Executive Actions that Undermine Our Freedoms

_{Dismantling White Supremacy}

Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism

Executive Order 14188

This executive order directs federal agencies to use “all available and appropriate legal tools, to prosecute, remove or otherwise hold to account the perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.” Agencies are required to conduct an inventory of all pending administrative complaints and court cases alleging civil rights violations arising from college campus protests related to the post-Oct. 7, 2023, Israel-Gaza conflict. The order calls on the secretaries of state, education and homeland security to monitor and report activities of noncitizen students and faculty related to protests, threatening deportation as a possible consequence.

---

Impact on Black and Brown Communities:

While it is important to address the harms that arise from antisemitism, this order weaponizes antisemitism to advance the president’s political agenda. The administration has used it to cancel or suspend billions in government grants and contracts to universities; censor and restrict First Amendment-protected political speech on college campuses; justify attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs; and arrest, detain and deport legal permanent residents and foreign students. The order’s accompanying fact sheet indicates that combating antisemitism is just a pretext for advancing the administration’s true political goal — silencing Black and Brown people and other marginalized groups who exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully protest the policies of Israel’s government.

 Calls to Action

• Support local and national organizations advocating for an inclusive approach to preventing hate violence and dismantling antisemitism.
• Push for the passage of legislation that addresses the root causes of hate and bias-motivated acts.
• Stay informed and speak out against policies that infringe upon First Amendment rights.

Back to top

---

_{Dismantling White Supremacy}

Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States and Communities

Executive Order 14242

This executive order announces President Trump’s intention to shut down the U.S. Department of Education. At the same time, it maintains the secretary of education’s power to withhold federal funding for certain educational activities as a mechanism to weaken civil rights laws and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in public schools. The order would jeopardize the unique functions of the department, including overseeing funding for public schools, administering student loans, providing essential supports for low-income students and students with disabilities, and ensuring that every child in America has equitable access to a high-quality education in a safe, inclusive environment free from discrimination.

---

Impact on Black and Brown Communities:

EO 14242, coupled with the administration’s other actions to undermine public education, threaten to resegregate public schools and limit access to quality education for Black and Brown students, low-income students and students with disabilities. The closing of the department and the defunding of core programs could lead to states in the Deep South experiencing a significant shortfall in education funding, exacerbating existing educational inequities and leaving under-resourced schools with even less. This order would increase class sizes, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and less accessible, take away special education services for students with disabilities and roll back protections of students’ civil rights.

 Calls to Action

• Stay informed and speak out against policies that would siphon resources and funding from the public education system.
• Urge your members of Congress to reject efforts to abolish the Department of Education.
• Support local, state and national organizations advocating for equitable access to inclusive education.

_{Ending Unjust Imprisonment}

Protecting the American People Against Invasion

Executive Order 14159

This executive order advances a mass immigration crackdown, enabling widespread arrests, detentions and deportations while eliminating the right to claim asylum at U.S. borders. It also revokes prior protections against immigration enforcement at sensitive locations such as schools, houses of worship, hospitals and emergency shelters.

---

Impact on Black and Brown Communities:

EO 14159 disproportionately affects Black and Brown immigrant communities by increasing the risk of racial profiling, detention and deportation. By eliminating safeguards against enforcement actions in sensitive locations, the order creates fear and instability among immigrant families, preventing them from accessing essential services like health care, education and emergency shelter. The executive order also amplifies white supremacist rhetoric by framing immigration as an “invasion,” reinforcing harmful narratives that incite violence and discrimination.

 Calls to Action

• Urge Congress to oppose funding for EO 14159 and reject legislation based on racist and xenophobic narratives.
• Support local and national organizations advocating for immigrant rights.
• Call on your representatives to support passage of the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which will ensure clear legal protections for immigrant communities.
• Stay informed and speak out against policies that criminalize and dehumanize immigrants.

Back to top

---

_{Ending Unjust Imprisonment}

‘Tough on Crime’ Policies

Memorandum on the Department Charging and Sentencing Policy
General Policy Regarding Charging, Plea Negotiations and Sentencing

The memos adjust sentencing policy for the Department of Justice, requiring prosecutors to charge individuals alleged to have committed a crime with the most serious offense available under the law. This includes death penalty-eligible cases and charges that trigger mandatory minimums. This move returns the federal government to regressive “tough on crime” policies.

---

Impact on Black and Brown Communities:

The new sentencing policy for the Department of Justice will further fuel mass incarceration, especially for Black and Brown people. Mandatory minimum shift the power of sentencing from judges to prosecutors. Because prosecutors choose which charges to bring, they are effectively selecting the sentence the person will receive if convicted. Mandatory minimums also prevent judges from considering the totality of the circumstances when determining an appropriate sentence after a person has been found guilty of a crime. Federal prosecutors are twice as likely to charge a Black person with an offense that carries a mandatory minimum sentence as compared to a similarly situated white person. As a result, even when controlling for arrest offenses, criminal history and other factors, Black men receive sentences that are, on average, 13% longer than those for white men. Mandatory minimums have largely driven the racial disparities present in the federal criminal legal system.

