100 Days, 100 Ways of Resisting

By UUSC Staff on May 6, 2025

In his first 100 days back in the Oval Office, Donald Trump has tried to assert unprecedented authoritarian control of the U.S. government—just as we predicted. In a matter of weeks, he has:  

• Disappeared people to a foreign prison without charge or trial—in blatant violation of a federal court order. 
• Systematically flouted and disobeyed federal laws requiring due process for noncitizens who fear persecution or torture on the basis of their identities.
• Singled out perceived critics for criminal investigations and arrested student activists in retaliation for their constitutionally protected speech. 

These are not the actions of an elected leader of a democratic society, but of a would-be tyrant. Trump’s MO at this point is obvious: even when the law, the democratic process, and the U.S. Constitution are against him, he tries to abuse his power anyway—if only to see how far he can go before someone stops him. 

Trump’s False Projection of Power

What is often less visible is how ineffective Trump has been in carrying out his authoritarian agenda. He has tried to rule through fear by demonstrating time and again that he cannot be trusted to respect the limits of the law or the Constitution. But these kinds of erratic abuses of power are a sign of desperation, not of strength.

The truth is that, 100 days into his second term, Trump has achieved little of his agenda—and has forfeited the public support that narrowly won him the 2024 election. Far from “overwhelming” his critics with a “flood the zone” strategy, Trump’s actions have merely unified the resistance. 

Our partners, and the communities they serve, are not even close to being “overwhelmed” or defeated by Trump’s empty threats. Here are just some of the ways they continue to advance human rights despite his attacks: 

Protecting Communities from “Mass Deportation” 

Trump has said time and again that he seeks to rip up American communities through a program of “mass deportation.” He has even stated publicly that he might be open to disregarding due process and the U.S. Constitution, if these make it harder for him to fulfill his agenda of rapidly expelling millions of people from their homes. 

This swaggering dictatorial rhetoric is obviously designed to sow terror and force people to give up their legal rights without a fight. But Trump is only resorting to these methods because he knows he cannot get what he wants through lawful means. Immigrant communities are educating their members about their legal rights and are prepared to protect their communities.

UUSC’s partners at the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) are one of the groups equipping their members with the skills they need to defend themselves. Through more than twenty local networks across the state, they ensure they have an on-the-ground presence, educating their members about their rights and monitoring legal abuses. 

Stopping Structural Violence against Gender-Inclusive Communities

In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has openly discriminated against Trans, nonbinary, intersex, and gender-expansive people, including by:

• Publicly defaming the character of Trans military service members; 
• Denying people passports that match their true identity—rendering international travel extremely dangerous for people whose gender expression or identity do not correspond to their sex assigned at birth; and 
• Lending official federal support to a binary definition of gender that is flatly at odds with the facts of human biology. 

These actions perpetuate stigma and misconceptions that have long enabled structural violence against LGBTQIA+ communities. But nothing Trump does to single out and scapegoat our communities will deter our partners from working to create safe and affirming spaces for queer, Trans, nonbinary, intersex, and gender-expansive people. 

Our partners at Asylum Pride House, for instance, provide services specifically geared toward LGBTQIA+ people escaping persecution in their home countries. Pink Haven Coalition also provides safe spaces and support networks for people who need to access essential medical care that has been criminalized in their home states. 

Restoring Humanitarian Aid in the Face of Trump’s Cuts

Since returning to the White House, Trump has also completely dismantled the infrastructure of U.S. humanitarian aid—a gratuitous blow that is already leading to the preventable deaths of civilians in places like Sudan, Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar), Southeast Asia, and other areas around the world that are experiencing humanitarian crises. 

Trump has openly crowed about these aid cuts, mocking the names of the countries that were affected in his speech to Congress. Here, as elsewhere, Trump seems to confuse cruelty with strength. He believes that it makes him appear powerful to bully people who have done nothing wrong and are just trying to survive. 

But Trump is pathetically misguided. Real strength in this world is found in the communities that show solidarity across differences and support their members in the face of injustice. Our partners in Haiti, Burma, the Pacific, Honduras, and around the world are modeling strength and innovation in this moment. They are coming together to fill the gaps left by U.S. aid cuts and to ensure that no one is left behind.

Our partners are not deluded by Trump’s hollow threats. They will keep defending human rights no matter what comes in the next 100 days of Trump’s term, or the next 1,000 days after that. 

Join UUSC partners and members in resisting Trump’s abuses of power. Sign up for the Resistance Network and receive urgent advocacy actions, educational resources, and stories from the frontlines. Our solidarity is essential over the next three years and beyond.