With Wave

 

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Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, UNOC3 brought 15,000 participants, including more than 60 Heads of State and Government, to France’s Mediterranean coast, in Nice.

Ships in the port of Nice sounded their fog-horns on Friday, a brassy crescendo to a rare moment of global unity as the Third UN Ocean Conference drew to a close. Moments earlier, more than 170 countries had adopted by consensus a sweeping political declaration promising urgent action to protect the ocean.

“We close this historic week not just with hope, but with concrete commitment, clear direction, and undeniable momentum,” Li Junhua, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the summit, told reporters.

Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the five-day event brought 15,000 participants, including more than 60 Heads of State and Government, to France’s Mediterranean coast.

With over 450 side events and nearly 100,000 visitors, the gathering, dubbed UNOC3, built on the momentum of previous ocean summits in New York (2017) and Lisbon (2022). It culminated in a shared call to expand marine protection, curb pollution, regulate the high seas, and unlock financing for vulnerable coastal and island nations.

Albi

 

Li Junhua, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of UNOC3, at the closing press conference, in Nice.

Ambitious pledges

The conference’s outcome, known as the Nice Ocean Action Plan, is a two-part framework that comprises a political declaration and over 800 voluntary commitments by governments, scientists, UN agencies, and civil society since the previous conference.

“These range from advocacy by youth to deep-sea ecosystem literacy, capacity building in science and innovation, and pledges to ratify intergovernmental treaties,” Mr. Li said.

The pledges unveiled this week reflected the breadth of the ocean crisis. The European Commission announced an investment of €1 billion to support ocean conservation, science, and sustainable fishing, while French Polynesia pledged to create the world’s largest marine protected area, encompassing its entire exclusive economic zone – about five million square kilometers.

Germany launched a €100-million programme to remove underwater munitions from the Baltic and North Seas. In addition, New Zealand committed $52 million to strengthen ocean governance in the Pacific, and Spain announced five new marine protected areas.

A 37-country coalition led by Panama and Canada launched the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean to tackle underwater noise pollution. Meanwhile, Indonesia and the World Bank introduced a ‘Coral Bond’ to help finance reef conservation in the country.

“The waves of change have formed,” Mr. Li said. “It is now our collective responsibility to propel them forward – for our people, our planet, and future generations.”

Albi

 

Olivier Poivre d’Arvor (right), France’s special envoy for the conference, at UNOC3;s closing press conference, in Nice.

A diplomatic stage

The summit opened Monday with stark warnings. “We are not treating the ocean as what it is – the ultimate global commons,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, alongside the presidents of France and Costa Rica, Emmanuel Macron and Rodrigo Chaves Robles, who called for a renewed multilateralism anchored in science.

On Friday, France’s special envoy for the conference, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, recalled the stakes: “We wanted in Nice... to take a chance on transformative change. I believe we have moved forward, but we can no longer go backwards.”

One of the conference’s main objectives was to accelerate progress on the High Seas Treaty – known as the BBNJ agreement – adopted in 2023 to safeguard marine life in international waters. Sixty ratifications are needed for it to enter into force. Over the past week, 19 countries ratified the accord, bringing the total number as for Friday, to 50.

“This is a significant victory,” said Mr. Poivre d’Arvor. “It's very difficult to work on the ocean right now when the United States is so little involved.”

The French envoy was alluding to the absence of a senior US delegation, as well as President Donald Trump’s recent executive order advancing deep-sea mining. “The abyss is not for sale,” he said, echoing remarks made earlier in the week by President Macron.

Still, Mr. Poivre d’Arvor emphasized the broad agreement achieved at the summit. “One country may be missing,” he said. “But 92 per cent of the ‘co-owners’ were present today in Nice.”

His counterpart, Arnoldo André-Tinoco, the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, urged other nations to accelerate financing for ocean protection. “Each commitment must be held accountable,” he said at the conference’s closing meeting.

Albi

 

Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, talks to UN News.

