A Call to Action in Texas

The TEXAS chapter of WDA is a collaboration of writers, readers, editors, and booksellers, standing together to champion democracy everywhere, and the institutions that embody and protect it.  We defend civil liberties: the right to vote and have our votes counted, to gather and protest, to write and read, and to access learning that informs and enriches the lives of citizens.  We battle censorship in all its guises.  A nation can only be strong if it invites a multitude of perspectives into its decision-making process, educates its citizens, and treats the least of them as equal in value to its most powerful.

Stand with The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights!

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) published a new rule that gives Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) broad access to the immigration status of sponsors and families of unaccompanied children for enforcement purposes and removes safeguards against release denials based solely on a sponsor's immigration status. 

This rule went into effect on March 25, 2025 (the same day the Rule was published) and comments are due May 27th. The Rule eliminates a provision of the ORR Foundational Rule that includes critical protections for unaccompanied children and their families. The deleted provision states that “ORR shall not disqualify potential sponsors based solely on their immigration status and shall not collect information on immigration status of potential sponsors for law enforcement or immigration enforcement related purposes. ORR shall not share any immigration status information relating to potential sponsors with any law enforcement or immigration enforcement related entity at any time.”

Federal law requires federal agencies to consider public comments submitted about these kinds of rules. That's why we need as many people as possible to send in unique comments opposing this rule.You can use our template language, set up in the form by clicking below. You can also submit a comment directly through the government website(One note: while we encourage you to share personal experiences that are relevant, please do not share any names or identifying information about clients.)  

Thank you for standing with immigrant children and their families!

Calling TEXAS Writers & Readers!

DEMOCRACY BOOK CLUB for March. . .

Seeking Sanctuary: Refugees, Migrants, Immigrants and the Protection of Human Rights

Sunday, March 30, 4:00pm ET / 3:00pm CT

WATCH HERE.

SOPHIA BALAKIAN

Author of Unsettled Families

&

STEPHANIE ELIZONDO GRIEST

Author of All the Agents and Saints

Moderated by Robin Davidson & in conversation with

FRANCES DE PONTES PEEBLES

Chair of the Board of Directors, The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights

With warmest thanks to our host, Books & Books!

See more information here.

With thanks to The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights!

Texas Writers. . .

Consider writing an OpEd for one of our state’s prominent online or print publications!

See The OpEd Project guidelines here.

In the News . . .

Converse-Sations:

A Voter Recruitment & Preparation Project

Andrea Vocab Sanderson, San Antonio’s 2020 - 2023 Poet Laureate, hosted a political art installation called Converse-Sations that included presentations by Deputy Voter Registrars, poetry readings, and a townhall discussion to help recruit voters and ensure their voting readiness! Warmest thanks to Centro San Antonio for funding this event.

Democracy Book Club

RESISTING THE RIGHT

Robert Edwards & James Carroll

June 15, 2024

WATCH REPLAY

ON CORRUPTION IN AMERICA — AND WHAT IS AT STAKE

Sarah Chayes & John Passacantando

May 31, 2024

WATCH REPLAY

“My favorite book of the twenty-first century on political corruption.”

United States Representative Jamie Raskin

Our Partners

Writers for Democratic Action is able to do the work we do because of our partners—the independent bookstores, libraries, and literary organizations who offer so much support, community, solidarity, information, and free expression to all of us. Please show up at one of our partner bookstores or libraries for conversations, readings, books, voter registration drives, and comradery. Thank you to our TEXAS partners:

Democracy Table at Malvern Books in Austin, TX

Democracy Table at Malvern Books in Austin

Democracy Table at Brazos Bookstore in Houston

Past TEXAS Events

Banned Book Fair

March 13, 2024 / 5:00 - 7:00pm CT

San Antonio, Texas

with former San Antonio Poet Laureate

Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson

Houston Bookstore Crawl

April 5 - 30, 2024

Houston bookstores rally during the month of April in celebration of National Poetry Month and Texans’ Right to Read!

The Democracy Book Club in collaboration with Book & Books and BookPeople of Austin present. . .

THE SHADOW DOCKET

with Stephen Vladeck

Monday, July 10, 2023  6 PM CT

WATCH REPLAY

With thanks to Book People of Austin . . .

Stephen Vladeck

& THE SHADOW DOCKET

Thursday, May 25, 2023 7pm CT

An in person event at 603 N. Lamar Blvd, Austin

With thanks to Brazos Bookstore of Houston. . .

Mary Beth Rogers

in conversation with Joe Holley discussing

HOPE AND HARD TRUTH

Tuesday, September 20, 2023 6:30pm CT

An in person event at 2421 Bissonnet St, Houston

Mary Beth Rogers with Joe Holley

Mary Beth Rogers in conversation with Joe Holley

Houston’s Brazos Bookstore hosted Mary Beth Rogers, former deputy treasurer of Texas, and campaign manager and chief of staff for Governor Ann Richards, in conversation with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Joe Holley, columnist for the Houston Chronicle since 2013, contributor to Texas Monthly, and staff writer for The Washington Post, to celebrate the release of her newest book, Hope and Hard Truth: A Life in Texas Politics (UT Press).

Mary Beth Rogers with Robin Davidson

“There is a difference between optimism and hope. I am not optimistic, I am hopeful, because hope involves a leap of imagination that energizes us, propels us into action. Be hopeful!” Mary Beth Rogers

Texas Steering Committee

Robin Davidson, Chair

Cyrus Cassells

Bret Anthony Johnston

Jasminne Méndez

Lupe Méndez

Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton

Emmy Pérez

Kevin Prufer

Andrea Vocab Sanderson

Carmen Tafolla

Roberto Tejada

Edward Vidaurre

Texas Writers Read & Write for Democracy