Across the country, people are waking up to a chilling truth: we are not just losing our rights, we are being ruled by a regime that thrives on taking them.
This is not politics as usual. It’s a coordinated dismantling of democracy, from immigration raids to protest bans, campus crackdowns to union-busting. The Trump administration is waging a full-spectrum assault on civil liberties.
One of the most alarming fronts is immigration. Citing the Alien Enemies Act, the administration has launched deportations without due process, targeting not only undocumented people but also legal residents and visa holders. Over 1,500 international students have reportedly had their visas revoked, many for participating in pro-Palestinian activism. Trump’s stated goal is to end birthright citizenship.
The case of Kilmar Ábrego García., a union apprentice in Maryland, makes this clear. Despite a court order shielding him from removal, he was forcibly deported to El Salvador, where he remains imprisoned. The administration’s refusal to comply with a Supreme Court order demanding his return shows open contempt for judicial authority.
Higher education is also under siege. Harvard University is suing the administration over a $2.3 billion federal funding freeze, imposed after the school resisted demands to curb diversity programs and student activism. This is not governance, it’s retaliation.
Since early 2025, dozens of states have introduced anti-protest laws, aimed at criminalizing dissent, particularly protests against Israel’s U.S.-backed genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank. Students like Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk have been detained simply for speaking out. These laws are designed to intimidate and silence a generation.
Meanwhile, under the Project 2025 blueprint, Trump allies are pushing to dismantle decades of labor protections. Proposals include banning voluntary union recognition, allowing mid-contract decertification, and legalizing employer-controlled “unions.” Most dangerous of all: a plan to let states opt out of federal labor law altogether, gutting the NLRA and FLSA. Trump has already stripped over a million federal workers of bargaining rights and purged pro-labor officials from the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, crippling the very agencies meant to defend working people.
This is authoritarianism. These attacks are not isolated, they are part of a broader authoritarian agenda. This administration governs by targeting the marginalized, dismantling institutions, and criminalizing dissent. The warning signs of fascism are here, and we ignore them at our peril.
Solidarity is our strongest weapon. Together, we can resist the erosion of our freedoms and reclaim a future grounded in justice, dignity, and democracy.
Organizers and community members from around the state welcome you to participate in a mass meeting on Saturday, April 26, at 1 p.m. at First & Summerfield United Methodist Church in New Haven. Students, immigrants, workers, and concerned Connecticut residents are coming together to defend civil liberties, labor rights, and democracy. This is our chance to strategize, mobilize, and fight back.
Join endorsing organizations including the Hartford and New Haven Federations of Teachers, the REACH Fund, CSU and Wesleyan AAUPs, SEIU 1199 and many others in building collective mass action that can really turn back the authoritarian tide!
Learn more and RSVP here.
Audra King is an Organizer for CT Civil Liberties Defense.