President Trump has all but demanded that his One Big Beautiful Bill Act pass both houses of Congress for his signature by July 4. The differences in the legislation approved by the House of Representatives and what has emerged from the Senate must be resolved in conference before the president can sign it into law. So stay tuned. In the meantime, here are a few provisions in the mammoth legislation that affect us locally, and in one case, already have affected us here in Talbot County. The proposals cited below are among many, many others in this 940-page bill that will have major consequences for fellow Americans across the country. Here are a few observations about what is at stake.
The Talbot County Council meetings of June 10 and March 11 offer proof positive on how presidential politics, however spiteful or misguided, can coerce local elected officials into voting against their better angels.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, citing a directive from President Trump, warned that federal funds for capital improvements for civilian airports – Easton Airport, in this case – are contingent on the removal of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies from local government. The council statement of support for DEI principles had no enforcement provisions or financial commitment by any Talbot County governing body. Yet the message was direct and uncompromising: Unless you remove any mention of DEI objectives in employee handbooks or annual reports about meeting or failing to meet diversity goals, Talbot County would say goodbye to $48 million in federal grants for runway expansion and modification at Easton Airport, no matter the reason. Not for safety nor for the county’s economic benefit.
The council voted 4-1 to approve the directive, which eliminates two statements previously passed by the Talbot County Council in support of DEI objectives, as well as removes such language from any public documents emanating from county government. Such directives, if passed as expected by Congress in the president’s proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), would codify by law the banishment of DEI references from the official vocabulary. Censorship by presidential fiat. Forget that the Easton Airport improvements at stake are intended to comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. MAGA loyalty trumps – pun fully intended – safety and security.
The meeting in March had resulted in a reaffirmation of the council’s DEI statements of support. In June, the council’s arms were twisted, MAGA-style, to rescind any mention of those principles. King Don must have it his way. Or else.
John Swaine III, spokesman for the Talbot County Farm Bureau, says the aspect of the Big Beautiful Bill that most troubles local farmers and crop-processing companies is the proposed mammoth increase in funding for apprehending, detaining and deporting undocumented immigrant workers, even those who have worked and lived in Eastern Shore farming communities for decades and have never been criminally charged. The recent arrest and detention of longtime farm workers in Caroline County alarmed two farm owners who relied on them in order to stay in business. They’ve had no luck finding other help because migrants fear being nabbed by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents. What’s more, it’s difficult to find American-born citizens to take jobs as day laborers. Some farm families, including those with adult children who have no interest in farming, have considered retirement by selling their land to developers or leasing it to corporate farming companies.
Another issue of deep concern to farming families are the proposed punitive tariffs resulting from Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to rectify trade imbalances, especially involving China. Tariffs on Chinese products were set at a whopping 145 percent until negotiations reduced them to 30 percent on top of the 20 percent level during Trump’s first term, starting in 2017. China has threatened retaliation by purchasing soybeans from Brazil and Argentina instead of the United States. Currently, much of the field corn and soybean crops grown on Talbot farms and all over the Eastern Shore go to producing feed for Mountaire Farms and Perdue Farms, two of the largest poultry companies in the U.S. However, if China withdraws from the American market, it would likely drive down the prices of such crops to farmers in every state. The Big Beautiful Bill would codify Trump’s executive order, making it harder to overturn except by a change in leadership in Congress and the White House. Federal courts, in general, have been mostly indifferent. So it’s up to voters in the mid-term elections next year and the presidential election in 2028.
Along with trepidation about overzealous ICE agents, the rampant immigration round-ups may – if detention goals prescribed and funded in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are realized – result in the writ of habeas corpus being denied for good. Or certainly ill. Even American citizens and legal migrants are at greater risk than ever of losing their habeas corpus protection. These are rights that go as far back as 12th century England and are guaranteed (until now?) in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution. But there appears to be no room for due process in the headlong rush to rid MAGA Amerika of all manner of immigrants. The pace suggested by OBBBA and the president’s “antisocial media” postings could lead to the formation of migrant concentration camps – they’ll call them “internment campuses” – to accommodate the population overload as the Trump administration runs out of countries that will accept deported immigrants.
“My understanding of the OBBBA,” says Matthew Peters, director of the Easton-based Multicultural Center serving Eastern Shore immigrants regardless of status, “is that it aims to spend enormous amounts of money to immigration enforcement efforts, aims to deter anyone from applying for asylum relief, aims to deter any sponsorship of unaccompanied minors, aims to reduce the amount of financial aid sent to families abroad, and aims to eliminate any tax credits or benefits for mixed-status families – all of which would affect families currently living here.” In short, denying their rights as humans.
All the rest of us are at risk, too. Especially now that the U.S. Supreme Court has taken away the remedy of District Courts issuing nationwide injunctions against presidential overreach pending an appeal to a higher court. ICE agents – sometimes acting like masked thugs – will feel freer than ever to manhandle anyone who gets in their way.
Bob Kopec says
This bill should NEVER be approved. Trump, a felon rapist and 34 times convicted felon tax cheat should be removed from office by any legal means possible. He has more felony convictions than anyone in history. Why is this felon allowed to break law after law with no penalty?
