Steve's News

Congress is setting the stage to decimate Medicaid. The House of Representatives put forward a budget resolution that will lead to more than $880 billion in cuts from Medicaid. If approved, these cuts will eviscerate a critical source of health care and stability for 10s of millions of people. Most devastatingly, radical cuts to Medicaid will be catastrophic for people with disabilities for whom Medicaid is a lifeline. Why is Medicaid a Lifeline for Disabled People and Seniors? Medicaid is an essential program that provides a wide range of critical health care services and support to millions of people across the country. The impacts of these draconian cuts would be staggering. More than 10 million people with disabilities are enrolled in Medicaid, making it the largest provider of health care to people with disabilities, including people with mental health conditions. Beyond health care, Medicaid is the primary payer of home and community-based services (HCBS) for nearly 8 million seniors and people with disabilities, including those with complex care needs who depend on these services and supports to get out of bed, go to work, and live in their communities rather than being warehoused in costly and isolated institutions. Any cuts to HCBS will also harm family members who have to reduce hours at work or leave their jobs altogether to care for loved ones. America’s seniors also rely on Medicaid for nursing home care; two-thirds of people living in nursing facilities are enrolled in Medicaid. Cuts to Medicaid will jeopardize access to nursing facilities and reduce the quality-of-care individuals receive. Many older adults with long-term care needs will be left with limited care options and, in some cases, no options at all if states are unable to fill the funding gap and must close nursing facilities. How Does Medicaid Support Children and Those with Mental Health Conditions? Medicaid is the single largest funder of mental health and substance-use disorder care in the country. It provides

I live everyday in fear. My husband, Miguel, is undocumented and, despite what many believe, being married to a U.S. citizen does not protect him from Tweety McTreason’s unlawful efforts to deport millions of people. Miguel is my best friend. He is wonderful, kind, and humble. We have a beautiful life that includes a successful business, a home, two children and five grandchildren. It is truly the American dream that so many people in this country strive to build for themselves. Today, it terrifies me to know that everything we’ve worked so hard could be taken from us by cruel immigration policies that argue Miguel isn’t “good enough” to even attempt to become a U.S. citizen. Miguel has lived in this country for virtually his entire adult life. Even though Miguel has worked hard every day since he came to the states, because of how he entered the country, we’re struggling to find a path to citizenship for him. Miguel has paid taxes like any American despite never knowing if he might become a citizen and reap the benefits, like social security, of his hard work. I could live with that injustice. It was enough for us that he had authorization to work legally and was protected from immediate deportation. Then Trump was re-elected. In 2016, the first Trump administration reopened a lot of immigration cases like Miguel’s, trying to find a reason to deport people. We were fortunate to escape notice then, but I’m afraid we won’t be so fortunate now. The new Trump administration is far more cruel and far more determined to deport those it doesn’t view as “worthy” to be American citizens. I am terrified that Miguel will be next on Trump’s deportation list. I have cameras everywhere in my home. I’m scared to sleep, worried that ICE will knock on my door and take my husband. I’m at the point of having a breakdown over not knowing if he’s going

States and cities are on the frontlines of the fight against the second Trump administration’s efforts to restrict our rights — and it is a fight. Already we’ve seen Tweety McTreason respond to this state-based resistance by attempting to weaponize funding to intimidate local officials to follow his extreme agenda. But local officials not only can fight back — they are fighting back. For nearly a year, the ACLU has worked with our affiliates in every state to develop a playbook to block and disrupt Trump’s radical agenda. Our playbook outlines comprehensive tools to safeguard reproductive rights, immigrants’ rights, free speech, and more. At the ACLU, we know that dissent is patriotic. Policymakers and elected officials must act to protect their communities and the rule of law, especially when under threat from the White House. Below are a few ways that states are saying no to Trump’s radical agenda. Attorneys General Pushback Against Trump’s Executive Order on Gender Affirming Care Fifteen state attorneys general have formed a coalition to protect gender-affirming medical care for trans youth. They condemned Tweety McTreason’s recent anti-trans executive actions “wrong on the science and the law.” New York Attorney General Letitia James went a step further. She warned hospitals that they would be violating state anti-discrimination laws if they stopped offering gender-affirming care to youth. Governors Are Making “Trump Proof” Plans to Protect Abortion New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill that gives abortion providers additional privacy protections when prescribing medications used for abortion. While more privacy protections are still needed, when signing the bill, Hochul affirmed her commitment to New York being a safe harbor for all who need abortion care. North Carolina and Washington have also moved to protect reproductive health. In Washington, Governor Bob Ferguson released an executive order convening a task force to strategize on protecting reproductive freedom. Governor Josh Stein issued an executive order reaffirming his commitment to protect women’s reproductive freedom in

President Tweety McTreason began February with a proclamation that Black History Month offered “an occasion to celebrate the contributions of so many Black American patriots who have indelibly shaped our nation’s history.” In the closing days of the month, he hosted a Black History Month reception at the White House where he promised he would fight for Black Americans. What he did not mention during his remarks was that the proclamation and reception came amidst a systemic crusade to dismantle the civil rights infrastructure that Black Americans helped build and that sustains our hopes for equal citizenship. One of the first moves Trump made after his inauguration was to issue a wide-ranging executive order ending the federal government’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and firing the public servants who lead that work. He has moved to end affirmative action programs in federal procurement. He has threatened colleges and universities, intimidated non-profit organizations, and removed Black and women leaders from the nation’s military leadership. Across the country, Black History Month proceeded against the backdrop of relentless attempts to erase Black history. Enemies of justice have sought to erase history so that past injustices cannot be connected to present inequities. Those who fear racial equality have always understood the importance of silencing stories that give people the hope and the means to build a better future. This whitewashing is a clear and present danger to an inclusive democracy. If Americans do not reflect on slavery’s enduring legacy, on Reconstruction and its violent backlash, on Jim Crow and its transformation into modern mass incarceration, then they cannot fully understand why racial injustice persists today and they will not be equipped to fight it. Now, with Tweety McTreason in office, the wind is at their back as he and his allies attempt to bludgeon Black history and Black futures at the highest levels. But this is not just about how we study history. Much of American history can