A congresswoman stands at a podium as she speaks to an audience
Rep. Zoe Lofgren speaks at Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose on Feb. 1, 2025. Santa Clara County Executive James Williams and Rep. Sam Liccardo sit behind her. Photo courtesy of the School of Arts and Culture.

Fifteen days — that’s how long it took for the new presidential administration to unleash chaos upon the nation. We were promised stability, prosperity and safety. Instead, we are watching democracy unravel in real time.

This past Saturday at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose, Congressmembers Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna and Sam Liccardo stood before a community in distress. They sounded the alarm — not about something happening in distant Washington, D.C., but about the immediate and devastating consequences of President Donald Trump’s reckless executive orders.

The most egregious of these orders is the nationwide freeze on federal funding, halting nearly all disbursements of federal grants. This isn’t merely a bureaucratic snag — it’s an existential threat.

Santa Clara County alone receives $3.7 billion annually in federal funds, making up nearly one-third of its operating budget. Without those funds, the consequences will be dire:

  • Hospitals at risk: Our public health system relies on federal Medicaid funding. As County Executive James Williams said, if one of us gets into a serious car accident, we count on Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s level one trauma unit to be there. Without federal dollars, those lifesaving services could crumble.
  • Food assistance gutted: Programs like CalFresh and CalWorks — critical lifelines for low-income families — face potential cuts, leaving vulnerable communities without essential nutrition and resources.
  • Emergency services defunded: The executive order threatens fire department grants and law enforcement funding, jeopardizing our ability to respond to wildfires, disasters and public safety crises.

All of this, in the name of political theater.

A man and woman speaking
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren speaks with Santa Clara County Executive James Williams on Feb. 1, 2025. Photo courtesy of the School of Arts and Culture.

The administration isn’t just harming working families — it’s undermining law enforcement itself. A separate executive order punishes sanctuary cities by defunding police departments that refuse to collaborate with ICE.

As Congressman Liccardo pointed out, even police chiefs oppose this policy. Years ago, the Major Cities Chiefs Association found that engaging with ICE makes communities less safe. When immigrants fear calling 911 could lead to deportation, crimes go unreported, victims stay silent and perpetrators go free. How does that make anyone safer?

Perhaps the most chilling development is the president’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — the same law used to justify the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

If history teaches us anything, citizenship alone won’t protect us when a government chooses fear over freedom. What starts as an attack on one community doesn’t stop there. Today, it’s our immigrant neighbors. Tomorrow, it could be any one of us.

A man speaks to a crowd of people
Congressman Sam Liccardo, left, speaks with residents at Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose. Photo courtesy of the School of Arts and Culture.

Beyond the devastating policy decisions, the administration has opened the doors of government to an unelected tech mogul. Elon Musk — a private citizen with political and financial interests — has allegedly seized control of the Office of Personnel Management and linked non-government servers to federal employee data. He has also attempted to take over the U.S. payment system.

This is not just about money. This is about unchecked, unaccountable power.

Yes, the administration argues these executive orders are designed to strengthen national security, protect American jobs and safeguard economic independence.

And yet, freezing essential funding weakens America rather than strengthens it. Starving hospitals, police departments and food programs doesn’t create safety — it creates suffering. Raising tariffs by 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico will only worsen inflation and drive up costs on essential goods like lumber and produce.

This is not leadership. This is a government actively sabotaging the very people it swore to serve.

A man stands at a podium with microphones on it
Congressman Ro Khanna speaks at Mexican Heritage Plaza on Feb. 1, 2025. Photo courtesy of the School of Arts and Culture.

As Congressman Ro Khanna said, we must ask ourselves what kind of America we want to be. Do we want to be a nation that values compassion, democracy and justice? Or one that embraces cruelty, division and authoritarian control?

This is not the time for silence. This is the time to stand up, document the truth and demand accountability. Because if we do nothing — if we accept this as normal — then history will not look kindly upon us.

San José Spotlight columnist Jessica Paz-Cedillos is the co-executive director at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Her columns appear every first Monday of the month. Contact Jessica at [email protected] or follow her on LinkedIn.

Comment Policy (updated 5/10/2023): Readers are required to log in through a social media or email platform to confirm authenticity. We reserve the right to delete comments or ban users who engage in personal attacks, hate speech, excess profanity or make verifiably false statements. Comments are moderated and approved by admin.

Leave a Reply