When Democracies Die: It’s Time to Act

Mr. Abrego Garcia, who has lived in the United States since 2011, was granted legal residency by a 2019 court order that protected him from deportation to El Salvador, citing a well-founded fear of gang persecution.

On March 15, 2025, Mr. Garcia was deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison, without a trial, due process, or evidence of wrongdoing presented in a courtroom.

Soon after his extra-judicial deportation, the Trump administration’s DOJ lawyer acknowledged in court that its deportation of Mr. Garcia to El Salvador prison was an “administrative error.” The lawyer who made this statement to the court, and was obligated to do so by his professional ethics, nevertheless, was immediately fired by Trump. 

On April 10, 2025, The Supreme Court wrote: 

The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal. The United States represents that the removal to El Salvador was the result of an “administrative error.” 

…The District Court’s order … properly requires the Government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. 

On April 13, 2025, in a political “f… you” to Supreme Court, Trump sent ten more people to El Salvador, again without judicial review.

Today, April 14, 2025, Trump stated that he will not ask Salvadorian President Bukele to return Mr. Garcia to the US. He then told Bukele (and all Americans), on camera, that he intends to soon begin deporting American citizens to Salvadorian prisons: 

Trump: “Home-growns are next [to be sent to your Salvadorian prisons]. The home-growns. You gotta build about five more places [Salvadorian prisons]. It’s [CECOT prison] not big enough.”

Unless you are a wealthy, conservative, White, male, American, Christian, or a White American woman, living the deferential lifestyle reminiscent of 1950s gender norms, you should be afraid, very afraid.

We all should be very afraid.

First they came for the Communists,
and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Socialists,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

This poem is credited to Martin Niemöller, a German Lutheran pastor who was an early Nazi supporter but later opposed Hitler and was imprisoned in concentration camps from 1937 to 1945. It first appeared in his speeches about 1946 and lamented the silent complicity of German intellectuals and clergy following the Nazis’ rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of the Nazi’s chosen targets.

Today’s version of this poem might be:

First they came for the immigrants,
and I did not speak out—
Because I was not an immigrant.

Then they came for the journalists,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not a journalist.

Then they came for the trans community,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not trans.

Then they came for the people of color,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not a person of color.

Then they came for the scientists,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not a scientist.

Then they came for the lawyers,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not a lawyer.

Then they came for the activists,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not an activist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

How to Resist an Authoritarian

Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan have studied authoritarian regimes (Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict) and determined that the most effective means of overthrowing an authoritarian require:

Large-Scale and Diverse Participation in a pro-democracy movement

To successfully depose the autocrat, community members from all demographics, ethnicities, professions, religions, and unions need to participate in the effort. The most important determinant of success is the number and diversity of participants; when 3.5% of the population actively participates in a nonviolent campaign, success is almost inevitable. Despite the broad range of priorities among members of the pro-democracy coalition, it is essential that secondary goals and ideologies do not create opportunities for the authoritarian to exploit divisions within the movement.

The April 5, 2025 Hands Off! protests were broad-based, as they were coordinated by over 150 organizations across 1,400 locations; drawing an estimated 3–5 million participants—yet still well below the 12 million needed to meet the 3.5% threshold. Nevertheless, this was a very significant and encouraging beginning.

Nonviolent Resistance

It is essential to employ a wide range of nonviolent tactics, such as protests, strikes, boycotts, civil disobedience, artistic expression, non-cooperation as soldiers and police are more likely to defect to the pro-democracy camp when citizens protest peacefully.

Effective Strategic Planning and Coordination

The most successful movements are carefully planned, with a well-defined leadership, strategies, and goals, but remain flexible to withstand repression, adjust tactics as needed, and are ready to sustain the momentum of the movement for a prolonged campaign.

Disruption of Pillars of Society

Protests must disrupt the status quo—economically, politically, or socially—and erode the loyalty of complicit institutions such as the military, security forces, bureaucracy, and state media. Through persuasion, social pressure, and moral appeals, nonviolent movements can expose the regime’s corruption and waning public support, prompting the authoritarian’s enablers to withdraw their backing.

When the regime’s security apparatus and loyalists defect or cease enforcing its directives, the authoritarian’s grip on power begins to collapse.

Now is the Time to Save Our Democracy

Democracy is not self-sustaining; it requires effort. As silence implies complicity, democracy will survive only if we stand together and demand an end to Trump’s authoritarian regime. Now is the time to stand-up for democracy, for our children’s future—and before he padlocks democracy’s door.

Hayward Zwerling
Pro-democracy advocate
14 April 2025

Pro-democracy organizations: