#HIVResists: July 2026 Monthly Policy Update

Protests continue following the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Duran Guerrero. ICE has openly fired on 30 people since Trump took office and 22 people have died in ICE custody this year alone. As outrage grows over killings at the hands of federal officials, the Trump administration has weaponized federal power to avoid accountability and suppress dissent, including reportedly barring FBI agents from investigating ICE confrontations. This hot topic focuses on a specific form of government repression: the criminalization of dissent.

Criminalization and Fascism

Fascism is a political ideology and movement that centers on “extreme nationalism, militarism, and national supremacy.” As abolitionist scholar and activist Andrea Ritchie notes, criminalization is a key tactic of fascism because it allows fascist regimes to use an “us versus them” mentality to marginalize and disappear groups of people. Fascist criminalization targets political opponents who challenge policies, criminalizing dissent. 

The United States has long weaponized criminalization since its founding on Native American genocide and the chattel slavery of African people, hence how modern policing originated from “slave patrol.” As of 2026, the United States criminal legal system costs $445 billion and holds nearly 2 million people across state prison, federal prison, local jails, juvenile correctional facilities, immigration detention, Indian country jails, military prisons, civil commitments, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in United States territories. The criminal legal system has morphed into a giant system by capitalizing on dehumanizing narratives and normalizing expansive state violence, especially against Black communities. Moreover, criminalization of dissent through anti-protest bills have been used at the state and federal level under various administrations, regardless of political party.

Criminalization of Dissent and the Trump Administration

The Trump Administration has increased criminalization in various ways, including the following trends documented by the Prison Policy Initiative: attacks on due process and rule of law, undermining solutions that decrease incarceration, encouraging use of extreme sentencing, worsening conditions in prisons and jails, and the weaponizing of political alliances to provide leniency for allies while targeting political opponents. 

In September 2025, the Trump Administration issued an executive order that designated “antifa” (anti-fascist) as a “domestic terrorist organization.” Expanding on this, another memo instructs the National Joint Terrorism Task Force and local offices to suppress political activity. As the Congressional Black Caucus notes, since “antifa” is not an organization, the administration gets to define who is considered a member, which puts groups who are most targeted by the administration at more risk. Furthermore the administration hopes to use these memos to not only silence activists, but nonprofit organizations who are political opponents. 

The federal government tested its “antifa terrorism” framework through court cases in Texas connected to ICE protests. In July 2025, activists held a noise demonstration at the Prairieland Detention Center in Texas. After a confrontation with police officers, the police department claimed protesters “opened fire” on officers which led to FBI investigation and detainment. Prosecutors charged activists with terrorism and used language such as “antifa cell” – despite protestors not knowing each other. The protester who fired a gun was sentenced to 100 years, and other advocates were sentenced to 50 years to 70 years in prison for “riot, providing material support to terrorist, and explosive charges.” 

These sentences prove the willingness of the federal government to “stretch national security and terrorism frameworks to their maximum” and their success in the Prairieland case is a dangerous precedent for individuals, groups, and organizations. More recently, up to 15 Minneapolis activists were charged as “domestic terrorists” for their protests against ICE during Operation Metro Surge. 

This criminalization of dissent is also used by local governments. Building on Trump’s framework, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office in Florida released a bulletin demonizing activists, claiming the National Lawyers Guild as the “legal representative” of antifa, and claiming zines are used for “recruitment.” Florida also enacted two new anti-terrorism laws that allow the state government to designate domestic groups as “terrorist organizations.” This comes on the follow up as many Governors move to designate civil rights organizations as terrorist groups. 

Call to Action!

The force of the federal criminal legal system is being weaponized against people challenging the Trump administration, including anti-ICE and anti-genocide protestors. The Prairieland case shows us how the criminalization of dissent aims to intimidate and isolate our movements. We can and must, however, still act. Here are three things you can do: 

1. Learn: Read the Interrupting Criminalization, “This Month in Criminalization” newsletter, here, or listen to “Prosecuting ‘Antifa’: The Prairieland Case and Its Implications for Organizers,” by Political Research Associates, here. 
2. Prepare: Save the National Lawyers Guild’s Federal Anti-Repression Task Force’s Federal Defense Hotline, here.
3. Support: Learn how you can support the Prairieland Defendants, here, and contribute to the legal defense fund for the Minnesota 15, here.

Supreme Court Updates!

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) finished their 2025-2026 term at the end of June. For better or worse, there are many notable cases. We have listed some below and weaved others throughout the MPU! 

• In Trump v. Barbara, SCOTUS ruled that Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil as unlawful violation of the 14th amendment. 
• In Mullin v. Doe, SCOTUS sided with the Trump administration to end temporary protected status (TPS) for thousands of Haitians and Syrians. TPS allows people to live and work in the U.S when the Department of Homeland Security determines the home country is considered unsafe due to war, disaster, or political conflict. The state department continues to consider Haiti and Syria unsafe for travel but now TPS holders from these two countries will remain at risk of deportation regardless of pending applications to change immigration status. 
• In Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, Landor sued Louisiana for cutting his Rastarian locks without his consent during incarceration under the federal statue Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Prisons Act, which prevents states and local government receiving federal funds for prisons/jails from infringing one’s religious beliefs unless there is a compelling government reason. Based on the assumption that federal spending programs are contracts, SCOTUS ruled that prison guards cannot be sued under FLIPUA, unless they consent. This ruling has wide impacts for challenges to the Trump administration’s termination of federal grants and the ability to sue states/local governments for civil rights violations under Section 1983. 
• SCOTUS continues to expand presidential power. In Trump v. Slaughter, Slaughter challenged Trump’s firing of her from the Federal Trade Commission despite a requirement to show cause before doing so. SCOTUS ruled that Presidents can remove leaders of independent federal agencies at will. In Trump v. Cook, President Trump tried to fire Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve System, based on allegations of mortgage fraud. SCOTUS ruled federal law requires adequate due process before firing. However, the legal battle continues for Cook over her job.

• *Supreme Court update: In Chatrie v. U.S., SCOTUS held that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in our cell phone location data. This ruling is helpful in protecting abortion access because geolocation can be used to target people – both seeking or providing abortion.

• The One Big Ugly Bill’s provision that “defunded” Planned Parenthood, by preventing the use of Medicaid funding to cover non-abortion care, has expired. However, there are Congressional Republicans who seek to permanently defund Planned Parenthood through the reconciliation process.

• The Trump Administration abruptly canceled $66 million in grants for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programing citing “misalignment with agency priority specifically normalizing sexual activity for minors.”