
Education & Family Care
School districts serving 75% or more students of color receive $23 billion less in funding than those serving 75% or more white students. We must require that schools be funded adequately and equitably by investing in Title I, and cut the link between school funding and property taxes which maintains and entrenches socioeconomic disparities.
Renew the fight against racism and segregation by overhauling our education system. Our kids need to leave the school system prepared to face the emotional and social challenges of modern life. That preparation will require more school-based mental health professionals, a culturally relevant and responsive curriculum, and holding students accountable for racist comments and actions. Investing in restorative justice programs will help students get back into the classroom and stay engaged.
Support the NAACP resolution for greater transparency and accountability of charter schools, banning for-profit charter schools, and prohibit federal government funds from going towards the expansion of charter schools.
Enact H.R. 6902 to include education of the history of peoples of African descent in the settling and founding of America.
Rescind the Department of Education’s dangerous new Title IX rule that guts protections for student survivors of sexual assault and places a tremendous strain on already-overburden resources.
Introduce legislation to Repeal No Child Left Behind, and champion Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDFA) to prohibit any child welfare agency receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating against any potential foster or adoptive family on the basis of religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. The ECDFA would prevent discrimination against any foster youth because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Enact a system of free, high-quality, universal childcare and pre-K to guarantee every child in America has access to child care from infancy through age three, regardless of income, and ensure that resources, rights, and expertise are provided to children with disabilities. We will ensure students with disabilities receive the support they need and are included with their peers from an early age.
Double funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Programs, which support home visiting services from nurses, mental health professionals, social workers, and other support professionals for families with young children who live in low-income and at-risk communities.
Provide year-round, free universal school meals, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to every child in child care and pre-K, and provide funding to construct, renovate, and rehabilitate the existing child care facilities and pre-schools.
Immigrants Rights
Other than indigenous Americans, all of us are immigrants to this continent, and no one should be denied the ability to seek the American Dream. I will ensure all newcomers to the United States are at home by:
Abolishing all 287(g) contracts between ICE and local police agencies.
Instituting a moratorium on deportations until a thorough audit of past practices and policies is complete.
Reinstating and expanding DACA, developing a humane policy for those seeking asylum, and passing the DREAM Act.
Reform our immigration enforcement system, including breaking up ICE and CBP and redistributing their functions to the Department of Justice, and dismantling the cruel and inhumane deportation programs and detention centers to reunite families who have been separated.
Live up to our ideals and welcome all refugees and asylum seekers.
Enact H.R. 3227, the Justice Is Not For Sale Act, to prevent family detention and separation, and provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Indigenous Rights
Standing Rock Act - I will introduce legislation to prevent the destruction of indigenous sacred lands and monuments for new developments, especially new fossil fuel developments.
I commit to protecting the sovereign rights of indigenous Americans, and taking decisive steps to improve the quality of life for indigenous Americans by honoring treaty rights and moving away from a paternalistic relation toward one of coexistence and respect, in addition expanding the Violence Against Women Act to provide resources to indigenous American women, and allow tribes to prosecute non-indigenous offenders.
Veterans Care
This country made a pact with those who chose to serve in our armed forces, yet this nation has not lived up to that responsibility. We can begin to do right by our veterans by committing to eliminating the VA benefits backlog, fully funding resources for the VA, and reversing the privatization of services for veterans.
Provide $60 billion in new funding to rebuild the VA’s infrastructure, expand the Caregivers Program to offer mental health services for veterans, and reform regulations that restrict access to care and benefits based on discharge designations.
Foreign Policy
Champion a foreign policy paradigm focused on human rights and diplomacy rather than brute force and aggression. Congress must reassert its Article I role in declaring war, so that no president can instigate unauthorized global interventions. Doing so begins by repealing the 2001 AUMF and finally ending the Global War on Terror, putting a moratorium on drone strikes, and ceasing all support for the Saudi war in Yemen.
Strengthen American commitment to diplomacy and a normative international community by introducing a resolution urging the Senate to ratify landmark UN treaties such as the Vienna Convention, the Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Disability Rights
End all exceptions in wage laws and workplace protections for individuals with disabilities. Companies who hire disabled employees should not pay disabled workers a wage lower than the federal/state minimum wage. By paying disabled people less because they’re disabled, they’re saying that those with disabilities are 2nd-class citizens and worth less than everyone else
Expand Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Social Income (SSI) to a living wage. By providing a starvation wage as a living benefit we are setting people up to depend on restrictive, under-funded, and insufficient programs such as Food Stamps, LEAP, Section 8, HUD vouchers, and food banks. By doing so, we would reduce reliance on other government programs and free up and expand resources for others who still need the programs, and improve quality of life for 81 million individuals and families.
