February 13, 2025 - American Public News

ITHACA, N.Y. — In reaction to President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging flurry of policy moves during the first three weeks of his administration, a slew of local Democratic politicos and officials organized a rally on the Ithaca Commons on Friday to rebuke Trump, his early priorities and the burgeoning involvement of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk in the federal government. The well-attended rally featured speakers who urged attendees to stifle feelings of apathy, despite the steady stream of new policies and rollbacks the Trump administration has undertaken in its first few weeks. “If we’re going to team up to fight and stand up for what we believe in, we need to make sure we’re showing up every day and reflecting the values of our community,” Ithaca Mayor Rob Cantelmo said. “You have to embrace action. There is no sideline in politics, you can’t pretend that the dynamics of power don’t touch upon your life.”Speakers included Cantelmo, State Assemblymember Anna Kelles, Tompkins County Legislator Greg Mezey and former Tompkins County Legislature Chair Martha Robertson, the event’s main organizer. Several other local officials could be seen in the crowd. Robertson also later delivered a recitation of a message of support for the crowd sent along by Democratic Congressman Josh Riley. Credit: Casey Martin / The Ithaca VoiceA number of Trump’s policies have already impacted locals directly. Last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Jesus Romero-Hernandez, an undocumented man from Mexico, outside the county’s Department of Social Services building. Federal records show Romero-Hernandez was deported previously several times in 2016. He is currently being held in a federal detention center in Syracuse. A subsequent press release from the Department of Justice condemned Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne for releasing Romero-Hernandez from custody despite a federal arrest warrant. Osborne followed sanctuary policies adopted in the county and city that bar local law enforcement from assisting ICE agents in enforcing federal laws. Potential sweeping cuts to federal grant programs, as well as changes to the National Institute of Health’s research funding that could significantly harm Cornell University, have sparked fears of outsized impacts on the local economy and municipally-backed environmental initiatives, among others. Cantelmo denounced the widespread federal spending cuts, claiming they are fueled by greed while being implemented under the guise of fiscal responsibility. “We can try and actually fund our social programs. We can invest in working families, we can invest in education, instead of trying to defund all these important elements of our policies,” Cantelmo said. The problem is not with the federal institutions currently under scrutiny, Cantelmo argued, but “the clowns who are running them right now,” a line that drew some of the loudest applause of the day from the crowd. Musk received plenty of ire from both speakers and the crowd. Under his watch, the newly-created Department of Governmental Efficiency has moved aggressively to slash federal spending by cutting departments, workforce and contracts without congressional input. Many of the department’s decisions have been challenged in court and are currently being litigated.Musk’s close involvement in the new administration has raised questions regarding the legality of an unelected official making seemingly unilateral decisions about government spending. While most of the speakers received warm support, there was some dissent in the crowd. Two men held signs criticizing Democratic Congressman Josh Riley, who beat incumbent Marc Molinaro in November to take over the House of Representatives seat for New York’s 19th Congressional District. Riley recently supported the Laken Riley Act, a controversial bill pushed by Republicans that requires federal detention for any undocumented person in the country who is “accused of theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer” or any violent crime that causes death or serious injury, despite the absence of a conviction on the charges. The bill passed Congress and was signed into law by Trump in January. Riley was hospitalized during the vote, but did support an earlier committee version. He reiterated his support for the act in a public statement, saying Upstate New York needs an “immigration system that is both tough and fair.”Riley’s message, delivered by Robertson, received polite applause from the audience. He has also recently introduced legislation that would limit Musk and those in the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to taxpayer data without first being fully vetted, as well as make the department subject to Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests. State Assemblymember Anna Kelles addresses the crowd Friday. Credit: Casey Martin / The Ithaca VoiceThe speakers’s sentiments rang familiar to those expressed in 2017 when Trump first took office to similar local angst in the heavily Democratic city of Ithaca. This was the first large-scale anti-Trump rally held locally since his inauguration in late January, but its attendance paled in comparison to the Women’s March held in 2017, both nationally and locally, which drew thousands to the Ithaca Commons to rally for women’s rights and abortion access amid a wave of apprehension for Trump’s first term. Speakers encouraged attendees to avoid growing disillusioned and to become more involved in organizing or run for office themselves. Kelles emphasized the importance of working together to monitor and combat governmental overreach, using “facts and data” to boost their arguments. “We are as powerful together, we can be as smart, we can fight back, we can say ‘That’s illegal, that’s un-Constitutional,’” Kelles said. “We can stand up to every bullsh*t thing they are doing to tear down this country.”The post Downtown rally pushes back on Trump’s early second-term actions appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.First published by The Ithaca Voice.

Daily Archives: February 13, 2025

Downtown rally pushes back on Trump’s early second-term actions

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