Dear John,
Residents of the United States are incrementally losing their freedoms and experiencing a weakening in the rule of law.
The right to vote no longer guarantees an opportunity for every citizen to choose their representatives. Instead, representatives are increasingly choosing whom they represent through excessively gerrymandered districts and executive orders that seek to suppress voting.
The right to walk freely in an American city is giving way to patrolling federal agents who are stopping individuals seemingly based on their racial characteristics. Even the right to attend a museum to learn facts about our history has been diminished by an administration desperate to whitewash our nation's past.
Civil Rights Laws are now weaponized against the very people they were meant to protect. The President has issued an executive order demanding that any federal aid recipient cease operating programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. This order is steeped in the language of Project 2025 – a document that drips with antipathy towards a functioning multi-cultural society.
LDAD volunteer and 35-year veteran of federal government service Ellen R. Hornstein wrote about this assault on civil rights and academic freedom for our series in The Fulcrum. This series demonstrates the link between the administration’s sweeping executive actions and their roots in the authoritarian blueprint of Project 2025, revealing how individuals and families throughout the country are harmed.
Please see: Trump’s Executive Order Targets Civil Rights and Academic Freedom in Higher Education.
In another recent article in this series, LDAD volunteer and retired Juvenile Court Judge Jay Blitzman described the $500 million in cuts made by the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs. The eliminated programs provided support across the country for juvenile and youth justice, child protection, and a variety of other services. Although the administration is likely oblivious to the irony, many of the programs focused on combating gangs and preventing violence.
In identifying Project 2025’s irrational disdain for programs that support communities of color, Judge Blitzman stated,
“Cutting these programs will increase recidivism and compromise public safety while pushing countless numbers of people into juvenile and criminal courts.”
Please see: Youth Injustice: Trump Administration Cuts Violence Prevention Programs.
The Secretary of Homeland Security seems to relish her role in the administration’s efforts to inflict cruelty and pain on those individuals it seeks to deport. LDAD volunteer and retired Massachusetts Appeals Court Justice James McHugh wrote an article for The xxxxxx detailing the vile, inhumane conditions of “Alligator Alcatraz.” As Judge McHugh stated,
“The existence of and conditions of confinement at the Everglades facility are a national disgrace. It should be closed immediately.”
Please see: ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Is a Moral Stain.
LDAD is grateful to our dedicated and talented volunteers who add to our reach through their incisive writing. We welcome others to join our newest initiative, Meeting the Moment.
Thank you,
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
P.S. We are living in extraordinary times that require constant advocacy to reverse the significant democratic backsliding that we are experiencing. LDAD’s work depends on individual contributions like yours. Please join us in our efforts by donating to LDAD, a 501(c)(3) organization.
