We write to you with grave concern for the United States of America. John Locke once said, “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.” As the nation celebrates the anniversary of its freedom, we join the call to uphold the rule of law in our nation and promote the free exchange of ideas. In doing so, we stand in solidarity with our colleagues at the American Bar Association (ABA) and bar associations across the country. The ABA’s statement in support of the rule of law says, in part, “We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not.”
Unfortunately, 2025 has been characterized by state action in every branch of the government destabilizing critical systems, quashing dissent, and circumventing the law.
Dismantling Critical Social Structures. Under the direction of an unelected billionaire and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the federal government dismantled critical social structures, directly causing devastation in the United States and abroad. DOGE cut 12% of federal employees through lay-offs, buyouts, and other reductions. Affected positions included EMTs and rangers at national parks, probationary employees at the Department of Education, nuclear security administrators in the Department of Energy, epidemiologists in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, food safety inspectors in the Food and Drug Administration, and cybersecurity experts in the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs also saw mass cuts to its workforce, and there are no signs of the cuts stopping—sources report that more than 83,000 employees in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs are expected to lose their jobs within the next month.
Also, at the behest of DOGE, the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, shuttered in early February. It was the world’s largest sponsor of humanitarian activities—including several major United Nations humanitarian initiatives—and it provided an American presence in over 130 countries. Without funding, USAID workers were forced to halt critical programs for disaster relief, maternal health, HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis, poverty, and famine. An estimate by Dr. Brooke Nichols, an infectious disease mathematical modeler and health economist, approximated 300,000 deaths—including 200,000 children—directly resulting from funding cuts since February. This figure equates to 103 deaths per hour due to the decommissioning of USAID.
Rejection of Knowledge and Attacks on Free Speech. This year has also been characterized by disturbing attempts at censorship. The state has chilled speech and the free exchange of ideas, despite purporting to end federal censorship. For example, internal memos from several government agencies forbade federal workers from including their pronouns in their email signatures. To comply with executive action, agencies have also scrubbed their websites and documents of more than 350 terms disfavored by the federal government.
Many universities have followed suit. Particularly in the wake of legislation like Ohio’s Senate Bill 1, which strictly limits classroom discussion and chills speech, professors no longer enjoy the full benefits of academic freedom. Academics abroad also face backlash—one notable instance involved a French scientist who was turned away from the border for expressing his personal opinion about the research policy of the federal government.
The government has also targeted international students for stating their opinions; six agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Rümeysa Öztürk for the crime of co-authoring an op-ed in her university’s student newspaper which criticized the university’s response to the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
Due Process Under Attack. Perhaps the most alarming trends in 2025 are the attacks on due process and the rule of law. The student mentioned above, Rümeysa Öztürk, was arrested in March by half a dozen masked federal agents and moved to a facility in Louisiana, where litigants face more challenges fighting deportation. She was not charged with any crime and, at the time of her arrest, possessed a legal visa. Öztürk was freed in early May by a judge who saw no evidence that she engaged in or advocated for violence.
Others have not been so lucky. Mahmoud Khalil, an activist who negotiated on behalf of pro-Palestinian student protestors at Columbia University, was also detained by ICE in March based on the government’s accusations that his exercise of free speech posed a threat to national security. Like Öztürk, Khalil was a legal resident at the time of his arrest. In late May, a federal judge found the deportation proceedings likely unconstitutional, but he declined to terminate deportation proceedings. Khalil missed the birth of his first child while in ICE detention. He has also been charged with no crime.
Another high-profile deportation case demonstrating the attacks on due process is that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia, an immigrant with a legally protected status, was also deported in March and sent to CECOT, a maximum-security Salvadoran prison. Abrego Garcia’s wife, a United States citizen, learned of his deportation when she saw him on the news with a shaved head and recognized his tattoos. The federal government admitted Abrego Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error.” The United States Supreme Court ordered the executive branch to work with the Salvadoran government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, but as of June, he is still imprisoned in El Salvador.
Despite offering no evidence for its claims, the federal government attempted to argue that Abrego Garcia was a dangerous gang member. A report in late May revealed that, despite asserting that the immigrants deported to CECOT were violent criminals, the federal government knew more than half had no criminal record in the United States. The Supreme Court, however, made it easier for the federal government to deport Salvadorans when it ruled that the government could revoke the protected status of over 800,000 migrants.
All three high-profile proceedings—Öztürk, Khalil, and Abrego Garcia—highlight a dangerous denial of due process for those the federal government believes to be non-citizens. Non-citizens are entitled to the due process of law just like their citizen counterparts. Experts in immigration law warn that, without due process, even non-immigrant citizens could be at risk of deportation as they have no guarantee that they may prove their citizen status.
Attacks on the rule of law extend beyond the denial of due process. In an unprecedented display of government overreach, executive orders have sanctioned individual law firms for their past representation of clients seen as adverse to the current administration. A Wisconsin judge was arrested for allowing an immigrant to use an alternative courthouse door to avoid ICE agents, and a New York congressional aide was detained after ICE agents entered her office in a federal building. The Department of Homeland Security also quietly deleted a provision to its policy manual which prohibited basing surveillance of an individual solely on gender identity or sexual orientation, leaving many members of the LGBTQ+ community to believe their privacy protections are at stake.
Every day, we face a torrent of news that seems to overwhelm us by design. Headline after headline, we are pulled deeper into a sense of helplessness. What can we do?
As the nation celebrates the anniversary of its independence, we at the Jones Center urge you to think smaller: look for opportunities in your community. Remember to play to your strengths; action will look different for every person. Organize, mobilize, and show up to protests or demonstrations for causes you care about. Consume consciously; support local businesses, shop small, and spend your money with companies that share your values. If you have the means, donate to mutual aid funds and charitable organizations—many nonprofits carrying out critical work have fallen victim to federal aid slashing and now rely on donations to stay afloat. Participate in government at the state and local level. Tap into local news sources to develop an awareness of upcoming legislation that may impact your community. Familiarize yourself with your elected representatives and contact them with your concerns. Testify in support of or opposition to bills in your statehouse. Support institutions—like universities, newspapers, or labor unions—but hold them accountable. Stay alert, but don’t be afraid to step out of the deluge of bad news. Totalitarianism thrives under isolation and fear, so have conversations with others in your community and build relationships with your neighbors.
Moving forward together, we leave you with a quote from John Lewis, titan of the Civil Rights Movement: “Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”
In Unity,
The Nathaniel R. Jones Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice