Social Work Policy Practice

Category: Social Work Policy Practice

  • Racism as a Mental Illness: A Comparative Evidence-Based Narrative

    Racism as a Mental Illness: A Comparative Evidence-Based Narrative

    Given the current behavior of the President, I wanted to provide an analysis of racism as a mental illness. This moment underscores how deeply entrenched racial prejudice can shape both individual conduct and collective discourse. Racism is often described as a social problem, but reframing it as a mental illness offers a provocative lens for understanding its persistence and destructive impact. Mental illness is typically characterized by maladaptive thought patterns, emotional dysregulation, and behaviors that impair functioning. Racism, in many ways, mirrors these characteristics. It involves distorted cognition in the form of prejudice, maladaptive behaviors expressed through discrimination, and harmful psychosocial outcomes such as trauma and inequity. By examining racism through the comparative framework of mental illness, we can better appreciate its pathological nature and the urgent need for systemic intervention.

    To begin, racism relies on irrational beliefs about racial superiority and inferiority. These beliefs are not grounded in evidence but rather in distorted cognition, much like the delusions or paranoia seen in certain mental illnesses. Genetic science has repeatedly demonstrated that race has no biological basis: human DNA is approximately 99.6–99.9% identical across individuals, and the small variations that do exist occur gradually across populations without discrete racial boundaries (Biology Insights, 2025). The Human Genome Project confirmed that there are no genetic markers that define race, dismantling centuries of pseudoscientific claims that sought to justify racial hierarchies (Cambridge Core, 2025). Medical leaders have acted on this evidence by removing race modifiers from clinical testing, noting that organs such as the kidney show no biological differences across racial categories (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2025).

    At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that some racial differences are primarily environmental rather than genetic. Structural inequities such as poverty, segregation, and systemic discrimination create conditions that lead to transgenerational trauma. This trauma is not only psychological—manifesting as anxiety, depression, and stress responses—but also physiological, affecting cardiovascular health, immune function, and even epigenetic markers passed across generations. In this way, racism produces real, measurable differences in health outcomes, not because of DNA, but because of the chronic stress and environmental deprivation imposed on marginalized communities. These environmental impacts reinforce the argument that racism functions as a pathological condition: it distorts cognition, drives maladaptive behaviors, and leaves lasting scars on both mind and body.

    Yet despite this overwhelming DNA evidence and recognition of environmental trauma, racist ideologies persist and are actively weaponized in contemporary policy debates. Immigration policy provides a stark example. Current enforcement practices—mass detentions, family separations, intimidation near churches, and medical neglect in detention centers—are justified through racialized assumptions that certain populations are inherently suspect or dangerous. Presidential rhetoric declaring a “permanent pause” on arrivals and portraying migrants as threats exemplifies how distorted cognition translates into maladaptive governance. These policies echo the same pseudoscientific claims of biological difference long discredited by genetic research, underscoring racism’s delusional quality. In advocacy terms, immigration restrictions are not neutral—they are manifestations of a collective pathology that clings to disproven ideas, resists rational correction, and spreads trauma across generations (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000).

    Policing practices provide another case study. Racial profiling, stop-and-frisk tactics, and disproportionate use of force against communities of color are rooted in the irrational belief that Black and Brown individuals are inherently criminal. This distorted cognition mirrors paranoia in mental illness, where individuals perceive threats that do not exist. The maladaptive behavior of over-policing produces widespread trauma, destabilizes communities, and perpetuates cycles of fear. Despite decades of evidence showing no biological or genetic predisposition to crime, these practices persist, demonstrating how racism functions as a delusional system embedded in law enforcement structures.

    Health care inequities further illustrate racism-as-pathology. For years, medical research and practice relied on race-based modifiers, such as in kidney function tests, despite clear evidence that race has no biological marker. These practices led to misdiagnoses, delayed treatment, and systemic neglect of patients of color. Even today, disparities in maternal mortality, access to care, and treatment outcomes reflect the persistence of distorted cognition within health systems. The irrational belief that race determines biology continues to shape medical decision-making, producing maladaptive outcomes that harm patients and communities.

    The psychological harm caused by racism across these domains strengthens the comparison to mental illness. Research demonstrates that racism induces stress responses, anxiety, depression, and trauma in both victims and perpetrators. These outcomes align closely with diagnostic criteria for mental health disorders, underscoring racism’s role as a pathological condition (American Psychological Association, 2024). Thus, racism is not only irrational in thought and destructive in behavior but also profoundly damaging in its psychological consequences.

    When we compare racism and mental illness across multiple dimensions, the parallels become even clearer. Mental illness involves distorted thoughts, maladaptive actions, and consequences that ripple outward to families and communities. Racism operates in the same way: irrational beliefs about race lead to discriminatory behaviors, which in turn traumatize marginalized groups and destabilize social systems. Both racism and mental illness contribute to public health crises, increasing morbidity and reducing quality of life. Both also demand systemic and individualized interventions—whether through therapy and medication in the case of mental illness, or through anti-racist education, policy reform, and trauma-informed care in the case of racism.

    Yet racism differs in one critical respect: it is socially reinforced. Unlike most mental illnesses, which are treated as individual conditions, racism is embedded in institutions and normalized through cultural narratives. This makes racism unique as a form of collective psychopathology. It is both an individual pathology and a structural illness, perpetuated across generations. Scholars have shown that racism functions as a chronic stressor, producing measurable physiological and psychological harm that extends beyond individuals to entire communities (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000; APA, 2024). In this sense, racism is not only a mental illness but also a systemic contagion.

    Recognizing racism as a mental illness carries profound implications for policy and practice. Framing racism as a public health crisis highlights its role in perpetuating disparities and chronic stress. Trauma-informed interventions become essential for victims, while perpetrators may benefit from cognitive-behavioral approaches to dismantle distorted beliefs. At the same time, systemic reform is necessary. Just as mental illness requires supportive infrastructure, racism demands structural interventions—policy reform, equity initiatives, and cultural transformation.

    In conclusion, defining racism as a mental illness reframes it from a moral failing to a pathological condition requiring urgent intervention. Comparative evidence demonstrates striking parallels between racism and mental illness in cognition, behavior, and public health impact. This framing not only underscores the irrationality of racist ideologies but also strengthens the case for systemic, trauma-informed responses. By treating racism as both an individual and collective pathology, we can move toward more effective strategies for dismantling its destructive influence.

    References

  • Presidential immunity, executive impunity, and the erosion of constitutional balance

    Presidential immunity, executive impunity, and the erosion of constitutional balance

    President Trump’s recent declaration that he would “just kill” so-called “narco-terrorists” without seeking a congressional declaration of war, as reported by Al Jazeera (2025) and The Hill (2025), must be understood in the context of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. United States (2024). That decision granted presidents absolute immunity for core constitutional acts and presumptive immunity for other official actions. While Chief Justice Roberts, as explained by the Constitution Center (2024), framed this immunity as necessary to protect executive independence, dissenting justices warned, as analyzed in the Harvard Law Review (2025), that it effectively placed presidents above the law.

