Battle lines over Islamophobia are sharpening. Less than 24 hours after President Obama called on Americans to avoid “abandoning our values or giving into fear,” Donald Trump called for a ban on all Muslims entering the country—a  startlingly sweeping statement even by the GOP frontrunner’s standards, and one that had Democrats and several Republican candidates rushing to distance themselves.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced changes to the terror alert system.

On Capitol Hill, there had been signs that the momentum toward stopping the resettlement of Syrian refugees might be slowing;   a number of Democrats who supported legislation to “pause” resettlement, passed in the House in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, have since signed a letter rejecting that approach as lawmakers began focusing more on the visa waiver program (a vote is expected in the House Tuesday) and other, less scrutinized routes for people to access the U.S. (like the so-called “fiancé” visa used by San Bernardino shooting suspect Tashfeen Malik).  A number of OSF and OSPC grantees have mounted campaigns and sign-on letters aimed at protecting the resettlement program. This movement could potentially be affected by a classified letter released at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, purporting to show that the National Counterterrorism Center had identified Islamic extremists who had explored using the refugee program to enter the United States.

There were also efforts to compel a vote on efforts to ban firearm purchases for people who had been on the no-fly list, as Democrats planned to try anew to break the gridlock that has stymied new gun controls.  Some GOP presidential contenders signaled they were open to such a reform.

Advocates were bracing for potentially controversial immigration riders on the omnibus spending bill moving through Congress—measures aimed at admission to the U.S. by Middle Eastern refugees, sanctuary cities and visa waivers.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch modified her remarks late last week at a Muslim Advocates dinner, seeking to clarify while the Justice Dept. remained vigilant against anti-Muslim hate crimes, it would prosecute deeds, not words.

Groups working to prevent anti-Muslim bias continued to track and disseminate evidence of a disturbing uptick (by one tally, there have been 46 incidents of Islamophobia and counting since the Paris attacks). The Council on Islamic-American Relations publicized a woman who had her hijab torn off, a Nevada legislator who threatened to shoot Syrian refugees, and a pig’s head left outside a Philadelphia mosque.

Among other grantee and advocate activities:

--Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrant Refugees (GCIR) will be hosting a gathering of immigration funders at Unbound Philanthropy this Friday to address “Philanthropy’s Role in Addressing Hate-Based Rhetoric and Activities.”  OSF, Ford, Carnegie, Wellspring, and others will be in attendance for a strategy session on a coordinated response.

--the Bipartisan Policy Center held a press conference with former Homeland Security secretaries Chertoff and Napolitano to discuss refugee screening as well as the fallout of the San Bernardino shootings.

--National faith leaders, including the Interfaith Alliance, joined Sens. Durbin, Leahy and Kaine in calling for leaders to place “courage over cowardice” in addressing the global refugee crisis. Faith leaders in Pennsylvania  convened a press call to pressure Sens. Toomey and Casey to rise above fear-mongering.

--America’s Voice joined a number of grantees in rushing to condemn Trump’s proposal to bar further admission of Muslims seeking to enter the U.S.