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One of America’s most trusted institutions is the library. People rely on its services and resources. Libraries and library services are in danger. People need to show up and speak out for libraries.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order to abolish the Institute for Museums and Library Services, the only federal agency dedicated to funding libraries. The loss of this funding will touch every library in New York state. The intent to undercut and eliminate the Institute for Museum and Library Services is extraordinarily shortsighted and perilous for all New Yorkers who rely on their public, school, academic, and special libraries.

Library funding accounts for less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet enormously impacts communities nationwide. In our region, our libraries provide technology classes for older adults, the Farm to Library program, summer reading activities, tax forms, access to the internet, notary services, support for local businesses and entrepreneurs, resources for homeschoolers, and books by mail for the homebound to name a few of the services and resources.

The funding from the Institute for Museums and Library Services makes a real, concrete difference in the lives of New Yorkers every day. Libraries are a community resource. However, the president’s executive order threatens all of those services. This is a call to action for people to contact their local government officials, senators and congressional members, community organizations, and the people who value and use libraries.

Published April 21, 2025

I assist immigrants studying to become U.S. citizens. As part of that process, they study 100 questions about U.S. history and government and then must answer correctly six of ten questions chosen by the immigration officer at their exam.

One question on that list is: What are two rights of everyone living in the United States? Correct answers to this question are: freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to petition the government, freedom of religion and the right to bear arms.

The Trump administration has recently targeted for deportation many foreign students largely because of their views about the violence in Gaza by Israel against civilians and the support of the United States for those Israeli actions. These are students legally in the United States. For example, Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student, was recently apprehended and sent to a Louisiana ICE deportation facility just for co-authoring an opinion asking that the university acknowledge "the Palestinian genocide" and divert investment funds from companies with ties to Israel. She was using her constitutional rights recognized in the answer to the citizenship exam question.

I am appalled by the administration’s hypocrisy in violating these students’ constitutional freedoms. They should take a refresher course on these rights as immigrants must do to attain U.S. citizenship.

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I am writing to express my profound concern about the recent agreements signed by law enforcement agencies in New York, including the Broome County Sheriff's Office, Nassau County Sheriff's Office and Nassau County Police Department, and the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office, to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As noted in the article "4 N.Y. police agencies officially cooperating with ICE," March 20, this change in policy is a worrisome step backward from the tenets of justice and community trust that our law enforcement agencies should reflect.

Partnering with local police to turn them into de facto immigration agents endangers the safety and security of immigrant communities and shatters the core trust between law enforcement and the public they serve. When police officers become an extension of immigration officers, as ICE is commonly referred to, fear replaces trust, making individuals less likely to report crime, and making it less likely that assistance will be offered in law enforcement efforts. This isn’t just policy, it’s public safety.

While safety and security will always be paramount, the way we pursue these goals will be to isolate vulnerable populations. As New Yorkers, we have to support policies that promote trust and cooperation, and make sure all members of the community feel they can reach out to law enforcement without fear of deportation.

We must call on our local........

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