    This declaration cannot be dismissed as mere rhetoric. According to CBS News (2025), the administration has already authorized lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, resulting in dozens of deaths without congressional approval or judicial oversight. Legal experts cited by Jurist (2025) have warned that such actions may constitute war crimes, particularly when survivors of initial strikes were deliberately targeted. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires congressional approval for hostilities beyond 60 days absent a declaration of war, yet these strikes bypassed Congress entirely, undermining constitutional checks and balances.

    The Court’s ruling must therefore be seen as a catalyst for this erosion of accountability. By granting immunity, the judiciary has emboldened the executive to act without restraint. This immunity does not stop at the president himself; it extends to cabinet members, advisors, and military officials, who now act with impunity under the protective umbrella of executive authority. What is most alarming is that many of these officials have not only embraced impunity but have deliberately defied court orders. Their refusal to comply with judicial directives demonstrates a systemic lawlessness that undermines the judiciary’s role as a coequal branch of government. This defiance is woven into the administration’s exercise of power: when cabinet officials openly disregard court rulings, they magnify the chaos created by presidential immunity, normalize authoritarian practices, and entrench executive dominance over both Congress and the judiciary. In this way, the Court’s decision has not only shielded the president but has also emboldened his inner circle to reject constitutional limits outright, creating a culture of defiance that corrodes the rule of law from within.

    Even more troubling, the Supreme Court itself is becoming lawless by issuing decisions that undermine existing statutory protections and voting rights, further destabilizing the constitutional order. First, by weakening or disregarding civil service laws, the Court erodes long-standing frameworks designed to safeguard neutrality and stability in the federal workforce. When civil service protections are undermined, the door opens to partisan loyalty tests and political purges, consolidating unchecked power and diminishing professional accountability. Second, and equally consequential, the Court’s recent willingness to uphold Texas’s gerrymandering maps—maps that are plainly designed to dilute the voting power of people of color—signals judicial tolerance for intentional disenfranchisement at precisely the moment the Latino population is becoming the state’s majority. That is no coincidence; it is a predictable design. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the denial or abridgment of the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” When district lines are drawn to fracture Latino and Black communities’ voting strength, the practical effect is an abridgment of those communities’ political power on account of race. The Court’s posture here does not merely interpret law; it functionally licenses racial vote dilution. Logically, if the Court blesses maps whose foreseeable and intended effect is to weaken the electoral influence of people of color, it undermines the Fifteenth Amendment’s protection and signals that partisan advantage can trump fundamental rights. In combination with eroded civil service safeguards, this judicial permissiveness accelerates a broader transformation: government becomes more partisan, less accountable, and structurally tilted against communities of color.

    At this juncture, it is critical to recall the constitutional role of the Supreme Court. The Court is charged to be an arbiter of existing law, not a creator of law. Article III of the U.S. Constitution states: “The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish” (U.S. Const. art. III, §1). Furthermore, Article III, Section 2 makes clear that “The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made” (U.S. Const. art. III, §2). The Constitution imbues the legislative branch, under Article I, with the authority to create laws. When the Court expands immunity beyond the text of the Constitution and simultaneously undermines statutory protections and voting rights guarantees, it steps into the legislative domain and unsettles the balance of powers. The logical outcome is a judiciary that enables executive overreach and partisan entrenchment, rather than a judiciary that enforces constitutional limits.

    This overreach raises a deeper question: was the chaos unleashed by the Court’s decisions truly accidental, or was it intentional? By shielding presidents and their administrations from accountability, by eroding civil service neutrality, and by permitting racial vote dilution through gerrymandering, the Court effectively provides the wealthiest and most powerful—the so-called one percent—with the unchecked authority they feel entitled to wield. As the Harvard Law Review (2025) observed, the immunity ruling risks normalizing authoritarian practices. When safeguards are stretched beyond their constitutional bounds and democratic mechanisms like fair districting are weakened, protections cease to function as intended. Instead, they become instruments for entrenching privilege, allowing those at the highest levels of government and society to operate above the law while marginalizing communities whose voting power is essential to representative democracy.

    Taken together, the convergence of unchecked executive violence, judicially sanctioned immunity, the deliberate lawlessness of cabinet officials who defy court orders, and the Court’s willingness to undermine civil service protections and uphold racially dilutive maps has wrought chaos. It destabilizes the separation of powers, undermines Congress’s constitutional role in declaring war, and signals to the world that the United States tolerates extrajudicial killings under the guise of executive authority. International observers, including Mexico and Colombia, have already condemned these strikes as violations of international law (Al Jazeera, 2025). Moreover, the precedent risks normalizing authoritarian practices. Future presidents may interpret the Court’s immunity ruling as license to employ lethal force without oversight, while partisan mapmaking continues to dilute the voices of people of color, eroding democratic governance and exposing U.S. officials to prosecution in international tribunals.

    The Court’s decisions have unintentionally—or perhaps intentionally—enabled a constitutional crisis. By granting expansive immunity, undermining civil service protections, blessing racially dilutive gerrymandering, and emboldening the executive and its cabinet to bypass Congress, defy court orders, and disregard international law, the judiciary has overstepped its constitutional role as arbiter rather than legislator. No one—including the president, his cabinet, the Court, or the elites they empower—should be above the law. The Court must restore constitutional balance and reaffirm accountability.

    Respectfully submitted,
    DeMecia Wooten-Irizarry, MPA, MSW, LSW

  • Systemic Devaluation: Women of Color in Social Work and the Department of Education’s Reclassification of Professional Degrees

    Systemic Devaluation: Women of Color in Social Work and the Department of Education’s Reclassification of Professional Degrees

    Women of color are the backbone of the social work profession. They comprise approximately 36 percent of the workforce, with Black social workers overall representing 19.9 percent of the profession. Given that 80.5 percent of social workers are women, this translates to about 16 percent of all social workers being Black women (Zippia, 2025). Latina women account for roughly 10 percent, Asian women for 2.6 percent, and Native women for 0.5 percent. These figures underscore the gendered and racialized composition of the field. Among new Master of Social Work (MSW) graduates, 22 percent identified as Black/African American and 14 percent as Hispanic/Latina (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2020), reinforcing the centrality of women of color to the profession’s future.

    Despite this strong representation, women of color in social work face entrenched inequities. Black women social workers earn 22 percent less than White peers with the same degree, and both Black and Latina MSWs report higher student debt burdens than their White counterparts (Institute for Women’s Policy Research [IWPR], 2024; NASW, 2020). Burnout and financial strain are widespread, with surveys showing that 82 percent of social workers report not earning a living wage, a burden disproportionately borne by women of color (IWPR, 2024). These inequities are compounded by occupational segregation, as women of color are overrepresented in care and service roles that are undervalued and underpaid compared to other professions requiring advanced degrees.

