Brickner: With Trump, Delaware must be firewall for freedom

For over a year, American Civil Liberties Union Delaware has planned for what we will do to protect civil liberties if Donald Trump was elected for a second term, and we are ready to act.”

Mike Brickner is the executive director of American Civil Liberties Union Delaware.

Donald Trump’s reelection is a bleak moment for the future of civil rights and liberties in our country, but let’s be clear: The ultimate power in our democracy lies with the people, not with any single elected official.

We have faced the reality of a Trump presidency before, and we know what is possible. We know what may happen to those President-elect Trump has pledged to target — immigrants, people seeking reproductive health care, transgender people, Black and Brown communities, and people expressing their First Amendment rights. We are familiar with the consequences of unchecked power and Project 2025’s long list of extreme policies that aim to empower Congress and the executive branch to hack away at our constitutional freedoms.

But there is reason to have hope.

For over a year, American Civil Liberties Union Delaware has planned for what we will do to protect civil liberties if Donald Trump was elected for a second term, and we are ready to act. Delaware has already been a leader when it comes to safeguarding rights and advancing justice — from codifying abortion rights into state law to ensuring access to second chances for individuals with records. As we face another Trump era, we have the chance to continue to lead by example, showing that, regardless of election outcomes, Delaware will take concrete action to protect our communities and defend our most fundamental freedoms.

Here’s how Delaware can be a firewall for freedom:

• Refuse to cooperate. The governor and attorney general can refuse to cooperate if the Trump administration engages in massive anti-civil liberties actions, such as information requests on people accessing reproductive or gender-affirming health care, crackdowns on public protest, indiscriminate immigration raids and more.
• Guarantee equal access to education. The attorney general can clarify that Delaware law protects vulnerable students, such as families of immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, pregnant students and more, who all may be targets of the Trump administration.
• Ensure access to reproductive health care. Delaware can follow the lead of other states that have created reproductive equity funds to ensure that providers, abortion funds, patients and others have reliable and stable monies to continue to provide reproductive health care.
• Protect immigrant communities. Delaware officials can refuse to cooperate with dragnet immigration raids that the Trump administration may begin. In addition, the attorney general can release guidance to prosecutors to ensure they are aware of the consequences of minor criminal convictions on a person’s immigration status and coordinate relief to families that may be targeted by mass raids.
• Dissent is patriotic. Over the next days, weeks, months and years, many people may engage in protected First Amendment dissent but could find themselves targeted by a retributive Trump administration. Local officials can issue guidance reaffirming protections for our right to speak and express ourselves, free from government interference.

We have never been better prepared to fight for our rights than we are now. We stand ready to work with our local elected officials to protect Delawareans’ fundamental rights, and we invite concerned residents to join us. The ACLU has existed for over 100 years, through multiple presidential administrations, judicial crises and domestic upheavals, and our work will continue, no matter what the future may hold.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.