27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 1/25/2026
Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED community,
Happy February!
Calls to Action
Leave comments on the Federal Register:
Stop harmful policy targeting stem cell research
Reach out to your Senators about:
SBIR/STTR
Reduced funding for ICE
Help out the NIH Community:
Review a resume
Host a job workshop
Plan a happy hour with 27 UNIHTED
27 UNIHTED Events
Peer empowerment call Thursday at 6:00 p.m. ET
NIH Vigils Every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. ET
27 UNIHTED benefit concert with Barnstorm and special guest Dr. Francis Collins on Feb 15. Doors open at 5:00, p.m. Two shows—one at 6:00 p.m. and one at 8:30 p.m.! Buy tickets now, free tickets for fired/displaced federal workers.
Community Events
OneAID Biweekly community coffee
When: Every second and fourth Thursday of the month
Where: MLK Public Library on 901 G St NW in Washington, DC. Look for the OneAID sign at a table in Marianne's Cafe inside the library on the main floor.
Vigil “Auntie” News
Science and democracy are linked
Science and democracy depend on the same underlying principles: evidence, accountability, open debate, and transparency. Science cannot flourish in the authoritarian environment advanced through the brutal and fundamentally anti-American tactics of ICE. The administration is attacking science in part because its values are incompatible with their authoritarian regime. Science is an international pursuit that extends across borders and relies on global participation. More than a quarter of the U.S. research workforce is foreign born. Science cannot achieve success when so many of our colleagues feel unsafe in the country they now call home. This administration’s cruel lawlessness is most visible in ICE and Border Patrol, thanks in large part to brave American patriots in Minneapolis risking their lives to bear witness. But the same callous inhumanity and disregard for the law and Constitution has infiltrated every government agency, harming Americans from every state, every county, every walk of life. To save science, we must defend democracy and stop ICE.
Remembering those murdered by ICE
Updates in 2026:
- Heber Sanchaz Domínguez
- Victor Manuel Diaz
- Parady La
- Luis Beltran Yanez–Cruz
- Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres
- Geraldo Lunas Campos
…and fellow federal worker and Veterans Affairs nurse, Alex Pretti, who died upholding his oath to the Constitution
Other recent concerns relating to ICE
Confirmed case of measles in ICE facility will cause further suffering.
ICE using Palantir app to mine our health records to find people they deem illegal.
Call to Action
Congress is actively negotiating constraints on ICE through the appropriations process. Call your members of Congress to demand meaningful constraints on ICE, including independent investigations, warrants, visible identification, no more masks, and stopping ICE activity in hospitals and schools. Urge Congress to rescind exorbitant ICE funding and redirect it to health, science, and education.
Wellness Weekly
Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self care are:
Buy a chicken as a pet
Listen to jazz
Positive News
This month went by quickly, as we approach the anniversary of probationary firings, we remember how much has happened over the last year. Our hearts are with USAID and everyone who is feeling it heavy right now.
In solidarity,
27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils