They’re Encroaching on Your Freedom
Message from Our President
The Supreme Court’s decision limiting federal judges' ability to block the President’s attack on birthright citizenship represents a dangerous erosion of our constitutional rights. This ruling doesn't just threaten immigrants—it threatens the very foundation of American democracy and signals a coordinated assault on the rights that our ancestors fought to secure.
The 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship guarantee was forged in the aftermath of slavery to ensure that no American-born person—especially formerly enslaved Black Americans and their descendants—could be denied their rightful place in this democracy. Our ancestors understood what happens when citizenship becomes conditional because they lived through the terror of being considered property rather than people.
Today's decision becomes even more alarming when viewed alongside this week's other Supreme Court ruling allowing the president to deport immigrants to countries they have no connection to. Together, these decisions create a dangerous precedent: if the president can strip birthright citizenship from newborns and send people to random countries, what stops them from questioning the citizenship of Black Americans whose families have been here for generations?
This pattern of judicial rollbacks extends far beyond immigration. The overturning of Roe v. Wade stripped away reproductive freedoms that women relied on for 50 years. Voting rights continue to face relentless assault through restrictive voter ID laws, gerrymandering, and polling place closures that disproportionately impact our communities. LGBTQ+ Americans face increasing legislative attacks on their fundamental rights to exist and participate fully in society.
History shows us that when authoritarian leaders consolidate power, they systematically target communities that oppose them. The same legal mechanisms being used against immigrants today can easily be turned against Black communities tomorrow. We've witnessed this playbook during Japanese American internment and throughout Jim Crow, when our citizenship was constantly questioned, challenged, and denied.
Most critically, when courts lose the power to protect constitutional rights through nationwide injunctions, we lose our last line of defense against authoritarian overreach. Democracy depends on independent courts that can protect minority rights against majority tyranny, and these recent rulings systematically weaken that protection.
This is an attack on every single last one of us and we can’t sit idly by as the guardrails of democracy are systematically dismantled and the sacrifices of our elders are disrespected. The time for action is now—join one of our standing committees to help protect our communities from extremists overreach. Our freedoms, our citizenship, and our democracy depend on it.
In love & solidarity,
QM