Momentum – and a test

For Peter Thomson, the UN’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Nice marked a turning point. “It’s not so much what happens at the conference, it is what happens afterwards,” he told UN News, recalling the early days of ocean advocacy when Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14), on life below water, was first established.

“From the desert we were in back in 2015… to where we are now, where you see this incredible engagement.”

Looking ahead, attention is already turning to the Fourth UN Ocean Conference, slated to be co-hosted by Chile and South Korea in 2028.

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“We’re going to again see a big surge upwards from here,” Mr. Thomson predicted. He expressed hope that major global agreements — including the BBNJ treaty, the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, and the future Global Plastics Treaty – will all be ratified and implemented by then.

The 2028 summit will also mark a moment of reckoning, as SDG 14 approaches its 2030 target.

“What do we do when SDG 14 matures in 2030?” Mr. Thomson asked. “Obviously, it’s got to be raised ambition. It’s got to be stronger.” He emphasized that while SDG14 had aimed to protect 10 per cent of the ocean by 2020 – a target the world failed to meet – the new benchmark is 30 per cent by 2030.

Wearing a shell necklace gifted by the Marshall Islands, the Fiji native praised small island nations and atoll collectives for setting ambitious marine protections.

“If small countries can make big measures like that, why can’t the big countries follow suit?” he said.

He also saluted the 2,000 scientists who gathered for the One Ocean Science Congress ahead of the summit. “What a great way to run things,” he said.

A show of unity

Despite the celebratory tone, tensions lingered. Small Island Developing States pushed for stronger language on loss and damage – harms inflicted by climate change that go beyond what people can adapt to. “You cannot have an ocean declaration without SIDS,” one delegate warned earlier this week.

Others, including President Chaves, of Costa Rica, called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining in international waters until science can assess the risks – a step not included in the final declaration.

Still, the political declaration adopted in Nice, titled Our ocean, our future: united for urgent action, reaffirms the goal of protecting 30 percent of the ocean and land by 2030, while supporting global frameworks like the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Agreement (adopted in 2022, committing nations to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 through ambitious conservation targets and sustainable biodiversity management) and the UN International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) climate goals.

“The real test,” Mr. Li said, “is not what we said here in Nice – but what we do next.”

As the sun dipped behind the Promenade des Anglais and the conference’s final plenary adjourned, the sea – ancient, vital, and imperiled – bore silent witness to a fragile but shared promise.

Expo 2025

Ali Bi

 

Visitors to Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, walk around the grand ring which circles the event space

 By Albi

14 June 2025 Sadie

How can we build a fairer, more peaceful world while safeguarding the planet? That’s the powerful question at the heart of the United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

The UN is taking part alongside more than 150 countries and organizations at the global gathering, which carries the forward-looking theme: Designing Future Society for Our Lives.

The UN Pavilion is divided into four areas; a timeline in the first area explains the history of the UN and its agencies, whilst the second – the so-called orb room – outlines the organization’s diverse range of work through a series of everyday objects displayed on the walls.

An immersive video in the third area offers a glimpse into what a future world could look like if development takes place in a sustainable way, while the fourth is a rotating exhibition which highlights specific agencies.

Here’s what some visitors to the UN Pavilion thought about their experience.

Ali Bi 

 

Kaneko Sayaka (left) and her sister hold up displays promoting the SDGs.

Kaneko Sayaka: I liked the video as I felt I was in a forest surrounded by trees and animals. It showed me that protecting the environment is very important.

Mikako Takeuchi: I was sucked into the immersive experience of the video presentation. It was really engaging and, although it explained the problems the world faces, it also presented the solutions and provided hope.

Albi 

 

Phil Malone (left) and his companion visit the UN Pavilion.

Phil Malone: The message of the immersive video about sustainability and people’s rights and responsibilities towards the environment was clear and easily understandable by both young and older audiences.