    The Department of Education’s recent decision to exclude social work degrees from the category of “professional degrees” intensifies these challenges. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, loan limits for social work students were reduced from $50,000 annually/$200,000 lifetime to $20,500 annually/$100,000 lifetime (Snopes, 2025). This reclassification effectively denies social workers professional recognition, despite the advanced graduate training and licensure requirements inherent to the field. The excluded programs—social work, nursing, counseling, and public health—are all female-dominated professions, raising concerns about structural bias in how “professional” is defined (Newsweek, 2025).

    The intersection of these numbers and this policy decision reveals a troubling pattern. Women of color, who make up more than one-third of the social work profession, are disproportionately impacted by the Department of Education’s reclassification. Already facing wage inequities, higher debt burdens, and systemic undervaluation, they now confront reduced access to graduate education financing and diminished recognition of their professional status. This decision not only undermines the economic stability of women of color in social work but also destabilizes a workforce that disproportionately serves marginalized communities most affected by systemic inequities.

    This is not a neutral bureaucratic adjustment. It is a systemic devaluation of women of color’s labor in social work, exacerbating existing inequities and threatening the sustainability of a profession essential to public health and social equity. By stripping social work of its professional designation, the Department of Education sends a clear message: the expertise, advanced training, and licensure of women of color in social work are less valued than those in male-dominated professions.

    The consequences are profound. Reduced loan limits will deter future students—particularly women of color—from pursuing graduate education in social work, shrinking the pipeline of professionals at a time when demand for trauma-informed, community-based care is rising. Wage inequities will deepen as the profession loses its professional status, further marginalizing Black women and other women of color who already bear the brunt of systemic undervaluation. Communities most affected by poverty, racism, and transgenerational trauma will suffer as the workforce serving them becomes less sustainable.

    In sum, the Department of Education’s reclassification of social work degrees as non-professional is both a gendered and racialized policy decision. It undermines women of color’s economic stability, devalues their expertise, and destabilizes a profession essential to advancing equity and justice. Advocacy must center these realities: women of color are not only the majority of the social work profession but also the most impacted by policies that strip away recognition and resources. Protecting the professional status of social work is therefore not just about titles—it is about safeguarding equity, sustainability, and justice for the communities social workers serve.

    References (APA 7)

    Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (2024, December). Unequal burden: Challenges facing Black women social workers (IWPR #5D22). https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Black-Women-Social-Workers-research-brief-2024.pdf

    National Association of Social Workers. (2020, December 11). New report provides insights into new social workers’ demographics, income, and job satisfaction. https://www.socialworkers.org/News/News-Releases/ID/2262/New-Report-Provides-Insights-into-New-Social-Workers-Demographics-Income-and-Job-Satisfaction

    Newsweek. (2025, November 21). Full list of degrees not classed as ‘professional’ by Trump admin. https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-degrees-professional-trump-administration-11085695

    Snopes. (2025, November 22). Inspecting claim Education Department stopped counting nursing, other programs as ‘professional degrees’. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-professional-degrees-nursing/

    Zippia. (2025). Social worker demographics and statistics in the US. https://www.zippia.com/social-worker-jobs/demographics/

  • Corporate Exploitation, Environmental Destruction, Neocolonialism, and the Destabilization of African Economies

    Corporate Exploitation, Environmental Destruction, Neocolonialism, and the Destabilization of African Economies

    Africa’s mineral wealth—cobalt, gold, platinum, silver, and uranium—powers the global economy, yet the extraction of these resources reveals a consistent pattern of exploitation. Corporate practices not only exploit labor and destroy the environment but also perpetuate neocolonial structures that destabilize African economies and deepen poverty. By examining these minerals together, we see how multinational corporations capture value externally while leaving African communities with harm and instability.

    Cobalt

    The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) supplies about three‑quarters of the world’s cobalt, indispensable for lithium‑ion batteries in smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles (Portside, 2023). Artisanal miners, including children, dig by hand in toxic dust and unstable pits, often without protective equipment. These conditions produce injuries, deaths, and long‑term health crises (Newsweek, 2023; Kara, 2023). Environmental contamination of rivers and farmland undermines agriculture and food security (World Bank, 2022). Corporate structures reinforce poverty by repatriating profits abroad, leaving the DRC with limited fiscal space to invest in housing, health, and infrastructure (Stiglitz, 2002). This cycle destabilizes the economy, locking communities into dependency on unsafe artisanal labor.

    Gold

    Gold mining in Ghana, South Africa, and Tanzania similarly destabilizes local economies. Artisanal miners exposed to mercury and cyanide face severe health risks, while industrial operations displace communities and degrade ecosystems (Hilson, 2002). Corporate tax avoidance and opaque concession agreements reduce government revenues, constraining investment in public goods. Instead of generating broad prosperity, gold wealth often enriches elites and foreign corporations, leaving surrounding communities impoverished (World Bank, 2022).

    Platinum

    South Africa holds over 70% of the world’s platinum reserves (Johnson Matthey, 2023). Yet platinum mining has been marked by violent suppression of worker protests, most notably the Marikana massacre in 2012, where striking miners demanding fair wages were killed by police (Alexander, 2013). This event illustrates how corporate collusion with political elites perpetuates inequality and instability. Communities near mines face unemployment, poor housing, and environmental degradation, while profits flow abroad. The result is a destabilized labor market and entrenched poverty in mining regions.

    Silver

    Silver mining in Morocco and South Africa involves toxic chemicals and unsafe labor conditions. Corporate practices prioritize export markets for electronics and jewelry while leaving behind contaminated land and water. Weak regulatory oversight allows companies to externalize environmental costs, perpetuating cycles of poverty and ecological harm (Stiglitz, 2002). Communities dependent on agriculture or fishing are destabilized when their land and water are poisoned, forcing reliance on precarious mining jobs.

    Uranium

    Uranium mining in Niger and Namibia highlights the geopolitical dimensions of neocolonialism. French corporations such as Orano (formerly Areva) dominate Niger’s uranium sector, supplying Europe’s nuclear power while Niger remains one of the poorest countries globally (Taylor, 2014). Communities face displacement and radiation exposure, while profits are exported. This dependency destabilizes Niger’s economy, leaving it vulnerable to commodity price fluctuations and external political pressures. Uranium mining thus perpetuates poverty by denying African states the ability to industrialize their own resources (Nkrumah, 1965).

    Conclusion

    Across cobalt, gold, platinum, silver, and uranium, the evidence shows that corporate exploitation destabilizes African economies and entrenches poverty. Unsafe labor conditions, environmental destruction, and opaque corporate structures reduce government revenues, displace communities, and undermine livelihoods. These practices replicate colonial patterns: Africa provides raw materials, while external powers capture value. The destabilization is not cultural but structural, rooted in neocolonial corporate practices that perpetuate dependency. A just future requires contract transparency, stronger regulation, and equitable trade frameworks that allow Africa to industrialize its resources and capture value domestically.

    References

    Alexander, P. (2013). Marikana: A view from the mountain and a case to answer. Jacana Media.

    Hilson, G. (2002). The environmental impact of small‑scale gold mining in Ghana: Identifying problems and possible solutions. The Geographical Journal, 168(1), 57–72.

    Johnson Matthey. (2023). Platinum 2023 interim review. Johnson Matthey PLC.

    Kara, S. (2023). Cobalt red: How the blood of the Congo powers our lives. St. Martin’s Press.

    Newsweek. (2023, January 25). Shocking truths behind smartphone and EV batteries: Children mining cobalt. https://www.newsweek.com/shocking-truths-behind-smartphone-ev-batteries-children-mining-cobalt-1775172

    Nkrumah, K. (1965). Neo‑colonialism: The last stage of imperialism. International Publishers.

    Portside. (2023, July 16). “Cobalt Red”: Smartphones & electric cars rely on toxic mineral mined in Congo by children. https://portside.org/2023-07-16/cobalt-red-smartphones-electric-cars-rely-toxic-mineral-mined-congo-children

    Stiglitz, J. E. (2002). Globalization and its discontents. W. W. Norton & Company.

    Taylor, I. (2014). Dependency, partnerships and the role of French uranium in Niger. Review of African Political Economy, 41(140), 466–481.

    World Bank. (2022). Africa’s development dynamics 2022: Growth, jobs, and inequality. World Bank.

  • Truth Doesn’t Bend to Outrage: A Ledger of Leadership and Harm

    Truth Doesn’t Bend to Outrage: A Ledger of Leadership and Harm

     When people are “done with history” are not calls for balance—they are calls for silence. Slavery was not a footnote; it was a foundational economic system that shaped American law, wealth, and identity. By 1860, nearly four million enslaved people were valued at over $3 billion—equivalent to roughly $108–$120 billion today (Baptist, 2014; In2013Dollars, 2025). This valuation made enslaved people the largest financial asset in the nation, fueling both Southern agriculture and Northern industry.

    Minimizing slavery’s relevance erases the policies that followed: Jim Crow, redlining, mass incarceration, and the racial wealth gap. These legacies are not abstract—they are measurable. Black households today hold less than 15 percent of the median wealth of White households, a direct result of centuries of exclusion (Oliver & Shapiro, 2019). Historical amnesia allows injustice to hide in plain sight. It lets us forget that disparities in policing, healthcare, and education are not accidental—they are engineered.

    —

    The Weight of a Name

    President Obama’s leadership was historic not only because of his identity, but because of the grace with which he carried the presidency under relentless scrutiny. The use of “Barry” is not benign. It is a deliberate diminishment—a refusal to acknowledge the transformation from a young man navigating identity to a statesman navigating global crises. To call him “Barry” while defending Trump’s record is not about consistency. It is about selective memory.

    —

    The Record of Harm

    President Trump’s administration enacted executive orders that rolled back civil rights protections, banned federal diversity and inclusion training, and eliminated disparate-impact standards—tools that help challenge systemic bias in housing, education, and employment (Spivey, 2025; CBCF, 2025). These actions weakened enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and allowed exclusionary practices to persist without federal oversight.

    In healthcare, policy shifts jeopardized coverage for millions, especially Black and Brown communities with higher rates of chronic illness (Semo Urban Voices, 2025). In education, reduced investment in digital infrastructure widened the gap in remote learning access for minority students, undermining academic performance and long-term mobility (Ithy, 2025).

    Critically, President Trump also reshaped the federal judiciary—including the Supreme Court—through deliberate nominations of judges with documented histories of bias. His administration bypassed traditional vetting norms, including limiting the American Bar Association’s access to background materials (Ballotpedia, 2025). Several nominees were confirmed despite being rated “not qualified” by the ABA, including individuals with records of hostility toward civil rights protections and LGBTQ+ rights (Wikipedia, 2025). His judicial picks were overwhelmingly white and male—85% white and 76% male—further reducing diversity in the federal judiciary (Wikipedia, 2025). This judicial strategy was not incidental. It was a calculated effort to entrench conservative legal ideology and weaken protections for marginalized communities (Kinga, McAndrews, & Ostrander, 2022).

    These are not partisan interpretations. They are policy outcomes—traceable, measurable, and disproportionately harmful.

    —

    Selective Memory Is a Political Tool

    Respect for the presidency cannot be performative. It cannot be demanded for one leader while denied to another based on race, rhetoric, or partisan loyalty. President Obama modeled dignity under pressure. President Trump modeled grievance under power. If we are to speak of leadership, we must speak of impact. And if we are to speak of impact, we must speak of harm.

    Truth doesn’t bend to outrage. It exposes it.

    —

    References

    Ballotpedia. (2025). ABA ratings during the Trump administration. https://ballotpedia.org/ABA_ratings_during_the_Trump_administration

    Baptist, E. E. (2014). The half has never been told: Slavery and the making of American capitalism. Basic Books.

    CBCF. (2025). Executive order tracker: Impacts on Black America. Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. https://www.cbcfinc.org/policy-research/cbcf-executive-order-tracker-impacts-on-black-america/

    In2013Dollars. (2025). $1 in 1860 → 2025 | Inflation calculator. https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1860?amount=1

    Ithy. (2025). The multifaceted impact of Trump’s policies on minority communities. https://ithy.com/article/trump-effects-minorities-6svgzing

    Kinga, J. M., McAndrews, P., & Ostrander, I. (2022). President Trump and the politics of judicial nominations. Justice System Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/0098261X.2022.2124897

    Oliver, M., & Shapiro, T. (2019). Black wealth/white wealth: A new perspective on racial inequality (3rd ed.). Routledge.

    Semo Urban Voices. (2025). Trump’s executive orders and the impact on American communities of color. https://semourbanvoices.com/trumps-executive-orders-and-the-impact-on-american-communities-of-color/

    Spivey, L. (2025). President Trump’s 2025 executive orders and their disproportionate effects on communities of color. The Immigrant’s Journal. https://theimmigrantsjournal.com/president-trumps-2025-executive-orders-and-their-disproportionate-effects-on-communities-of-color/

    Wikipedia. (2025). Donald Trump judicial appointment controversies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_judicial_appointment_controversies

    Author’s Statement on Intellectual Property:

    This essay is the original intellectual property of DeMecia Wooten-Irizarry. It reflects a principled, evidence-based analysis grounded in scholarly rigor and lived experience. Reproduction, citation, or distribution without proper attribution constitutes a violation of ethical and academic standards. All rights reserved.

  • Weaponized Justice and the Rise of Authoritarianism: Presidential Immunity, DOJ Retaliation, and the Erosion of Democratic Guardrails

    Weaponized Justice and the Rise of Authoritarianism: Presidential Immunity, DOJ Retaliation, and the Erosion of Democratic Guardrails

    The convergence of politicized indictments under the Trump Administration, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark immunity ruling, and the global resurgence of authoritarian regimes reflects a troubling erosion of democratic norms. Though distinct in context and scale, these developments reveal how legal and institutional tools can be repurposed to consolidate power, suppress dissent, and weaken pluralism. President Donald Trump’s 2028 campaign strategy—anchored in constitutional defiance, populist grievance, and institutional dominance—further aligns the United States with global patterns of democratic backsliding. Meanwhile, Congress, despite holding the constitutional authority to intervene, has remained conspicuously inert. That silence is amplified by the Heritage Foundation’s ideological blueprint, which champions a robust, centralized executive as the cornerstone of American governance.

    Presidential Immunity and the Collapse of Accountability

    In Trump v. United States (2024), the Supreme Court shattered nearly 250 years of precedent by ruling that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for criminal prosecution related to official acts, and presumptive immunity for all acts carried out under the color of office. Chief Justice John Roberts declared that the president “alone composes a branch of government,” granting expansive control over the Department of Justice—including the power to initiate or dismiss prosecutions at will. This ruling effectively placed the president above the law, even as it carved out a narrow exception for “unofficial acts” (PBS NewsHour, 2024; Center for American Progress, 2025).

    Legal scholars and historians swiftly condemned the decision. James Iredell, a founding‑era jurist, had insisted in 1788 that “[if the president] commits any crime, he is punishable by the laws of his country” (Brennan Center for Justice, 2024). That principle guided generations of jurisprudence, including the unanimous decision in United States v. Nixon (1974), which affirmed that “no person, not even the President, is above the law” (The Court Said, 2024). Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent warned that the ruling permits a president to “violate the law, exploit the trappings of office for personal gain, and use official power for evil ends”—without fear of prosecution (Center for American Progress, 2025).

    Six months into Trump’s second term, her warning has proved prophetic. The Department of Justice, now firmly under executive control, has pursued felony charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James—both political adversaries—while dismissing Trump’s own indictments. In Comey’s case, the charges focused on his handling of FBI memos and testimony before Congress, despite the DOJ under both Trump and Biden previously declining to prosecute him. The immunity ruling has not only insulated the president from accountability; it has emboldened a retaliatory legal regime that mirrors the impunity mechanisms of authoritarian states (NPR, 2025).

    The Department of Justice as a Tool of Retaliation

    The Trump Administration’s use of the DOJ to pursue political opponents marks a profound departure from norms of prosecutorial independence. In October 2025, the DOJ indicted Letitia James on charges of bank fraud and false statements—allegations widely criticized as retaliatory, given her successful civil prosecution of Trump’s business empire. The indictment was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, bypassing New York’s jurisdiction and raising alarms about forum shopping and selective prosecution (PBS NewsHour, 2025).

    Similarly, James Comey was indicted on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding—despite the DOJ previously declining to pursue such cases. These prosecutions, paired with the dismissal of Trump’s own indictments—including 34 counts in New York, 40 federal charges related to classified documents, and 13 RICO charges in Georgia—signal a shift from legal accountability to political retribution (Ballotpedia, 2025).

    This weaponization of the DOJ mirrors tactics used in authoritarian regimes, where legal systems are deployed to silence dissent and protect ruling elites. The chilling effect on prosecutors, judges, and public officials is already visible, as investigations into executive misconduct stall or are quietly abandoned. What is unfolding in the United States is not an isolated anomaly but part of a broader global pattern.

    Global Authoritarianism and Legal Impunity

    Globally, authoritarian regimes have gained traction by exploiting democratic vulnerabilities. According to Freedom House (2022), 38 percent of the world’s population now lives in “Not Free” countries—the highest proportion since 1997. In countries like Russia, Nicaragua, and Turkey, leaders have manipulated courts, criminalized dissent, and weaponized law enforcement to maintain control.

    In Nicaragua, opposition candidates have been arrested and barred from elections. In Sudan, military coups have reversed democratic progress. In Afghanistan, elected governments have collapsed under authoritarian rule. These regimes often maintain a veneer of legality, using courts, police, and media to legitimize repression. The erosion of judicial independence and the normalization of politically motivated prosecutions are central to this trend.

    Justice Luís Roberto Barroso of Brazil’s Supreme Court describes this phenomenon as “authoritarian populism,” where charismatic leaders exploit public disillusionment to dismantle democratic institutions from within (Harvard Kennedy School, 2025). He warns that elected leaders now deconstruct democracy using the very tools designed to protect it—courts, constitutions, and law enforcement.

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and the Trump Administration’s retaliatory prosecutions echo these global patterns. By insulating the president from criminal accountability and weaponizing the DOJ, the United States risks joining the ranks of democracies in decline.

    Heritage Foundation’s Doctrine of Executive Supremacy

    The Supreme Court’s ruling and the DOJ’s politicization align with the Heritage Foundation’s long‑standing advocacy for a strong, centralized executive. In its commentary, Heritage argues that the unitary executive is “one of the most brilliant innovations in the Constitution,” enabling “prompt, clear, and consistent action” (Canaparo, 2019). Former Attorney General William Barr, echoing this view, warned that executive authority has been “smothered by the encroachments of the other branches,” and described opposition to Trump’s presidency as a “war to cripple, by any means necessary, a duly elected government.”

    This ideology is codified in Heritage’s Project 2025—a blueprint for consolidating executive power, dismantling regulatory agencies, and replacing career civil servants with loyalists. While Trump publicly distanced himself from Project 2025 during the 2024 campaign, its principles now underpin both his administration’s governance and his 2028 campaign strategy (Wikipedia, 2025).

    Trump’s 2028 Campaign Strategy: Defiance and Entrenchment

    President Trump’s 2028 campaign strategy builds on legal insulation, ideological support for executive supremacy, and the DOJ’s retaliatory posture. Its key elements include:

    • Constitutional defiance. Trump has publicly flirted with seeking a third term despite the 22nd Amendment’s two‑term limit. In a 2025 interview, he remarked, “So, you say during the war, you can’t have elections?”—suggesting that wartime conditions could justify suspending electoral processes (Policy Magazine, 2025).

    • Populist grievance and cult of personality. The campaign frames Trump as the singular defender of “real America,” using slogans like “Only I Can Fix It—Again.” This messaging mirrors authoritarian populism abroad, where leaders claim exclusive legitimacy and vilify institutions as corrupt or elitist (Harvard Kennedy School, 2025).

    • Institutional dominance. Trump’s control over the DOJ, Supreme Court, and key federal agencies enables him to suppress opposition and shape legal narratives. The 2024 immunity ruling and Heritage’s doctrine of executive supremacy are central to this strategy.

    • Electoral disruption. The campaign has hinted at delaying or delegitimizing the 2028 election if “national security” or “civil unrest” justifies it—echoing tactics used in authoritarian regimes to extend tenure beyond constitutional limits (Politico, 2025).

    Together, these elements illustrate a campaign not merely seeking reelection but actively reshaping the constitutional order to entrench executive power.

