Politics and views in the United States.

Major shifts in environmental protections, immigration enforcement, civil rights as Trump administration reshapes government priorities. Rural residents and advocates for LGBTQ youth say they're worried about losing services.

TRANSCRIPT

[tapping] Welcome to 2025 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Federal law enforcement is trying to send some kind of a message to let state officials know that they will try to aggressively prosecute anyone who can be viewed as interfering in any way with their agenda.

John Gross at the Wisconsin University Law School says federal authorities are threatening state and local officials with the arrest of a Milwaukee judge.

Judge Hannah Dugan faces obstruction charges and could spend six years in prison after helping an illegal immigrant avoid ICE.

Her defenders say there's no basis for the charge, since the Mexican man was under no criminal arrest warrant, but was just wanted for a civil procedure.

Borders are Tom Homan says impeding immigration enforcement would be met with prosecution.

President Donald Trump is signing several new executive orders.

One directs federal and state agencies to publish lists of sanctuary cities that limit cooperation on federal immigration moves.

Another reinforces English language requirements for commercial truck drivers, citing safety concerns.

A third directs the Justice Department to provide legal resources to police officers facing lawsuits for acts while on duty.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is undergoing a major upheaval.

Hundreds of attorneys and staff are resigning in protest over the administration's shift away from traditional civil rights enforcement.

A new report warns a proposal to privatize the Postal Service could hurt 100 million Americans in small towns and rural areas.

Proponents argue corporations would run it more efficiently.

Sarah Anderson with the Institute for Policy Studies says their study confirmed that it's not profitable to deliver outside of cities.

Without competition from a public service that has a mandate to provide affordable delivery to every address in America, people in these areas in particular might lose their delivery at their homes altogether.

Elise Ketchum with the Arizona Wildlife Federation says a proposed EPA rule could leave Arizona's ephemeral streams, which only flow after rain, vulnerable to pollution.

There's that danger of we've lost federal protections for those types of water streams.

In Arizona, now we have no federal, no state protections for ephemeral.

Administrator Lee Zeldin says the changes could ease burdens on farmers and landowners, but experts fear weakening protections will further strain one of the nation's driest states.

South Dakota LGBTQ+ advocates are sounding alarms over a proposed federal budget cut that could eliminate specialized crisis support through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Rachel Polin with Sioux Falls Pride says the hotline has been vital.

Some of these kids don't have any supportive voices in their life.

They are exploring an identity that maybe they came out and were rejected by family or friends in their area.

I'm Farah Siddiqui for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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