 Calls to Action

• Urge your members of Congress to support the EQUAL Act and other legislation that will address racial disparities in the justice system.
• Support local and national organizations working to end mass incarceration.
• Stay informed and speak out against policies that unfairly target and punish communities of color.

Back to top

_{Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights}

Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections

Executive Order 14248

This executive order makes it harder for millions of eligible American voters to cast their ballots by requiring voters to prove they are citizens, in person, at an election office each time they want to register to vote or update their registration. Americans would have to produce a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers just to register. It also withholds congressionally directed federal funding from states whose election laws are not aligned with the president’s preferences.

---

Impact on Black and Brown Communities:

EO 14248 would erode the voting rights of millions of eligible Americans, including many Black and Brown voters. The documentary proof of citizenship requirement would make registering to vote harder for people who don’t have ready access to those types of documents — with the biggest burden experienced by people with low incomes, people who live in rural areas, people with disabilities, elderly people and more. The order’s attempt to undermine states’ election laws could also endanger voters’ ability to cast a ballot that counts, if, for example, the president chooses to withhold funding from states that accept legitimate ballots that are postmarked by but arrive after Election Day.

 Calls to Action

• Urge your members of Congress and the EAC to reject any attempts by the president to undermine federal and state election laws.
• Support local, state and national organizations advocating for voting rights.
• Stay informed and speak out against policies that seek to disenfranchise voters and add unnecessary burdens to the voter registration process.

Back to top

---

_{Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights}

Initial Recessions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions

Executive Order 14148

This executive order rescinded dozens of Biden-era executive orders, including one that attempted to ensure the accuracy and lawfulness of the constitutionally mandated decennial census — the once-per-decade count of all people living in the United States. It follows efforts in President Trump’s first term to add a question about citizenship status to the decennial census and to exclude noncitizens from census counts.

---

Impact on Black and Brown Communities:

The once-per-decade count of all people in the United States is used to allocate congressional representation and federal funding to states. TheConstitution calls for political maps and funding outlays to be based on the full population, not just the citizen population. Collecting data related to citizenship statuswould prevent some individuals from participating in the census out of fear of being targeted by immigration enforcement, leading to an undercount of communities with noncitizen populations. If some people — or worse, entire communities — are missed in the census count, those communities and the states where they live will suffer by having less representation in Congress and by getting fewer resources for health, education, infrastructure, housing and more.

 Calls to Action

• Lodge any concerns during the public comment period if changes to the census form are proposed for the 2030 census.
• Raise your voice in opposition to any attempts to undercount communities through op-eds, letters to the editor or other public forums.
• Contact your members of Congress and urge them to push back against the addition of citizenship questions to the census form.

_{Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights}

Funding Freeze

Executive Orders on Federal Funding

President Trump issued multiple executive orders of the first day of his presidency that blocked, rescinded and terminated federal funding related to undocumented immigrants; diversity, equity and inclusion; green energy projects; foreign aid; and support for gender-affirming care and abortion. These orders directed agencies to pause existing contracts; review and terminate contracts deemed to be considered fraud, waste or abuse; and initiate clawback or recoupment procedures. Memo M-25-13 (“Federal Funding Freeze Memo”) implemented the federal funding executive orders and placed a government-wide temporary pause on distributing grants, loans and other financial assistance on the related subjects. Trump’s order implementing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) also gave DOGE authority to examine, cut or modify federal spending across agencies and required agencies to review all contracting policies, procedures and personnel; prepare guidance on efficiency; and stop new awards.

---

Impact on Black and Brown Communities:

States, localities and nonprofits rely on federal funds to pay for critical services and programs. In the Deep South, federal funds account for significant percentages of states’ budgets. For example, the state of Alabama received more than $14.5 billion last year to pay for Medicaid, Head Start, school meals, Pell grants and housing vouchers. Nonprofits that provide direct services to individuals in need also rely heavily on federal funding. Almost 40% of funding for Meals on Wheels, which provides food and social connection to 2.2 million vulnerable older people, comes from the federal government. While the Federal Freeze memo was rescinded, funding has not been restored. Instead, direct service organizations and individuals have reported that previously promised funds and grants are no longer available. Furthermore, various federal funding opportunities and offices have abruptly closed because of the confusing and far-reaching implications of these executive orders and staffing cuts inside the federal agencies themselves.  

 Calls to Action

• Urge Congress to fully fund critical services and programs that support communities in need.
• Support organizations mounting legal challenges to these executive actions terminating federal funding.
• Stay informed and speak out against policies that cut essential support to states, localities and nonprofits.

Back to top

---