    Congressional Authority and Republican Inaction

    The Constitution furnishes Congress with two principal remedies to counteract executive overreach: impeachment and conviction, and legislation to clarify or recalibrate interbranch boundaries. In theory, Congress could define statutory approaches that narrow immunity’s practical reach, specify procedures for independent oversight, or establish special counsels with protected jurisdiction. It could also pursue impeachment for abuses of power that, even if immunized criminally as official acts, remain politically sanctionable.

    Yet despite these remedies, the Republican‑controlled Congress has sat on its hands. No impeachment inquiry has been initiated, and no serious legislative effort has emerged to challenge the Supreme Court’s ruling or the Department of Justice’s politicized prosecutions. Bills proposed by minority Democrats to codify limits on presidential immunity have stalled in committee, with Republican leadership declining to hold hearings or votes (Politico, 2025).

    This inaction is not neutral; it is a political choice that signals tacit approval of executive impunity. By refusing to act, the Republican majority has allowed the executive branch to consolidate power unchecked, undermining the separation of powers and enabling authoritarian drift.

    Conclusion: A Constitutional Crossroads

    The Supreme Court’s immunity ruling marks a constitutional rupture. It abandons centuries of precedent affirming that presidents are subject to the rule of law. Trump’s 2028 campaign strategy—built on defiance, grievance, and institutional dominance—further blurs the line between democracy and authoritarianism. Heritage’s ideological endorsement of executive supremacy provides intellectual cover, while Congress, despite its constitutional mandate, has abdicated its role as a check on executive power. The DOJ’s transformation into a tool of political retaliation completes the authoritarian arc.

    As Justice Sotomayor warned, “Let the President violate the law… Because if he knew that he may one day face liability… he might not be as bold and fearless as we would like him to be” (Center for American Progress, 2025). The United States now stands at a constitutional crossroads. Will it reaffirm the principle that no one is above the law—or will it follow the path of authoritarian regimes, where justice serves power rather than the people? The answer will depend not only on courts and presidents, but on whether Congress, civil society, and the electorate are willing to reclaim the guardrails of accountability before they collapse entirely.

    References

    Ballotpedia. (2025). Donald Trump indictments, 2023–2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Trump_indictments,_2023-2025

    Brennan Center for Justice. (2024). History proves that presidents can be held accountable. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/history-proves-presidents-can-be-held-accountable

    Canaparo, G. (2019, December 2). Founders wanted a powerful president. The Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/the-constitution/commentary/founders-wanted-powerful-president

    Center for American Progress. (2025). Trump v. United States: Revisiting the presidential immunity ruling 1 year later. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/trump-v-united-states-revisiting-the-presidential-immunity-ruling-1-year-later

    Freedom House. (2022). Freedom in the world 2022: The global expansion of authoritarian rule. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule

    Harvard Kennedy School. (2025). Democracy in the shadow of the global rise in authoritarian populism. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan/our-work/carr-ryan-commentary/democracy-shadow-global-rise-authoritarian-populism

    NPR. (2025, October 5). Supreme Court’s decision on presidential power casts a shadow on its new term. https://www.iowapublicradio.org/news-from-npr/2025-10-05/supreme-courts-decision-on-the-presidential-power-casts-a-shadow-on-its-new-term

    PBS NewsHour. (2024, July 1). Key facts from the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and how it affects presidential power. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/key-facts-from-the-supreme-courts-immunity-ruling-and-how-it-affects-presidential-power

    PBS NewsHour. (2025, October 2). Trump DOJ indicts New York Attorney General Letitia James. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-doj-indicts-letitia-james

    Policy Magazine. (2025, October 3). Is 2028 the endgame of Trump’s rampage? https://www.policymagazine.ca/is-2028-the-endgame-of-trumps-rampage

    Politico. (2025, January 31). How Trump could snatch a third term — despite the 22nd Amendment. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/01/31/trump-defy-constitution-third-term-00200239

    The Court Said. (2024). United States v. Nixon: Presidential power and accountability. https://thecourtsaid.org/united-states-v-nixon-presidential-power-and-accountability

    Wikipedia. (2025). Project 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025

    Intellectual Property Statement

    This work is the original intellectual property of DeMecia Wooten‑Irizarry. It reflects my analysis, voice, and authorial fingerprint, developed through my professional expertise, scholarship, and lived experience. No portion of this document may be reproduced, distributed, or adapted without my explicit written consent. Any quotations, references, or citations must credit me as the author. This statement affirms my right to control the use, reproduction, and dissemination of my work in all formats, including digital, print, and derivative adaptations.

  • The President’s 2028 Electoral Strategy: A Theoretical Account

    Introduction: A Coordinated Strategy of Control

    Donald Trump’s 2028 electoral strategy is not a conventional campaign—it is a coordinated architecture of power. It is built on a convergence of tactics that extend far beyond rallies, advertisements, or even traditional party organizing. The first strategy is the symbolic deployment of National Guard troops into civilian spaces, often without clear emergency justification, to project strength and intimidate opposition. The second is structural engineering through mid‑decade gerrymandering, designed to entrench partisan advantage by redrawing maps outside the decennial cycle and shrinking the electorate in ways that disproportionately harm communities of color. The third is the use of intimidation and chilling effects, where rhetoric that criminalizes dissent, threatens election officials, and promises aggressive policing creates a climate of fear that discourages civic participation.

    These three strategies are not isolated maneuvers; they are mutually reinforcing. Together, they reshape the conditions under which elections occur, narrowing the electorate, militarizing public space, and redefining who feels safe to participate in democracy. What makes this convergence especially dangerous is its judicial enablement. The Supreme Court’s shadow docket—its mechanism for issuing emergency rulings without full briefing or oral argument—has become a silent partner in this strategy. By allowing racially gerrymandered maps to stand, refusing to block restrictive voting laws, and reversing injunctions against racial profiling, the Court has provided cover for executive overreach while avoiding public accountability. In this way, the shadow docket does not merely reflect conservative ideology; it functions as an accelerant, legitimizing tactics that erode democratic norms. The 2028 election is therefore not simply a contest of votes but a constitutional inflection point, where the rules of participation themselves are being rewritten (Bernstein, 2025; Berman, 2025; Adams & Martin, 2025).

    Symbolic Deployment and Performative Control

    The deployment of state National Guard units into high‑visibility public spaces—often without clear emergency justification—functions as a symbolic assertion of control. These deployments are not merely reactive responses to crises; they are carefully staged performances designed to send political messages. They signal allegiance to a law‑and‑order narrative, project strength to Trump’s base, and simultaneously unsettle communities deemed oppositional. The presence of uniformed personnel in civilian spaces is not neutral. It is a visual reminder that dissent can be met with force, and that the state is willing to militarize public life in service of political ends (Bernstein, 2025).

    The timing and location of these deployments often coincide with political flashpoints, such as protests, local elections, or moments of heightened national debate. This suggests strategic intent rather than reactive necessity. By placing troops in urban centers with large populations of color, the administration reinforces racialized narratives of disorder and criminality, while also normalizing the use of military force in civilian governance. As Adams and Martin (2025) note, the performative use of state power in electoral contexts is part of a broader “playbook” that seeks to redefine the boundaries of acceptable political action. In this sense, the National Guard is not just a security apparatus—it is a campaign tool, deployed to shape perception, intimidate opposition, and consolidate authority.

