In September 2025, President Donald Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7). It orders the FBI, the IRS, and other federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and disrupt progressive organizations and activists as “domestic terrorists.” It directs the Justice Department to compile a list of organizations and individuals based on vaguely defined ideological markers, including “anti-capitalism,” “anti-Americanism,” “anti-Christianity,” “extremism on migration, race, and gender,” and opposition to “traditional American views on family.”

The New York Times reported that under NSPM-7, the FBI has already formed a Mission Control Command Center staffed by 10 federal agencies to “attack the funding” of progressive groups. Leaked FBI emails reviewed by the Times indicate that state and local police are also being enlisted in this effort.

Unlike previous policies, NSPM-7 explicitly extends exposure to individual funders, officers, and employees of nonprofits, subjecting them to potential criminal prosecution for “directly or indirectly” supporting targeted activities. For members of civil society organizations in western Massachusetts, this is not an abstract concern. The memorandum puts participation in ordinary nonprofits in the same legal framework as support for terrorism.

President Trump is asking Congress to significantly increase funding to implement NSPM-7. The proposed FBI FY 2027 budget includes dedicated funding to formalize and expand its mission control command center.

Opposition is growing. More than 3,000 nonprofits have signed an open letter opposing it, and 31 members of Congress have raised formal civil liberties concerns. Please add your voice to this opposition. Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators. Urge them to provide zero funding for NSPM-7 and for the Mission Control Command Center in the FBI’s FY 2027 budget. Tell them that funding NSPM-7 risks criminalizing constitutionally protected speech and association, and that nonprofit workers, donors, and members should not be treated as terrorist suspects for their civic participation. Web: www.senate.gov, www.house.gov; leave a message via “Contact” on his/her website.

Lois Barber

Amherst