It is difficult to explain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a short video, although I think a Japanese audience is generally knowledgeable about the goals. The SDGs are highlighted by institutions across Japan, and I have only ever seen this level of promotion in certain African countries where I have worked for an agriculture-focused development organization.

Ali Bi 

 

The SDGs are frequently promoted by the private sector in Japan, in this case in Tokyo. the capital city.

Tomoyuki Kadokura: I learnt a lot about the SDGs from the interactive quiz while I was queuing to get into the pavilion. In Japan, we concentrate more on the goals which focus on the environment and sustainable consumption, so I was keen to learn more about the other goals, for example poverty and human rights, which do not get a lot of attention here.

I was also surprised by the number of UN agencies that are working on the SDGs.

Albi

 

Agaka Sato (left) and Takato Ishida explore the orb room in the UN Pavilion.

Takato Ishida: At school we learn about the SDGs, so many Japanese people are interested in the goals, but I didn’t realize that progress towards them was so slow in many parts of the world.

I enjoyed the special projects section which highlighted the role that UN volunteers are playing across the world in supporting sustainable development.

Agaka Sato: I did not know there were so many different UN agencies and learnt a lot about them through the interactive display of objects in the orb room.

The touch screen which explains the role of these agencies is linked to the objects lining the wall of the room. I think it is fun for young children to make the link between objects like telephones, guns and health kits and the work of the UN.

Masako Yukita: The UN Pavilion made me consider what changes people need to make to contribute to the SDGs and world peace. When I get home, I will think about what more I can do as an individual. 

Vassily Nebenzia

 Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia warned that Israel’s actions in the Middle East are “pushing the region to a large-scale nuclear catastrophe.”

“This completely unprovoked attack, no matter what Israel says to the contrary, is a gross violation of the UN Charter and international law,” he said, expressing Russia’s “strong condemnation” of the strikes.

He accused “Western members” of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – of contributing to the current crisis through their policies toward Iran and its nuclear programme.

“They have been doing everything to fuel the escalation and essentially incited it,” he told ambassadors.

Mr. Nebenzia concluded by urging renewed diplomatic efforts. “Once again, settling issues related to the Iranian nuclear programme is only possible if a peaceful, political, and diplomatic pathway is followed,” he said.

Atomic

Broadcast of the Security Council meeting.

 

Briefing the Council, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said his agency was in constant contact with the Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority to assess the status of affected facilities and determine broader impacts on nuclear safety and security.

Albi

 

Rafael Grossi (on screen), IAEA Director General briefs the Security Council.

He stressed that nuclear sites must never be targeted – under any circumstances.

“Such attacks have serious implications for nuclear security, nuclear safety and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security,” Mr. Grossi said.

He stands ready to travel to the region at the earliest opportunity, he added, to assess the situation and support safety, security and non-proliferation efforts in Iran.

“It is clear that the only sustainable path forward for Iran, for Israel, the entire region and the international community is one grounded in dialogue and diplomacy to ensure peace, stability and cooperation.”

Mr. Grossi concluded by offering the IAEA as a neutral platform where “facts prevail over rhetoric” and where technical engagement replace escalation.

“I reaffirm my personal and the agency’s readiness to facilitate dialogue and support efforts that promote transparency, security and the peaceful resolution of nuclear issues in Iran.”

Amid Strikes

 

Photo/Sadie Johnson

A wide view of the Security Council meeting on the rapidly esclating crisis in the Middle East.

The Council cleared its original schedule to address the rapidly evolving crisis, also hearing from the head of the UN-backed international nuclear watchdog, who warned of the grave risks to regional stability and nuclear safety.

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Overnight from Thursday into Friday, Israeli military strikes targeted nuclear facilities across Iran, including the Natanz enrichment site. Media reports indicate that Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as several prominent nuclear scientists, were among those killed.

The strikes also caused significant damage, including reportedly dozens of civilian casualties. Airspace in the region has been largely closed and security forces are on high alert.

Additional Israeli strikes were reported late Friday local time as well as ballistic missile launches by Iran which have reportedly struck parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv.