    Structural Engineering: Mid‑Decade Gerrymandering as Durable Advantage

    The practice of mid‑decade gerrymandering represents one of the most durable forms of structural engineering in Trump’s 2028 strategy. Unlike campaign rhetoric or temporary deployments of the National Guard, redistricting creates long‑lasting shifts in political power that extend well beyond a single election cycle. By redrawing district lines outside the traditional ten‑year census process, partisan actors can lock in advantages that persist for years, even if demographic changes or voter preferences shift in ways that would otherwise alter outcomes. This tactic is particularly potent because it reshapes the electorate itself, determining not only who wins but also whose votes carry weight in the first place (Berman, 2025).

    The durability of mid‑decade gerrymandering lies in its ability to insulate political power from accountability. Once maps are redrawn, they are difficult to challenge, especially when the Supreme Court has signaled through its shadow docket that it will not intervene to block racially discriminatory or partisan maps. This judicial passivity effectively green‑lights structural manipulation, allowing legislatures to entrench partisan dominance under the guise of administrative necessity. For communities of color, the consequences are profound: dilution of voting strength, fragmentation of community representation, and the reinforcement of systemic exclusion from policymaking processes (Adams & Martin, 2025). In this way, gerrymandering functions as a form of political engineering that cements inequality into the very architecture of democracy.

    Intimidation and Chilling Effects

    Public rhetoric that demonizes political opponents, labels dissent as criminal, and threatens legal action against voters and officials contributes to a climate of fear. This fear is not abstract—it has measurable effects. The threat of surveillance, arrest, or public shaming discourages civic participation and undermines the expectation that elections can be engaged without retaliation. Statements about sending troops to “Democrat‑run cities,” praise for aggressive policing, and direct attacks on election officials operate as both message and method. The goal is not merely to win elections; it is to define who feels safe participating in them and to deter the oversight functions that make elections credible (Berman, 2025).

    Racial Overtones and Structural Targeting

    This strategy is not race‑neutral. The deployment of National Guard troops to “Democrat‑run cities” is often aimed at jurisdictions with large Black, Latino, and immigrant populations. These actions are framed as responses to crime or unrest, but they function as racialized spectacles designed to reinforce fear, justify surveillance, and signal dominance over communities of color (Bernstein, 2025).

    Similarly, voter suppression tactics—ID laws, polling place closures, registration purges, and targeted disinformation—disproportionately affect Black and brown voters and low‑income communities. These measures are not incidental; they are engineered to shrink the electorate in ways that preserve white political power. The rhetoric surrounding these laws often invokes fraud, chaos, or “urban” mismanagement, reinforcing racialized narratives of disorder (Berman, 2025).

    The Supreme Court’s shadow docket has enabled these tactics by refusing to block racially gerrymandered maps, allowing discriminatory laws to take effect without full review, and dismissing factual findings of racial harm. In immigration cases, the Court has reversed injunctions against racial profiling, despite clear evidence of abuse. These rulings do not merely reflect conservative ideology—they reflect a willingness to ignore race‑based harm in favor of executive consolidation (NewsNation, 2025).

    This racial dimension is not a footnote—it is central. The architecture of Trump’s strategy depends on racialized fear, exclusion, and control. The Court’s silence in the face of these patterns is not neutrality—it is complicity.

    The Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket and Judicial Enablement

    The Supreme Court’s shadow docket—its mechanism for issuing emergency rulings without full briefing or oral argument—has become a pipeline for executive‑friendly decisions. Under Trump’s administration, emergency petitions surged, and the Court granted relief in a striking majority of cases. These rulings often lacked explanation, vote counts, or legal reasoning, yet they carried sweeping consequences (Brennan Center for Justice, 2022).

    This pattern reflects a jurisprudential shift: the Court is no longer the honest arbiter of the Constitution. It has become a conduit for executive consolidation, issuing rulings that bypass deliberation and silence dissent.

    In immigration, voting rights, and protest‑related cases, the Court’s shadow docket has consistently favored executive authority. The case of Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo exemplifies this trend: the Court reversed a lower‑court injunction against racial profiling by immigration officers in Los Angeles, despite extensive factual findings. Justice Kavanaugh’s majority opinion dismissed the documented harms as “brief” and “typically resolved,” while Justice Sotomayor’s dissent emphasized the government’s failure to rebut evidence of illegal conduct (NewsNation, 2025).

    Abandonment of Precedent and Voting Rights

    The expanded use of emergency orders has facilitated an erosion of stare decisis. Laws that contradict established precedent have been allowed to take effect through unsigned or brief orders, reshaping substantive rights before full merits review. In Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, the Court allowed a Texas abortion ban to take effect via a one‑paragraph, unsigned order—despite its direct conflict with Roe v. Wade. Months later, Roe was formally overturned, but the shadow docket had already signaled the Court’s intent (Brennan Center for Justice, 2022).

    In voting rights cases, the Court has weakened the Voting Rights Act, refused to block racially gerrymandered maps, and allowed restrictive laws to take effect without full review. In Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, the majority redefined the standard for voting‑rights violations, making it harder to challenge discriminatory laws. These rulings align with Trump’s broader strategy: reduce access, increase control, and insulate power from accountability (Berman, 2025).

    The Collision: Law, Power, and Democratic Erosion

    The convergence of Trump’s tactics and the Court’s jurisprudence is structural, not coincidental. The executive deploys force and manipulates rules; the judiciary legitimizes those moves through opaque rulings and doctrinal shifts. The result is a feedback loop of consolidation, where each branch accelerates the other’s erosion of democratic norms. Emergency powers, once reserved for wartime exigencies, are invoked to justify domestic deployments. The shadow docket, once a procedural tool, becomes a vehicle for policy transformation. Precedent, once a stabilizing force, is treated as discretionary. This collision is not theoretical; it is unfolding in real time, narrowing the conditions under which dissent, oversight, and equal participation can survive (Bernstein, 2025; Berman, 2025).

    Policy Implications and Social Work Policy Practice

    The convergence of executive overreach, judicial enablement through the shadow docket, and racially targeted electoral manipulation demands an assertive, macro‑level social work response grounded in constitutional literacy and trauma‑informed practice. Policy social workers must translate complex legal shifts—such as emergency powers used for domestic deployments, mid‑cycle redistricting, and quietly issued Court orders that weaken voting rights—into accessible guidance for coalitions and communities, while actively drafting, advocating, and monitoring reform bills that restore due process, transparency, and enforcement capacity across civil rights and election administration.

