50501 FRIDAY BRIEFING | FEBRUARY 20, 2026
Constitutional tools. Direct action. Art. We are operating on all cylinders. Don't stop pushing back now.
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SUMMARY
Congress triggered a partial DHS shutdown over ICE enforcement reforms. Thousands lobbied their representatives for Trump impeachment on February 17. Two-month-old Juan Nicolås was deported from the Dilley ICE detention center after being hospitalized. Twenty-two Broadway dancers honored Renée Good and Alex Pretti before 23 officers shut them down at the Kennedy Center.
BY THE NUMBERS FROM THIS WEEKâS POSTS
90% of DHS employees continue working during the funding lapse, with pay delayed
60 Senate votes required for DHS funding giving Democrats leverage to demand enforcement reforms
~100 congressional districts saw constituents show up on February 17 for the National Day of Lobbying
3.5 weeks, the amount of his 8-week life that Juan NicolĂĄs spent in ICE detention
$190 the total money ICE sent with Juan NicolĂĄsâs family when they were deported the day Juan was hospitalized
22 dancers, 23 officers: the ratio at the Kennedy Center on Presidentâs Day
7 articles of impeachment in H.Res.353 currently before Congress
MONDAY: How Appropriations Control Federal Power: Inside the DHS Shutdown
DHS funding lapsed at midnight on February 15, and we used Monday to go over why thatâs important structurally. Article I, Section 9 gives Congress the power of the purse, and Democrats are using it to demand enforcement reforms including body cameras, visible identification numbers, and judicial warrants for arrests on private property, all in response to the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal officers in Minneapolis.
Congress has the constitutional authority to impose these conditions, but ICE and CBP can draw on prior-year funding to sustain enforcement operations during the lapse. That dynamic, agencies potentially outlasting the legislative pressure designed to constrain them, is one of the most important structural questions in American governance right now.
Congress left for recess without resolving the impasse. They return February 23, one day before the State of the Union.
Click here to read the full post with sources.
TUESDAY: How to Lobby Your Representativeâs District Office | A Field Guide
February 17 was a coordinated National Day of Lobbying organized by Citizensâ Impeachment, FLARE, and 50501. We shared a toolkit with scripts, preparation checklists, talking points, and follow-up templates for constituents visiting their representativesâ district offices to demand impeachment.
What made this guide different from a standard âcall your senatorâ post is that it anticipated the deflections. If the staffer says they donât have the votes, hereâs your response. If leadership says ânot now,â hereâs why that argument is losing ground. If the office says theyâre focused on policy instead, hereâs the constitutional counter.
The guide was designed to turn a visit from a symbolic gesture into a follow-up-able interaction that creates a paper trail.
The primary demand: file articles of impeachment against Donald Trump and members of his administration for tyranny, treason, and obstruction of justice.
Click here to read the full post with sources.
WEDNESDAY: Juan NicolĂĄs Is Two Months Old. This Is What Happened to Him.
Juan NicolĂĄs spent nearly half his life detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. He was hospitalized for bronchitis and serious respiratory illness, discharged, returned to detention, and deported to Mexico with his family, all reportedly in the same day.
According to Rep. Joaquin Castro, the entire family was abandoned across the border with $190.
We published this alongside the results of the February 17 National Day of Lobbying, where constituents in nearly 100 congressional districts showed up to demand action. Some offices logged visits and engaged. Others, like Rep. Nancy Maceâs office in South Carolina, reportedly wouldnât answer the phone at all.
A hospitalized infant deported with $190 on the same day constituents tried to reach the offices of people who took an oath to defend the Constitution. The question of âis cruelty their point?â isnât rhetorical when you lay the facts side by side.
Click here to read the full post with sources.
THURSDAY: Twenty-Two Dancers. Twenty-Three Officers.
On Presidentâs Day, the First Amendment Troop, twenty-two dancers from Broadway casts including Hamilton, MJ, and Wicked, performed a choreographed memorial for RenĂ©e Nicole Good and Alex Pretti at the Lincoln Memorial. The piece played in full. Then they moved to the Kennedy Center, where twenty-three officers stopped them partway through.
The White House Communications Director called a memorial for two killed Americans âweak, corny, and lame.â
Movement maturation looks like thousands of people, independently, in different cities, applying creative strategy to grassroots organizing.
This is the inspirational post you didnât know you needed to read.
Click here to read the full post with sources.
Congress returns from recess on February 23, one day before the State of the Union. The DHS funding fight will resume immediately.
Watch for whether body camera requirements emerge as a compromise, and whether any members who received February 17 visits issue public statements.
SAVE THE DATE: MARCH 28 2026
If you missed the announcement: ANNOUNCEMENT: The Next NO KINGS Mobilization. If youâre organizing locally: How to Organize a Protest.
MeidasTouch Network and MoveOn are putting on the Peopleâs State of the Union on the National Mall | February 24th at 8:30PM EST
Hosted by Katie Phang and Joy Reid, the event will spotlight lawmakers, federal workers, immigrants, and everyday Americans affected by Trumpâs policies.
Stream it live on the MeidasTouch YouTube channel.
In our moments of despair and anxiety for the dreadful condition of the current government, our need for optimism is crucial. Thankfully 50501 is providing the light we seek to keep our actions of protest alive. Corporate media is brain dead, flush with insipid coverage of Trump and his toadies. The next No Kings in March is another opportunity to demonstrate the over riding disgust we have about the amoral administration in control of our future. We won't give up.
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