CNN: Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush Responds to Trump's Religious Liberty Commission
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Analysis
Tracking Trump's executive orders: Dismantling the Department of Education
Executive Order 14242: Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities
Date Signed: March 20, 2025
Status: Implemented
Key Provisions:
- Executive Order 14242 calls for the Secretary of Education to take all necessary and legal steps to dismantle the Department of Education and return authority over education back to the states.
- This Executive Order also seeks to revoke federal funding from initiatives or programs in schools through “the requirement that any program or activity receiving Federal assistance terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology.”
Interfaith Alliance Counterpoints:
- Interfaith Alliance has long supported public education and is deeply concerned with how this action will affect students across the country.
- The Department of Education has acted as federal oversight, protecting children against discrimination and disparities by providing educational resources and funding to marginalized families and communities. Without this federal oversight, less well-resourced communities will face greater challenges in providing high quality, accessible education.
- By specifically targeting programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Trump Administration is removing tools and resources to protect already at-risk children, further undermining protections for children of diverse faiths and beliefs.
- As argued by senior fellow Maggie Siddiqi in an op-ed for Newsweek, “Our public schools guarantee admission to students of all religions and backgrounds, and provide religious freedom protections to all students. Trump instead favors sending funds to private schools, which can and do discriminate in their hiring and admissions practices, on the basis of religion, disability, and other protected characteristics. Ninety percent of students in our country attend public schools. They depend on them to protect their civil rights and civil liberties, and all students depend on federal dollars for support, particularly students with disabilities or students from low-income families.” Dismantling the Department of Education also means the elimination of oversight and “critical services protecting religious freedom in schools.”
Transcript
The Trump Administration’s Latest Attacks on Muslim Community Leaders
After months in detention, we finally received the good news that Ohio chaplain Ayman Soliman was released from jail as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) dropped his deportation case. Soliman was an interfaith chaplain at a children’s hospital and a longtime leader of the Ohio Muslim community with deep ties to interfaith work across the state. As ProPublica reported, Soliman’s asylum status was restored and his application for a green card was revived. This news came through the dedicated hard work and advocacy of many organizations, particularly CAIR-Ohio and his colleagues at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, who were fired for speaking out on his behalf.
Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation case has alarming implications
Earlier this year, during the holy month of Ramadan, ICE agents followed Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil home after he broke his fast and forcibly detained him without a warrant. Khalil, a Palestinian activist, was then disappeared into an unmarked vehicle and taken to an unknown location as his pregnant wife watched and pleaded for information. It was later revealed that Khalil had been moved to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, where he faced deportation. He was held for over three months in poor conditions, missing his graduation and the birth of his first child.
True Religious Freedom Means Protecting Our Faith Leaders, Not Detaining Them
In early July, Ayman Soliman, a former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital chaplain, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after his asylum status was terminated in June. In response, local faith leaders organized a prayer vigil, rally, and peaceful march; during the march at least 15 protesters were detained by local police and charged with felony rioting.