Letter to Editor: How the Big Beautiful Bill Would Affect the Mid-Shore

President Trump has all but demanded that his One Big Beautiful Bill Act pass both houses of Congress for his signature by July 4. The differences in the legislation approved by the House of Representatives and what has emerged from the Senate must be resolved in conference before the president can sign it into law. So stay tuned. In the meantime, here are a few provisions in the mammoth legislation that affect us locally, and in one case, already have affected us here in Talbot County. The proposals cited below are among many, many others in this 940-page bill that will have major consequences for fellow Americans across the country. Here are a few observations about what is at stake.

The Talbot County Council meetings of June 10 and March 11 offer proof positive on how presidential politics, however spiteful or misguided, can coerce local elected officials into voting against their better angels.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, citing a directive from President Trump, warned that federal funds for capital improvements for civilian airports – Easton Airport, in this case – are contingent on the removal of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies from local government. The council statement of support for DEI principles had no enforcement provisions or financial commitment by any Talbot County governing body. Yet the message was direct and uncompromising: Unless you remove any mention of DEI objectives in employee handbooks or annual reports about meeting or failing to meet diversity goals, Talbot County would say goodbye to $48 million in federal grants for runway expansion and modification at Easton Airport, no matter the reason. Not for safety nor for the county’s economic benefit.

The council voted 4-1 to approve the directive, which eliminates two statements previously passed by the Talbot County Council in support of DEI objectives, as well as removes such language from any public documents emanating from county government. Such directives, if passed as expected by Congress in the president’s proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), would codify by law the banishment of DEI references from the official vocabulary. Censorship by presidential fiat. Forget that the Easton Airport improvements at stake are intended to comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. MAGA loyalty trumps – pun fully intended – safety and security.

The meeting in March had resulted in a reaffirmation of the council’s DEI statements of support. In June, the council’s arms were twisted, MAGA-style, to rescind any mention of those principles. King Don must have it his way. Or else.

John Swaine III, spokesman for the Talbot County Farm Bureau, says the aspect of the Big Beautiful Bill that most troubles local farmers and crop-processing companies is the proposed mammoth increase in funding for apprehending, detaining and deporting undocumented immigrant workers, even those who have worked and lived in Eastern Shore farming communities for decades and have never been criminally charged. The recent arrest and detention of longtime farm workers in Caroline County alarmed two farm owners who relied on them in order to stay in business. They’ve had no luck finding other help because migrants fear being nabbed by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents. What’s more, it’s difficult to find American-born citizens to take jobs as day laborers. Some farm families, including those with adult children who have no interest in farming, have considered retirement by selling their land to developers or leasing it to corporate farming companies.

Another issue of deep concern to farming families are the proposed punitive tariffs resulting from Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to rectify trade imbalances, especially involving China. Tariffs on Chinese products were set at a whopping 145 percent until negotiations reduced them to 30 percent on top of the 20 percent level during Trump’s first term, starting in 2017. China has threatened retaliation by purchasing soybeans from Brazil and Argentina instead of the United States. Currently, much of the field corn and soybean crops grown on Talbot farms and all over the Eastern Shore go to producing feed for Mountaire Farms and Perdue Farms, two of the largest poultry companies in the U.S. However, if China withdraws from the American market, it would likely drive down the prices of such crops to farmers in every state. The Big Beautiful Bill would codify Trump’s executive order, making it harder to overturn except by a change in leadership in Congress and the White House. Federal courts, in general, have been mostly indifferent. So it’s up to voters in the mid-term elections next year and the presidential election in 2028.

Along with trepidation about overzealous ICE agents, the rampant immigration round-ups may – if detention goals prescribed and funded in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are realized – result in the writ of habeas corpus being denied for good. Or certainly ill. Even American citizens and legal migrants are at greater risk than ever of losing their habeas corpus protection. These are rights that go as far back as 12th century England and are guaranteed (until now?) in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution. But there appears to be no room for due process in the headlong rush to rid MAGA Amerika of all manner of immigrants. The pace suggested by OBBBA and the president’s “antisocial media” postings could lead to the formation of migrant concentration camps – they’ll call them “internment campuses” – to accommodate the population overload as the Trump administration runs out of countries that will accept deported immigrants.

“My understanding of the OBBBA,” says Matthew Peters, director of the Easton-based Multicultural Center serving Eastern Shore immigrants regardless of status, “is that it aims to spend enormous amounts of money to immigration enforcement efforts, aims to deter anyone from applying for asylum relief, aims to deter any sponsorship of unaccompanied minors, aims to reduce the amount of financial aid sent to families abroad, and aims to eliminate any tax credits or benefits for mixed-status families – all of which would affect families currently living here.” In short, denying their rights as humans.

All the rest of us are at risk, too. Especially now that the U.S. Supreme Court has taken away the remedy of District Courts issuing nationwide injunctions against presidential overreach pending an appeal to a higher court. ICE agents – sometimes acting like masked thugs – will feel freer than ever to manhandle anyone who gets in their way.