We are in the midst of a full-blown constitutional crisis.
That statement has been true nearly every day since January 20, as the administration has usurped the powers of Congress by illegally freezing funds, declared fake emergencies to grant itself more power, and skirted judicial rulings.
But Trump’s brazen defiance of a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from a Salvadoran torture prison is truly a watershed moment for our teetering democracy.
To recap:
- The Trump administration has sent over 238 people (likely far more) to a torture prison in El Salvador without due process. Mounting reportingsuggests many of these people have no gang affiliation at all, despite the administration’s hollow claims.
- One of those people was Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a man who had been granted protected status, prohibiting his deportation by the federal government. The Trump administration deported (kidnapped) him anyway and blamed it on an administrative error.
- On April 10, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Trump administration must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
- In the days since, the administration has made it clear it does not intend to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling, ludicrously claiming that it does not have the power to bring him back.
Abrego Garcia’s legally protected status and the resulting court rulings have made his name a rallying cry. But there are many, many more like him who’ve been snatched up and sent to this foreign prison without due process, and who — by all accounts — were ripped away from their families with no real evidence of any wrongdoing.
And seemingly daily, the administration is grabbing legal permanent residents and visa-holders off the streets, obscuring their whereabouts to impede legal challenges, and deporting them merely for exercising their First Amendment-protected right to dissent.
To add to the urgency of this moment, Trump told El Salvador’s dictator this week that he should build new prisons, because the administration hopes to deport American citizens next.
With Trump openly defying a Supreme Court stacked with his own appointees, we’ll level with you: This crisis won’t be resolved through the courts. And it ain’t gonna be solved by adding our name to petitions. The only way forward is massive public pressure. We all have a role to play.
1️⃣ The first step is simple: Speak out. We need to help our networks understand that this isn’t some abstract threat that has nothing to do with them: If the administration can arrest dissenters, send protected migrants to foreign prisons without due process, and defy the courts, all of our rights are at risk.
Have these conversations in person. Post articles on social that refuse to soften the edges of this crisis or normalize Trump’s actions. Here’s one. Here’s another. And another.
2️⃣ The second step: Make your elected officials feel the heat. Every elected official took an oath to defend the Constitution. This is their moment to put up or shut up.
Democrats are in the minority, but not without power. Richard Blumenthal and Brian Schatz are delaying the confirmation of dozens of Trump nominees. Cory Booker used a marathon speech to take control of one of the most important commodities in politics: Public attention. And Chris Van Hollen is currently in El Salvador on a mission to protect his constituent and demand his return.
Republicans are less likely to speak out against the administration, but they will if they’re getting enough blowback on this (the kind of blowback we’re already seeing at town halls). We can’t let them off the hook here because we expect so little of them — we’ve got to make their phones ring off the hook.
Whether you’re represented by a Democrat or Republican in Congress, call them NOW and demand they speak out against Trump’s defiance of the Supreme Court, push for an end to these lawless abductions, and move to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home immediately.
3️⃣ Finally: We’re going to need popular resistance. We’ve known all along that stopping Trump’s authoritarian takeover is going to take more than calling our members of Congress. It’s going to take demonstrating to our neighbors, our communities, and to those who may even disagree with us on most things that what Trump is doing is not acceptable. It’s going to take mass popular resistance, bringing people together in community to demand change. It’s going to take getting into the streets to defend our democracy.
You did this on April 5 for the Hands Off! Day of Action. You’re doing this right now with protests and other events during the congressional recess (there’s still time to get plugged in — see the toolkit here, which now includes resources on Abrego Garcia’s case). And we’re going to do this again together on May 1 for the May Day National Day of Action. Big, public demonstrations of defiance are opportunities for us to lock arms, get loud, and fight back. Make a plan to participate now — and among the other chants in defense of our democracy, call for bringing Kilmar Abrego Garcia home.
We’re continuing to work with partners on tactics that’ll draw attention to the injustice of these kidnappings and disappearances and put pressure on elected officials to do their damn jobs and uphold our Constitution. Expect more from us on this in the coming days, but please do not wait to take action. When far too many are choosing silence, we need everyone in this movement to raise our collective voice now.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
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