Currently SSDI is only taxed up to $128,000 whereas Medicare is taxed on every dollar. By taxing every dollar of earned income we would be able to expand benefits for everyone. We can expand access to Social Security/SSDI/SSI by removing barriers to individuals who can’t afford a lawyer to help them apply for SSDI benefits, and end the ageism that prevents those who become disabled young from receiving benefits by lowering the age of retirement to 60.
Update the American with Disabilities Act by closing employer loopholes; making all new construction handicap accessible, and offering tax credits/incentives to get established businesses to become ADA compliant. The ADA hasn’t been updated since 1994 and allowed many established buildings to be exempt. As a result, 25 years later, major parts of the country are still inaccessible because: ramps are too steep (establish a max. angle), doors are too heavy (establish a maximum amount of force require or include mechanical assistance); handicap bathroom stalls have doors put on backwards, making them inaccessible (all bathroom stalls should be accessible making it so those with disabilities don’t have to wait for the single stall which is frequently occupied by an able-bodied person); wheelchair ramps on sidewalks often have potholes at the bottom making it impossible to traverse, or there is no ramp at all (require cities to fix ramps and sidewalks); many buildings only have stairs, we should move to a Stair-Free Society; wheelchair accessible does not mean wheelchair friendly, places such as bar tables, high counters, tall shelves, and narrow aisles can present barriers to our disabled persons, and we should challenge our engineers to incorporate inclusive designs.
Pay Family Caregivers and Expand Caregiver Hours. Our priority should be to promote independence and allow aging people and people with disabilities to say in their homes. Those who serve as family carers should be properly compensated for this work by earning a living wage.
We need national laws governing minimum standards for this program. The same private insurers that ruined healthcare also ruined our workers compensation system. Workers are having treatments denied for the sake of profit causing them to have to go into massive medical debt to get that treatment. Benefits are delayed or denied to injured workers leaving them to suffer and starve as they fight for the benefits they deserve.
The body and life of an American worker should not be worth more in one state than in another. We need to move towards a system that focuses its priority on rehabilitation, reeducation, caring for those workers who can no longer work, and properly compensating the families of workers who lost their livelihoods through no fault of their own by guaranteeing long-term care at home as a right to all Americans. The goal is always to promote independence in a person’s own home, but when that is not possible, all Americans should have long-term care covered at no out of pocket cost.
Make it illegal for individual’s possessions’ or property to be kept by the assisted living facility after death, by passing a National Death With Dignity law. Patients should have a right to decide when and how they die, and should not be left to suffer against their will.
Ensure Opioid Pain Management Protections for those with chronic and debilitating pain. After 2016 CDC Prescribing Guidelines for Opiate Pain Management, patients with chronic and debilitating pain are being left to suffer and die because of government mandated reductions. Chronic pain patients have nothing to do with the Opiate Epidemic, and as the number of prescription opiates falls, the number of overdoses continues to rise, as does the suicide rate. Heroin and illcit Fentanyl are responsible for the current overdose problem. Less than 1% of chronic pain patients become addicted to their opiates. Addiction is not a reason to deny Opiate pain management, as they are safer than street drugs. Patients know what they are getting and the dose is monitored by a doctor. We need to guarantee protections for those with chronic and debilitating pain to ensure their right to opiate pain management as an option.
Stop prosecuting doctors treating chronic pain, as there are less than 2,500 pain management doctors treating the 100 million chronic pain patients nationwide. This dissuades doctors from treating pain, and criminalizes chronic pain sufferers.
Increase employment, educational, and social opportunities for persons with disabilities by fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and vocational education programs.
Expand funding for Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) by promoting social programs for young people with disabilities by developing and implementing Educational Training on Disability and Accessibility for industries, including but not limited to, doctors, construction workers, educators, government employees and service industry members.
U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to stop treating those with disabilities as second class citizens
Create and implement education programs on disability and accessibility for industries including, but not limited to healthcare, education, construction, government employees, and the service industries. Increasing education is the only way we can humanize disability and ensure all people are included in our society.
Improving Research and Funding for Rare Diseases and providing better information and treatments for conditions like Lyme disease.
