The Trump administration has long since straddled the blurry line between hate speech and outright human rights violations. The recently inaugurated President Donald Trump and his administration have abused their positions of power to enact executive orders that accelerate the United States’ descent into a country led by compassionless government agencies and individuals.
Trump’s facetious attitude about being a dictator on his first day is coming back to haunt us through his policy choices. While his series of questionable executive orders was enacted with haste on his first day in office, they will have long-term detrimental impacts on the future of democracy — long past Trump’s term. Objectives like those detailed in Project 2025 — dismantling environmental protections, freezing federal assistance programs and restricting gender-affirming care —despite Trump’s denial of involvement or even having read it, are coming to fruition. The Trump administration already purged valuable data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the internet temporarily; terminated diversity, equity and inclusion mandates and policies; and attempted to end birthright citizenship. The eradication of data and language is one of the first acts of censorship enacted with the goal of maintaining complete control over the people of the United States.
Recently, the Trump administration rescinded one of the most influential resources aiding in obtaining legal citizenship in the United States: the parole program for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. While serving as a vital resource for American immigrants, this program has a convoluted history. It began as Title 42, a policy from Trump’s first term that denied migrants entry to the United States and access to asylum after illegal entry. Title 42 capitalized upon a small loophole in the system that prohibits the migration of those who could pose a public health risk, despite the top CDC doctor’s assertion that “there was no valid public health reason to issue it.” Later, former President Joe Biden expanded Title 42, and it became the program it is now. Under this modified program, the United States committed to allowing 30,000 individuals per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela entry to the United States via humanitarian parole — a temporary permission of entry for urgent humanitarian reasons — given they have U.S.-based financial support and pass background checks. It would allow individuals fleeing food shortages, poverty, political instability and censorship to find asylum in the United States, the “land of the free.” Unfortunately, the corrupt and discriminatory principles embodied by the current administration negate the very principle of freedom upon which the United States was built.
Two years after its initial implementation and mere hours after his inauguration, Trump rescinded this program for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela parole program and wiped it from the internet without so much as an official notice. Consequently, his actions left the legal status of nearly 1.5 million immigrants in danger. This isn’t an issue of illegal immigration or border security — of which Trump has very publicly established his stance. It’s an obvious dig at foreign individuals seeking legal access to the United States. The rescission of this program is a xenophobic act that undermines the fabric of our country as a nation of immigrants.
The democracy ingrained in American principles is actively crumbling. A democratic nation is built upon a foundation of equality, freedom of speech and transparency, among other key factors. The Trump administration is ignoring fundamental human rights — equality and safety — in favor of discriminatory policies. The individuals making these policies are far removed from the reality of the situation and make no effort to sympathize with the struggles of immigrants, nor provide any source of relief for them. The recission of this program is one of the first steps the Trump administration has taken that actively disregards the safety of potential U.S. citizens, suggesting that their policies will only continue to become more hateful, cruel and discriminatory. As the U.S. government abandons the founding principles of democracy, it’s more important than ever to welcome diverse perspectives and take a quiet stand against the government’s bigotry.
