Independence Day 2025 and America Freedoms

A Decade of Change: The Erosion of American Freedoms and Civil Liberties

As I watched the fireworks on America’s Fourth of July with other members of our community this last weekend. I noticed there were less people attending this year’s celebration, and the vibe was not the same as previous years. While waiting for fireworks to begin. I couldn’t help but reflect on our nation’s struggles for independence, the Constitution, the rights of freedoms we have as citizens, and the profound changes it has undergone.

Over the last ten years, Americans have witnessed a profound shift in the nation’s legal and political landscape. Once settled rights around bodily autonomy, voting, speech, and privacy are being reevaluated, restricted, or rolled back entirely. For Latinos and other communities of color these changes have often had disproportionate and deeply personal impacts. At the center of this transformation stands the U.S. Supreme Court, whose rulings have redefined sometimes reversed decades of civil rights progress.

Hispanic Lifestyle has examined critical moments, court decisions, and consequences shaping the erosion of civil liberties in the United States from 2015 to 2025. New this month: the landmark June 27, 2025 ruling on birthright citizenship.

Reproductive Rights Rolled Back: The End of Roe
In 2022, the Supreme Court issued one of the most consequential rulings in generations:
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
This decision overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), ending federal constitutional protection for abortion rights. Over a dozen states have since enacted strict bans or limitations—and surveillance of reproductive choices has intensified.

Voting Rights Under Pressure
The weakening of voting protections—beginning with Shelby County v. Holder (2013)—reached new heights in recent years.
Brnovich v. DNC (2021)
Upheld Arizona election restrictions, setting a high bar for proving racial discrimination and emboldening similar laws nationwide.

LGBTQ+ Rights: A Legal Backslide
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023)
The Court empowered individuals to refuse services based on religious or freespeech grounds, undermining antidiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Americans.

Gun Rights Expanded, Public Safety Challenged
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022)
This decision loosened gun control laws by removing the “proper cause” requirement for concealed carry permits, stirring ongoing debates about public versus individual safety.

Higher Education and Race: The End of Affirmative Action
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC (2023)
The Supreme Court banned raceconscious admissions, reversing decades of efforts to promote higher education diversity and equity.

Privacy in the Digital Age: Under Constant Watch
While there’s no single court case defining it, personal privacy has steadily eroded through surveillance, data collection, and the chilling of reproductive and activist freedoms.

Labor Rights Undermined
Janus v. AFSCME (2018)
By barring mandatory union dues for public sector workers, the Court weakened collective bargaining key to wage equality, especially for Hispanic and female workers.

June 27, 2025: Birthright Citizenship Under Siege
Trump v. CASA
On June 27, 2025, the Court ruled 6–3 that district courts may no longer issue universal injunctions—nationwide court orders blocking executive actions such as President Trump’s January 2025 executive order ending birthright citizenship for U.S. born children of undocumented or temporary residents ACLU.org

What the decision means:

• The Court did not rule on the constitutionality of ending birthright citizenship (a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment and longstanding legal precedent like Wong Kim Ark), but determined that lower courts overstepped by blocking the policy for everyone, not just plaintiffs ACLU.org
• The ruling halts the nationwide ban for 30 days—after which the policy could take effect in 28 states that are not contesting it. Source Reuters
  It shifts the burden of broad protections to class action lawsuits and individual plaintiffs—raising the barrier for vulnerable families seeking justice. Source ACLU.org

Community Impact:

• Thousands of Hispanic and immigrant families now face a patchwork of uncertain outcomes depending on their state of birth, Source  Texas Tribune.
• Legal advocates warn the ruling could leave American born children stateless or undocumented unless they join slow, costly court processes .
• Justice Sotomayor’s dissent described the ruling as an attack on the 14th Amendment and warned it could “enable the enforcement of unconstitutional policies unless challenged by individual lawsuits or class actions” Source ACLU.org
• For Hispanic parents, this ruling has turned a century long promise into fragile ground fueled by political division, legal limbo, and the erosion of constitutional safeguards.

Immigration, Rights, and Retrenchment
The Trump v. CASA decision is the culmination of years of executive orders, court challenges, and policy battles—including Trump v. Hawaii (2018), which upheld the “Muslim Ban,” and the ongoing uncertainty around DACA. Each step has chipped away at due process and immigrant rights.

A Culture of Censorship and Fear
States have intensified efforts to ban books, restrict teaching on race or gender, and curb classroom speech—deepening a growing chill on civic education and open dialogue.

Looking Forward: The Fight for Equality
With a 6–3 conservative majority, the Supreme Court has reshaped America’s constitutional landscape. Challenges ahead include the future of birth control rights, transgender protections, freedom to protest, and the separation of church and state.
For Hispanic communities, the battle lines are not ideological they’re personal. Citizenship, bodily autonomy, voting access, and free expression are at stake. The next decade will demand critical civic engagement, creative legal strategies, and steadfast advocacy. Communities must organize and stay alert to protect the rights that define who we are as Americans.

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