JCPA Responds to Trump’s Day One Pardons of Jan. 6 Perpetrators, Attacks on Immigration and Birthright Citizenship

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, released the following statement:

“President Trump’s actions on his first day in office send a deeply disturbing message about his administration’s priorities and intentions – and how at odds they are with the core interests and values of the American Jewish community. Between his decision to issue pardons and commutations for the assault on January 6th, led by known white supremacists and extremists, and his militarized anti-immigrant actions to promote white nationalist goals, Donald Trump’s first day in office made the country less safe for Jews and so many others, and more welcoming to those who threaten us. 

By immediately issuing pardons and commutations for many of the perpetrators of the January 6th, 2021 violent insurrection at the US Capitol, Trump severely undermines justice and accountability for the terrible crimes committed that day. He has sent a disturbing clear signal that perpetrators of anti-democratic political violence can expect to be treated with leniency and relative impunity by the Trump administration, as long as their goals and ideology align with Trump’s own political movement. 

January 6 was fueled by the same increasingly mainstream conspiracy theories that also inspired a cycle of deadly violence throughout this country: in Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, Poway, El Paso, Buffalo, and beyond. These pardons will embolden those who promote these conspiracies, and those who use them as justification to target the Jewish, Black, Latino, and other communities — and our democracy itself. Similarly, Trump’s close ally Elon Musk engaging in what appeared to be a Nazi salute at a Trump rally provides more encouragement and validation to the extreme right.

Today, as the white nationalist Proud Boys marched in the streets of Washington, DC, we can already see clear signs of how these extremists feel emboldened and empowered by Trump’s return to office. 

The same anti-democratic conspiracy theories that led to January 6th have fixated on targeting and demonizing immigrant communities and the very values at the core of inclusive democracy. By declaring a national emergency at our southern border, reinstating the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, and ordering the arrest and mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants, President Trump’s executive orders today intend to validate the false idea that immigration represents an “invasion” that must be countered by force and cruel, draconian crackdowns. By refusing to recognize birthright citizenship for children born in the US to immigrants who lack legal status, the Trump Administration is also violating the 14th amendment to the Constitution.

President Trump today also promised to end all federal commitment to diversity equity and inclusion programs, paving the way for a return to more discriminatory and exclusionary policies. He declared there to be only two genders that cannot be changed, further marginalizing and denying recognition to transgender Americans. 

We know this playbook: the cruelty and pace of these extremist orders and policies is a deliberate strategy to overwhelm those committed to pluralism and democracy.

We expect many of these actions to face legal challenges. JCPA remains committed to working in coalition with our partners to protect our communities and our democracy at this crucial moment. We will do all we can to defend the democratic values and freedoms that have helped protect the American Jewish community, and which allowed so many of our families to first find refuge as immigrants in this country.”

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