Dearborn protesters continue to rally again Trump policies

 

By SUE SUCHYTA

Times-Herald Newspapers

DEARBORN – Protesters at Ford Field listened to U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-12th District) and City Councilmember Leslie Herrick May 3 before marching along Michigan Avenue to protest the Trump administration’s actions.

Attendees carried signs expressing a wide range of concerns, including cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and to domestic and international aid programs, to concerns about Gaza, reproductive freedoms, and threats to democracy.

Herrick spoke about the need to protect Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, veterans, people with special needs, public education, national parks and arts programing.

“We have to look out for each other, love one another,” she said. “Dearborn, I’m proud of us: we live peacefully, side by side, with people who don’t look like us, didn’t necessarily grow up here, or may have been here for generations, but that is the thing I am most proud about Dearborn, that welcoming spirit that we have had over the decades, and I want to continue to welcome others who didn’t necessarily grow up here, but make them feel welcome, and part of that is making sure that they have what they need to survive.”

Tlaib, who spoke next, said it takes an average of two-and-a-half years to take down a democracy, and the current administration in Washington, D.C., is going after the media, public education, public institutions and those who dissent.

“American values include the right to dissent,” she said. “And, also, can we please not violate the United States Constitution?”

Tlaib said people need to understand the incredible power they all have.

“I know it’s hard to believe that it has only been 13 weeks,” she said. “It’s hard to believe, but look what they’ve done: They are going to increase the defense budget by a trillion dollars, while cutting the PACT Act, which literally is helping veterans have access to health care that have been exposed to toxins – Agent Orange – they are cutting that $20-some million.”

The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, or PACT Act, expanded Veteran Administration healthcare and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals, including burn pits, Agent Orange and other substances.

Tlaib said millions have been cut from the Department of Education, which will particularly impact children with special needs.

“All the legislation that we’ve seen now this past week, the budget proposals, it is clear as day that it’s all about giving corporate tax breaks,” she said.

Tlaib said tax cuts in the trillions to the most-wealthy are being done at the expense of those who rely on Medicaid.

“Ninety-nine percent of the things (President Trump) is doing, he’s going around Congress,” she said. “That’s why 93 percent of the lawsuits have been won against him, because everything he is doing is illegal.”

Tlaib said people need to show up to protests to resist and push back.

 

She said the cuts to the Social Security workforce are eliminating access to Social Security, and cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency are impacting all states.

“Speak the truth right now and speak up about this, but do it in a way where we are not shaming or blaming,” Tlaib said. “We are uniting our country against this fascist government and fascist regime.”

Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian and ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement in which dissent and opposition are not tolerated.

She said constituents are saying to her that what the Trump administration is doing is not what they wanted when they supported his candidacy.

“We’re not going to agree 100 percent on everything, but we are going to say that we at least agree that you shouldn’t be ignoring 9-0 Supreme Court decisions and causing a constitutional crisis,” Tlaib said. “If you want to eliminate the Department of Education, which we’re going to fight, introduce a bill; instead, they want to go around Congress.”

She said resistance comes in many different forms.

“The president of the United States is unlawfully acting, and he’s hurting people,” Tlaib said. “And people say it’s shameful and disgusting, but let me tell you what this is: it’s cruelty, and it is so cruel what they are doing to our families.” 

She said cutting Medicaid creates life-and-death situations for people.

“Continue to speak up, continue to shout from the rooftops,” Tlaib said. “What I see in the streets is what I need to know, that the majority of American people are rising up and saying we will not stand by and allow a fascist government to come in and take down our democracy.

“It is messy to be part of a democracy, but it is a beautiful mess. It is our beautiful mess, and we deserve to protect it no matter what.”