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In the months since the new federal administration took office, Maryland and its residents have had to grapple with many significant negative impacts. These include how Maryland manages the State Government and its own resources, and it will likely affect what bills will  be passed in 2026.
 
Among the direct impacts on Maryland residents are:

• The wholesale arrest and deportation of many immigrants, including many who were complying with the dictates of the immigration courts. Most of these deportees were not convicted criminals, despite the administration's statements to the contrary.

• Multiple attempts to restrict access to reproductive health care on a national level

• Refusal to recognize trans individuals and actions to deny them gender-affirming care

• Actions directed at denying women and LGBTQ+ people the right to serve in the armed forces

• Attempts to rewrite American history to minimize the impacts of slavery and remove references to the positive contributions of African Americans, Latin Americans, and immigrants in general

• Actions to fire or lay off thousands of federal employees and to shut down entire agencies created by Congress

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The Administration has also acted to allow ministers to make political endorsements to their congregations (but not to the public at large), and further erosion of the bar on faith group political involvement is still possible.  It is also possible that nonprofit organizations, including faith groups, could be targeted by the new president, given his declarations that liberal groups including nonprofits constitute "terrorist organizations" when they disagree with him.
 
We must be prepared for whatever other actions are taken at the federal level and take action to oppose many of them.
 
Many of these actions have been challenged in court by private individuals, groups of affected people, and coalitions of State Attorneys General, including our own Anthony Brown. The lower courts and many appellate courts have blocked actions of the Executive, while the US Supreme Court has often overturned lower court decisions in favor of the President. Many cases have not yet reached the high court, so the ultimate results of these challenges are uncertain.
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After attending and listening to many other groups, UULM-MD recommends several ways to cope:

1. Take Care of Yourself

   • All of us, whether or not we are among a group targeted for harm by the new administration, need to take steps to be prepared.  Multiple groups advise that we must take care of ourselves before we can protect others and/or act to stop policies that do harm.

   • Take time for spiritual grounding during this critical time through programs at UU congregations and utilize the Regional Life staff available for localized support.

   • Invite others, especially those living with fear, to join us in our congregations and receive the comfort and love that we all need

   • Reground ourselves in the organizing and social justice skills we learned to be effective advocates

   • Reflect on our values and discern what they call on us to do individually and collectively

2. Build Community Resilience

   • The Community Resilience Hub of the UUA’s Side with Love campaign recommends that our congregations and local areas communities:

   • Maintain communication with one another - check in with your people and keep the lines of communication open.

   • Draw on lessons from the pandemic to make sure you have effective communications structures and a nimble strategy for how to make decisions together.

   • Pay attention to who is coming in and out of the building when your community is gathered.

   • Remember the importance of de-escalation as you take your own measures to support everyone’s safety.

   • Make sure you are connected with your regional staff, other local congregations, and experienced organizers in your own neighborhood.

   • Have conversations now about whose leadership and analysis you will look to for guidance.

3. Protect the Vulnerable

Our congregations need to be prepared to welcome an influx of people who will walk through our doors seeking comfort, community, connection. Their needs may include housing, food, legal services, a safe haven, or just someone to listen and care.​​​
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    4. Prepare to Act
Dealing with climate disasters and political threats that folks are already experiencing and those yet to come may require more than offering comfort and support.  It may require advocacy, public witness or even civil disobedience. We may have to take practical steps to blunt the impact of harmful national policies whether perpetrated by the Executive, Legislative or Judicial branches of the Federal Government.​​
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Possible federal actions could include:​

• Removing tax exemptions for nonprofits that the administration sees as opposed to the new President. One bill already proposed is to allow the President to designate any organization as a terrorist organization, leading to closure and sanctions.

• Impounding budgeted funds to eliminate thousands of federal jobs, many of whom held by Maryland residents

• Removing environmental protections and extending delays in climate action

• Blocking access to reproductive healthcare

• Ramping up “abortion surveillance” to intimidate pregnant people who need abortion care.

• Ending the legal status of 500,000 Dreamers

• Attempting to deny citizenship to children of immigrants born in the United States

• Allowing employers to stop paying hourly workers overtime

• Restricting food stamp eligibility for immigrants

• Imposing a specific Christian ideology on public schools

• Using private school vouchers to funnel resources that public schools desperately need into religious schools that would be free to indoctrinate and discriminate

• Reducing funding for schools, ending preschool programs, and eliminating student debt repayment programs

• Emboldening racial discrimination by removing tools that the federal government uses to enforce civil rights protections

• Rolling back civil rights protections and even turning anti-discrimination laws against people who seek to fight systemic racism and advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

1.   Take Action and Advocate Where Your Can

Beyond helping and protecting, we will be called upon to speak out and act on behalf of individuals in specific groups.
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Advocating Nationally: UUSJ
Where the cause of a problem is a federal policy or action, we recommend signing up for eNews from UUs for Social Justice regarding one of their action issues:

• Democracy Action

• Immigration Action

• Environment/Climate Action

• Economic Justice

If you want to take further action, you should volunteer with one of UUSJ’s Action Teams to support or oppose federal legislation, join nationwide letter-writing campaigns, or participate in public rallies.
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Advocating in Maryland: UULM-MD
Where a problem can be addressed at the state level, stay informed by reading our weekly Digests and find resources on our website. State actions could include:

• Asking the Governor to make it much harder for Trump to use military force to grab and detain millions of immigrants as part of his threatened mass deportations

• Asking the Attorney General to file or join lawsuits against proposed federal actions.

• Contacting lawmakers in support of our priority issues in order to keep Maryland moving forward. The policies that fall under each of our Issue Teams could be affected by federal agencies, policies and courts in different ways.

  • Criminal justice is almost exclusively a state matter, so we expect little from the federal government that would impact our efforts to reform and improve our justice system.

  • Medical Aid in Dying is also a state matter and is unlikely to be negatively impacted by federal policy.

  • Health care is generally a state matter, so regulation of prescription drug costs is likely safe from federal action, although government coverage programs like Medicare and Medicaid could be impacted

  • Reproductive rights are now protected by the Maryland Constitution due to the success of the amendment at the ballot box. However, the federal government could endanger medical abortions by enforcing the Comstock Act passed decades ago prohibiting such products from being shipped though the US Postal Service (alternative delivery means could be made available).

  • Maryland’s progressive gun laws are subject to challenge in federal courts, so lawsuits, rather than executive pronouncements, could affect whether they succeed in reducing gun violence in our state.

  • Maryland’s efforts to address the climate crisis are independent of federal control, but they could be affected by efforts to redirect funding from renewables to the fossil fuel industry.

  • Immigration is essentially a federal matter, but states can take steps to make immigrants more welcome. Most of our recent legislative actions are along these lines, but federal actions could still make immigration harder for many Maryland residents.

 
In future messages, each of our Issue Leads will be providing more detailed information about the prospects of success in the 2025 Maryland General Assembly.
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Please counter any despair by fostering hope: follow your goals, plan your actions, and know that together “We can do this!”
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