In her first town hall meeting since President Trump assumed office on Jan 20, Caribbean-American Democratic U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke Monday night strongly condemned the president for unleashing what she described as unprecedented “terror, confusion and chaos across this nation.”
In the well-attended, two-hour-plus town hall meeting at George W. Wingate High School Auditorium on Kingston Avenue in Brooklyn, Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, said that, in just 160 days in office, Trump’s assault has been “at a level unlike any before in our nation’s history.”
The chair of the Congressional Black Caucus said that Trump has done so by implementing the Conservative Project 2025 manifesto.
She said the administration had alienated the “functionality of Congress by enforcing unconstitutional executive orders; hiring billionaires and loyalists to serve as Secretaries over the nation’s top federal agencies, most of whom have no prior governmental experience, “while giving them government contracts under the table”; and unlawfully eliminating and dismantling federal agencies, and implementing mass firings of the federal workforce without an objective justification for their actions.
Clarke, the Ranking Member of the US House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also said Trump has instituted “an unconstitutional mass deportation scheme” by “unleashing a nationwide dragnet against immigrants, with no due process, revoking temporary protections from migrants from primarily Black and Brown countries and implementing ‘racist travel bans’ – impacting Haiti and Cuba, several nations from the Continent of Africa, including the Republic of Congo, and just announced Nigeria, Ghana, among several other countries.”
Clarke was joined on the panel, in the first of what she said will be a series of town halls, by James Lopez, immigration attorney at the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York; Diego Fernandez-Pages, workplace justice attorney at Make the Road; and Maya Wiley, president and CEO at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
The congresswoman said that the “One Big Ugly Bill”— which has passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives by one vote and is now in the Republican-controlled US Senate — would decimate programs such as Medicaid and SNAP and end the provision of critical aid support domestically and internationally if passed.
She said, “All of which is to maintain trillions in tax cuts to billionaires in perpetuity and to widen the economic wealth gap for this and future generations to come.”
Under Trump, the U.S. Rep. – whose town hall served as an opportunity to discuss the incumbent administration’s policies as they relate to healthcare, housing, immigration, the firing of much of the federal workforce, and the dismantling of federal agencies – said the US is “experiencing the unlawful implementation of tariffs imposed on our foreign allies and neighbors, destroying the economy, crashing the stock market, and escalating costs on everyday essentials for American families, devastating the working and middle class, and making it hard for small businesses to stay afloat.”
Clarke said the Trump administration has also eliminated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives within federal agencies and the Armed Forces and “threatens schools’ systems, colleges, universities, and corporations for anything they perceive as DEI.
“The attack on DEI is an attack on progress and American values in action,” she said. “And the list goes on.”
Clarke said these policies and “tax scams were never meant to help the American people but were implemented to line the pockets of the rich with tax breaks and to take from the less fortunate – all under the guise of waste, fraud, and abuse.
“And they don’t want you or anyone else to know what they’re doing because House Republicans pushed the passage of Trump’s ‘Big Ugly’ bill in the dead of night to deter you from watching their every move,“ she added.
The U.S. Rep. warned that “the so-called ‘one Big Beautiful Bill‘ will strip away life-saving healthcare for 17.3 million Americans –nearly 7 million, or 1 in 3, New Yorkers who rely on this program.“
In her Brooklyn district, Clarke said this amounts to over 65,000 people over 65, over 24,000 disabled children and adults, over 146,000 young adults, over 85,000 parents and caretakers, over 149,000 children, and over 11,000 pregnant women.
“But while you were sleeping, my Democratic colleagues and I were up and awake – fighting and calling this regime out for what it truly is, racist and authoritarian,“ she said. “And that’s why tonight I’m here to tell you directly how I’m fighting back and leading the resistance.
“I have held several press conferences to educate and inform you of the imminent danger posed by the Trump administration; I have led numerous letters to the administration demanding the redesignation and extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti and other countries,“ she added.
“I am in the fight for the basic health care rights for you, which includes advocating for more funding on both the federal and state levels for SUNY Downstate (Hospital in Brooklyn) so that our hospitals and the health of the community aren’t further put in jeopardy; and ensuring the diversity of our district is fully represented in Congress by advocating for peace, stabilization and humanitarian aid to address the conflicts that many of our friends and families are facing back home in their homes of origin,“ the U.S. Rep. continued.
She said House Democrats are working diligently “to hold the Trump administration accountable by educating, litigating, legislating and communicating the disastrous policies and executive orders his administration has already enacted, as well as all those lying in wait.”
Clarke said House Democrats are educating the public on the “unconstitutional actions this administration wants to impose, and filing lawsuits against their illegal actions and the infringement of your rights in the courts.“
Additionally, she said House Democrats are proposing legislative solutions “to impede and obstruct many of the president’s attempted abuses of power.“
She said she is also gearing up to reintroduce the Affordable Housing and Area Median Income Fairness Act, or the “AMI“ bill, which would be a multifaceted first step in tackling the housing crisis.
“And make no mistake, our district is in the crosshairs of this administration’s anarchy,“ Clarke told attendees. “I’m fighting like hell for our community in Washington.
“New York has a target on its back by this administration, which is implementing cruel and inhumane policies on our neighbor,“ she said, stating that the Trump administration is “crushing our small businesses, the lifeblood of our economy, and ending affordable healthcare to our most vulnerable populations.
“It is crucial that I keep you informed – because we need you,“ she added. “We are in this battle together. We can’t do this alone. This fight belongs to all of us.”
Wiley said that the Trump administration is “undermining public education,“ adding that “the end game is to end public education.
“The question is, are you being loud?“ she asked. I can’t tell you how important it is to get this in the press.
“On immigration, it’s blowing back,“ Wiley added. “Right now, 54 % of a survey is disapproving the cruelty.”
Lopez urged nationals to continue to voice their disapproval of Trump’s policies.
“I want to see you at the court room,“ he said. “The way we protect our democracy starts with everybody in this room.”
Fernandez-Pages said: “Our Constitution applies no matter where we are.”
In answering questions on heightened raids by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and New York City’s status as a “sanctuary city“ for immigrants, Clarke said she shares “the deep concerns of my Brooklyn constituents — especially our vibrant Caribbean community — regarding the presence of ICE in our neighborhoods, schools, courts, and even Rikers Island (Correctional Facility).
“This is unacceptable and fundamentally contradicts the values we hold as a sanctuary city,“ she said. “New York City has long been a place where immigrants seek safety, opportunity, and dignity. To allow ICE to operate freely in spaces meant to serve and protect our communities sends a chilling message.
“It undermines trust in our institutions, deters people from seeking justice or medical care, and tears families apart — often for minor infractions or no wrongdoing at all,“ she added. “Our immigrant neighbors are not threats — they are teachers, entrepreneurs, health aides, and essential workers who pay taxes and enrich our city every single day.
“If these actions are being allowed, then we must ask: are we truly living up to the sanctuary city promise?“ Clarke asked. “I urge the city leadership to reaffirm and enforce protections that keep ICE out of our public institutions.
“Brooklyn stands with immigrants,“ she continued. “As your U.S. Rep., I will not stay silent while fear and intimidation replace compassion and justice in our communities.”