    This work calls for sustained constituent education that names racialized harm without euphemism, builds protective infrastructures such as legal clinics, rapid‑response observation, and voter access audits, and centers survivor‑informed analysis in spaces where surveillance, policing, and intimidation erode civic participation. At the intergovernmental level, macro practitioners should coordinate watchdog functions—tracking agency rulemaking, state emergency statutes, and judicial trends—to anticipate harm and propose corrective policy instruments, including limits on emergency deployment, statutory guardrails on redistricting timing and methodology, and requirements for reasoned judicial explanations in consequential orders. Above all, social work policy practice must reclaim legitimacy by modeling ethical resistance: documenting violations with precision, elevating community testimony into statutory text, and reinforcing democratic conditions—free from fear, coercion, and exclusion—under which marginalized communities can vote, organize, and govern.

    Conclusion: The 2028 Election as a Constitutional Inflection Point

    The 2028 election will not be decided solely by ballots; it will be shaped by the structural conditions under which those ballots are cast. If current trends continue, elections may be conducted under heightened surveillance, reduced access, and intensified intimidation, while judicial silence obscures the legal rationales that permit such conditions. The legitimacy of outcomes will depend not only on counts but on whether the process itself remains protected by transparency, precedent, and rights enforcement. This moment demands clarity, courage, and constitutional stewardship. The collision between Trump’s strategy and the Court’s shadow docket is not merely a legal concern—it is a democratic emergency that requires disciplined, survivor‑informed, and trauma‑aware policy practice. For social workers, advocates, and policy practitioners, the challenge is not only to resist authoritarian drift but to model the democratic values of inclusion, accountability, and dignity that must be preserved if the Constitution is to remain a living document rather than a hollow symbol.

    References

    Adams, R., & Martin, S. (2025). Redistricting and the erosion of democratic norms. New York: Democracy Press.

    Berman, A. (2025). Minority rule: The rise of voter suppression in America. New York: Penguin Random House.

    Bernstein, J. (2025). The politics of performance: Trump, spectacle, and state power. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

    Brennan Center for Justice. (2022). The Supreme Court’s shadow docket. Retrieved from https://www.brennancenter.org

    NewsNation. (2025). Supreme Court reverses injunction in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo. Retrieved from https://www.newsnationnow.com

    Authorship and Intellectual Property Statement

    This original work was authored by DeMecia Wooten‑Irizarry, MSW, MPA, LSWDoctor of Social Work Candidate (Policy Practice),

    All rights reserved. No portion of this content may be reproduced, republished, or distributed without express written permission from the author. Attribution must reflect the author’s full credentials and intent. This work reflects a policy practice and community engagement lens rooted in macro social work values, constitutional literacy, and statutory interpretation

  • Executive Misconduct and Democratic Erosion: What Trump’s Presidency Reveals for Social Work Policy Practice

    Donald Trump’s presidency has been extensively documented in peer-reviewed literature as a period of intensified corruption, institutional erosion, and executive dysfunction. These findings are not abstract—they carry direct implications for social work policy practitioners committed to ethical governance, democratic accountability, and the structural conditions that shape equitable service delivery.

    A 2024 study published in Applied Economics Letters by Fischer found a statistically significant rise in perceived public-sector corruption during Trump’s first term. The analysis linked this shift to nepotistic appointments, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, repeated attacks on federal institutions such as the FBI and Department of Justice, and the post-presidency storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. These actions contributed to a measurable erosion of public trust in executive integrity and institutional safeguards (Fischer, 2024).

    This erosion has deepened in Trump’s second term, now fortified by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. United States (2024). The Court granted presidents absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within their constitutional authority and presumptive immunity for all official acts. Only unofficial conduct remains prosecutable. This decision delayed Trump’s federal election interference trial and effectively placed the presidency beyond the reach of criminal accountability for a wide range of abuses (Supreme Court of the United States, 2024; PBS NewsHour, 2024).

    Shielded by this legal precedent, Trump has pursued a series of lucrative foreign ventures that blur the line between public office and private gain. His family secured a $2 billion cryptocurrency partnership with the United Arab Emirates, followed by an AI chip sale that raised national security concerns. Ethics waivers were granted to allies involved in the negotiations, and dissenting officials were removed—further evidence of retaliatory governance and the dismantling of internal oversight (Bellows, 2025).

    In Corruption and Illiberal Politics in the Trump Era, Goldstein and Drybread document how Trump’s administration rewarded loyalty, repressed dissent, and normalized authoritarian behavior. The contributors detail how judicial appointments were used to entrench partisan control, how regulatory rollbacks favored private interests over public welfare, and how rhetorical attacks on civil society undermined democratic norms (Goldstein & Drybread, 2022).

    Writing in Political Science Quarterly, Kuhner describes Trump’s leadership as a “tyranny of greed,” linking his rise to systemic dysfunction, racial resentment, and unchecked executive power. He emphasizes Trump’s impeachment for inciting the January 6 insurrection as a turning point in democratic erosion, framing the presidency as a case of authoritarian drift masked by populist appeal (Kuhner, 2021).

    Further evidence from Littvay, McCoy, and Simonovits shows that democratic norm violations became more acceptable to voters during Trump’s presidency. Their study in Public Opinion Quarterly found that partisan loyalty increasingly outweighed commitment to democratic principles, with many Americans endorsing executive overreach when it aligned with their political interests (Littvay, McCoy, & Simonovits, 2024).

    For social work policy practitioners, these developments are not peripheral—they are central. Executive corruption and impunity reverberate through funding priorities, civil rights enforcement, and public trust. When the highest office is shielded from accountability, marginalized communities bear the brunt of policy instability and institutional decay. The Supreme Court’s immunity ruling has not only altered the legal landscape—it has redefined the ethical terrain in which social work must operate. These scholarly insights offer a critical foundation for understanding how executive behavior shapes the policy environment and why social work must remain committed to democratic accountability, transparency, and justice.

    References

    Bellows, A. (2025, August 27). Forging effective corruption narratives to counter democratic erosion. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/08/forging-effective-corruption-narratives-to-counter-democratic-erosion?lang=en

    Fischer, S. (2024). The impact of the Trump presidency on the perception of corruption in the United States. Applied Economics Letters. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2024.2363294

    Goldstein, D. M., & Drybread, K. (Eds.). (2022). Corruption and illiberal politics in the Trump era. Routledge.

    Kuhner, T. K. (2021). Tyranny of greed: Trump, corruption, and the revolution to come. Political Science Quarterly, 136(3), 596–597. https://doi.org/10.1002/polq.13219

    Littvay, L., McCoy, J. L., & Simonovits, G. (2024). It’s not just Trump: Americans of both parties support liberal democratic norm violations more under their own president. Public Opinion Quarterly, 88(3), 1044–1058. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae042

    Supreme Court of the United States. (2024). Trump v. United States, No. 23–939. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

    PBS NewsHour. (2024, July 1). Key facts from the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/key-facts-from-the-supreme-courts-immunity-ruling-and-how-it-affects-presidential-power

    Intellectual Property Statement

    © DeMecia Wooten‑Irizarry. This synthesis reflects original framing and scholarly integration. Citation required for redistribution or derivative use.