When Authoritarianism Knocks, Who Will Answer?

When Governments Ignore the Law: How Trump’s Defiance of Court Orders Sets the Stage for a Broader Crackdown on Rights—and Why We Must Act Now

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
— Edmund Burke

"The people who have the ability to be indifferent in the face of oppression are the ones who have never had to fight for their freedom."
— James Baldwin

There’s a reason authoritarians don’t start with mass arrests of journalists or late-night raids on political opponents. They don’t begin by shutting down the press or banning protests outright. They start in the shadows. They start with the vulnerable, the marginalized, the despised—with those who most people will not fight for.

That’s how it always begins. And this past week, we watched the Trump administration break two federal court orders and deport people under a 226-year-old wartime law precisely because they knew they could get away with it.

They tested the limits of power by deporting a group of Venezuelan asylum seekers under the Alien Enemies Act, claiming that every one of them was a dangerous member of Tren de Aragua, even as lawyers documented innocent people caught in the dragnet—artists, LGBTQ asylum seekers, people with no ties to crime at all. They did the same with Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Rhode Island physician on an H-1B visa, deporting her in direct violation of a judge’s order.

It wasn’t a mistake. It was a deliberate test—and they are watching closely to see who notices and who resists.

If this does not concern you, it should. Because when a government ignores a court order once, it will do it again. And each time it gets away with it, it becomes easier for them to ignore the rule of law entirely.

Breaking Norms When Few Will Care

This is the blueprint for authoritarianism, and it is unfolding in real time.

Step One: Choose a target that the public won’t defend.
Step Two: Break a fundamental rule. See if anyone stops you.
Step Three: Expand the rule-breaking to new groups, new populations, new freedoms.

This is why the administration didn’t start by ignoring court orders to silence the press or arrest political opponents. They started with a group of asylum seekers accused of gang ties and a foreign doctor from a country that many Americans associate with "dangerous outsiders."

They want to see if Americans will look away.

Because if they can get away with ignoring the courts on this, what comes next?

They know that many Americans won’t lose sleep over Venezuelans deported under accusations—false or not—of gang affiliation. And they know that many will dismiss Dr. Alawieh’s case as just another foreign visa-holder facing new restrictions.

But ask yourself: What happens when the next group is one you belong to?

What happens when a green card holder who protests the administration is branded a security threat and stripped of their residency? (Oh wait—that already happened last week at Columbia University.)

What happens when an American citizen is targeted under wartime powers because they have ties to people in a banned country?

What happens when a journalist’s reporting is labeled aiding a foreign adversary and they find themselves blacklisted from travel—or worse?

And what happens when a company, a university, or a law firm like yours is told that its work in defending the "wrong people" makes it complicit in subversion?

Do you see where this is going yet?

The Next Step: A New Travel Ban & the Expansion of Executive Power

We don’t have to wait long to see what’s next. The Trump administration is already preparing a new, vastly expanded travel ban.

According to reports, 43 countries may soon be targeted under new visa restrictions—far broader than the 2017 Muslim ban, and with a list that conveniently includes countries from which many political asylum seekers are fleeing.

Some will be outright banned.

Others will face extreme screening, ensuring that only the wealthiest applicants can enter.

And still others will be placed in a new legal limbo—an ambiguous category where the government can arbitrarily deny entry based on vague "security concerns."

This isn’t just about who can enter the U.S.—it’s about who can stay, who can work, and who can be removed.

And if the administration is already comfortable ignoring court orders now, what happens when a court tries to block this new ban?

The answer is simple: They will ignore that ruling, too.

For Those Who Thought They Were Safe…

So here’s the question: When does this stop being about “other people” and start being about you?

For those who reacted to my viral post last week—lawyers, nonprofit leaders, software engineers, government professionals—ask yourselves: how many steps exist between what we’re seeing today and a version of this that reaches into your life?

Let’s imagine:

You work for Google or Microsoft and your company does business in a “banned” country. Suddenly, your work requires national security clearance and new restrictions are placed on who you can hire.

You’re a lawyer representing asylum seekers. A new executive order deems it a national security risk to defend people in “restricted categories.” Suddenly, your job violates federal regulations.

You work in academia, publishing research on state repression, environmental threats, or corruption. The government blacklists your institution from hiring foreign scholars, and your funding disappears.

You’re a journalist covering these cases. You find yourself targeted for “knowingly aiding a foreign entity” simply for reporting on what’s happening.

You’re just an American who protested a government action. And now, the administration argues that your activism is a threat to national security.

What happens then?

Would you expect the courts to protect you?
Would you expect the Constitution to stop it?
Would you expect people like you to fight for you—or would you wonder whether they’ll just look away, like so many are doing right now?

What Can Be Done? The Roadblocks to Authoritarianism

History is not written by bystanders.

If authoritarianism relies on apathy, then the first and most powerful weapon against it is engagement.

So I challenge you—not just to read this, but to act.

Step One: Stop waiting for a “clearer” sign.

If deporting people in defiance of court orders and rolling out wartime powers in peacetime isn’t enough, what exactly are you waiting for?

Step Two: Identify where your industry, network, or expertise intersects with this fight.

If you’re in law, tech, government, or advocacy, what specific tools, policies, or networks can be used to push back?

Where can you create friction, resistance, and slow the gears of authoritarianism before they pick up speed?

Step Three: Start organizing—now.

There will soon be a space for strategic planning, networking, and real-time action.

If you believe this fight is yours, be ready to join it.

History Will Ask: Where Were You?

This isn’t a future problem. It is happening now.

The only question is: Who will recognize it, and who will wait until it’s too late?

Restack this. Share it. Challenge people you know to think about what comes next.

And then ask yourself: What role will you play?

#DefendDemocracy #ResistAuthoritarianism #HoldTheLine #WeResist