Trump’s EO Is a Threat to Our Civil Liberties — State Leaders Need to Act Now

I am writing with deep urgency regarding President Trump’s executive order, “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens.” While the language sounds protective, the reality is chilling: this order lays the legal groundwork for government sanctioned authoritarian policing and demands bold, coordinated resistance from state leadership — now. This order: • Empowers local and federal law enforcement to use military-style tactics with little oversight • Reinforces qualified immunity, shielding officers from accountability • Provides free legal defense to officers accused of misconduct • Expands surveillance, encourages no-knock raids, and deploys federal agents in unmarked gear These aren’t hypothetical dangers: • Protestors were detained in Portland by unmarked federal agents • Communities across the U.S. have faced no-knock raids and mass arrests • Journalists and citizens have been surveilled for exercising constitutional rights Now, Trump ensures the officers who abuse power are legally protected and politically rewarded. State leadership must act immediately. I urge you to: 1. Publicly condemn the order as unconstitutional and dangerous 2. Block state agencies from cooperating with federal raids or militarized actions 3. Direct the Attorney General to pursue legal challenges and hold emergency oversight hearings 4. Expand civilian oversight, offer legal defense to citizens targeted by this order, and track abuse 5. Convene a coalition of governors and state legislatures to resist this federal overreach. State leadership must be the firewall. Be clear. Be loud. Be brave. History is watching.