Rick Hughes says
Thank you, Steve Parks, for writing this excellent letter with such great detail.
The inhumane treatment of our immigrant co-workers and neighbors is nothing short of a racist chainsaw attacking a large and important swath of those who live and work here. The percentage of convicted felons in Trump’s current and past administration likely exceeds the percentage of those committing crimes in the immigrant community. And where is AWOL Andy when so much of the District relies heavily on farming and the immigrant workers that help make farming viable, not to mention the ill conceived tariffs.
I cannot comprehend how Trump & his Merry Magateers think that all of the destruction they are causing, at every level of government and society, is doing anything good at all. They are going to impoverish many Americans, explode the deficit, further deprive people of rights, continue ripping social safety nets to shreds, continue to attack environmental regulation protections that we need, sell off federally protected lands and on and on. There are certainly things that need fixing in government efficiency, but this administration doesn’t seem to care about finding real solutions. So, the only logical conclusion that I can come up with is that there must be some big money grabbing opportunities in the offing and Trump is ringing his tiny little hands waiting to further engorge himself and his cronies. Otherwise, LEAD by EXAMPLE and bring people together to find solutions. This is maddening!
Michael Pullen says
Trump bullied Republicans in Congress to vote against the bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill drafted largely by Republicans and incorporating many of their conservative proposals. Trump hadn’t even seen that legislation before coercing Republican Senators to kill it, because Trump wanted immigration reform as a campaign issue.
Now Republicans control Congress the White House. Trump is now using immigration as a wedge to sweep people off the streets and into horrible prisons in foreign countries denying them their fundamental constitutional rights to have the legality of their arrest and detention reviewed by a Court before being deported.
The rule of law in America is being trashed by this administration. Immigration is being used as a wedge for that purpose. If Trump and Republicans in Congress truly believe our immigration system is broken, they have the power to adopt legislation to fix it. That’s government’s job, to fix those types of problems.
But no. Instead of crafting a universal solution through legislation, this corrupt administration arrests immigrants and citizens too, singly or in mass arrests, a “one-by-one” approach, enormously cruel and unconstitutional in many respects.
Meanwhile, Andy Harris, Chair of the so-called “Freedom Caucus” cheers in silence from the sidelines while Americ’s Constitution is shredded and its guarantees of freedom through due process is trashed. Hopeless, hapless Harris is a large part of the problem. He’s up for re-election, having already served since 2011.
Freedom is not free. If it can be taken away from anyone in this country in defiance of the Constitution, no American enjoys Constitutional protection.
Willard Engelskirchen says
Watch what happens now. We were told that ICE would go after the “worst of the worst.” That is not what I see happening. Disagree with trump and you put yourself in danger. I am 82. I have never had the fear of speaking my mind that I do now. My liberty is being squeezed.
Bill Keppen says
We all get what they voted for. If anyone is surprised, they weren’t listening to Trump when he was running for president, again.
Sharron Cassavant says
Thanks, Steve, for summing up a number of nefarious directives from the Trump administration. Lucidly expressed.
Ron Ketter says
Thanks for your letter, Steve. In addition to all of the issues you raised, I’m also wondering about how the medicaid cuts will affect our community and the long-term viability of the new Hospital. The proportion of people covered by medicaid ranges between 15.1% in QA county to a high of 23.2% in Dorchester county. A lot of people will lose coverage under this bill, despite the rhetoric that it’s only about cutting fraud, waste and abuse. Arkansas tried this, and study after study found that work requirements are unlikely to increase employment but would worsen health outcomes and strains on medical systems — not because people don’t want to work, but burdensome reporting requirements make it almost impossible to navigate the system to keep qualified people insured.
Donna L von Lipsey says
Well done Steve! While Trump and our legislators are busy dismantling our democracy, here is what Andy Harris trumpets as his accomplishments in the latest constituent newsletter: protecting our farmers by investing in American-grown food and reducing our reliance on foreign sources, we’re making our nation healthier, stronger, and more secure. Protect farmers? Perhaps he should be more concerned with the tariffs on Canadian potash used for fertilizer, perhaps he could think about immigrants being rounded up by masked, thuggish ICE agents and those legal immigrants too afraid to go to work. Perhaps as a medical doctor, Andy could protest Kennedy’s dismantling of HHS. What does this have to do with farmers. How about bird flu that could wipe out our poultry business? Two of Andy’s other great accomplishments are H.R. 875 Protect Our Communities from DIUs Act. Illegal immigrants convicted og drunk are eligible for deportation. Illegal immigrants are less likely to drive drunk than the rest of us, but hey, I feel safer already. His second great accomplishment is H. Res. 516 which condemns violent riots and calls on local and state officials to work with the federal government to restore peace. Andy says, “This resolution draws a clear line: violence will not be tolerated. Jan. 6 anyone?? Carrying a gun into the Capital soon after? Lastly, a fluff piece about being honored to help celebrate Harriet Tubman. That good lady was a true patriot. She must be turning in her grave at the sight of you Andy Harris. Please represent us by stopping the autocracy that is stealing our democracy! Happy 249th Birthday America. May we still live in a democracy next July 4th.