Avoid conflagration at all costs: DiCarlo

Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for political affairs told ambassadors that the repercussions of the attacks were already reverberating.

“I reaffirm the Secretary-General’s condemnation of any military escalation in the Middle East,” she said, urging both Israel and Iran to exercise maximum restraint and “avoid at all costs a descent into deeper and wider regional conflict”.

She also noted that the military escalation came just as “some significant diplomatic developments” were unfolding, including the planned resumption of United States-Iranian talks in Oman at the weekend. Latest reports indicate that Iran will no longer attend.

Ms. DiCarlo urged parties to stay the diplomatic course.

“A peaceful resolution through negotiations remains the best means to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” she said.

“We must at all costs avoid a growing conflagration which would have enormous global consequences.”

Trump

 

IR map

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have told U.S. President Donald Trump, during his recent trip to the trio Persian Gulf states, that they oppose any possible U.S. military strike against Iran, American news outlet Axios reports. 

The U.S. and Iran have held five rounds of nuclear talks since April 12 and are expected to meet again for negotiations aimed at reaching a new agreement. The two countries have been at odds over the level of uranium enrichment.

President Trump said May 28 he has personally warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to disrupt the talks.

Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the ongoing talks, Axios wrote on May 29 that Saudi, Qatari and Emirati leaders all called on President Trump during his visit to West Asia on May 13-16 to pursue a renewed nuclear agreement with Tehran.

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In 2018, President Trump walked out of the landmark agreement between Iran and several other countries that gave it sanctions relief in return for confidence-building restrictions on its nuclear activities.

Despite their past opposition to the nuclear deal, the three Persian Gulf countries now strongly favor diplomacy over conflict, citing fears that a strike would provoke Iranian retaliation, particularly since all the three states host U.S. military bases, Axios said.

President Trump was told directly by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed and Qatari Emir Tamim al-Thani that their respective countries would bear the brunt of any escalation, it said.

The Arab leaders are also worried about Netanyahu acting unilaterally or influencing the American president to abandon talks in favor of military action, it added.

Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi specifically expressed concern over an Israeli strike against Iran, reiterating their support for diplomatic negotiations.

Since 2015, when the nuclear deal was signed by Iran, the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, the position held by the three Persian Gulf states has shifted, as their current focus is now on regional stability and economic development, the report said.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have taken steps to de-escalate tensions with Iran, including high-level diplomatic visits.

A recent trip to Tehran by Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, who met with Iran’s Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, signaled Riyadh’s opposition to any military strike, underscoring the Persian Gulf’s new preference for dialogue and diplomacy over confrontation.

Saudi Arabia has gradually been normalizing relations with Iran over the last two years.

Security

 

Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia were elected on June 3 to serve as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, with two-year terms beginning in January 2026.

They will serve through the end of 2027 on the UN body responsible for maintaining international peace and security. They will join the five non-permanent members elected last year—Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia—who will serve through 2026.

The incoming members will succeed Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia, whose terms end in December 2025.

The Security Council has 15 members: five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—who hold veto power, and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for staggered two-year terms.

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Elections are held annually by secret ballot, with seats allocated by regional group. Candidates must secure a two-thirds majority in the 193-member General Assembly to be elected.

Vote tally

A total of 188 Member States participated in the election, which required only one round of balloting. In the African and Asia-Pacific group, Bahrain received 186 votes, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) garnered 183 votes, and Liberia received 181 votes, with one country abstaining.

In the Eastern European group, Latvia received 178 votes while 10 countries abstained.

In the Latin America and the Caribbean group, Colombia received 180 votes, with eight countries abstaining.

Debut for Latvia

Latvia will take a seat on the Council for the first time in its history.

With the exception of Latvia, all the elected countries have previously served: Colombia seven times, the DRC twice, and Bahrain and Liberia once each.

Regional groups

The non-permanent seats on the Security Council are distributed according to four regional groupings: Africa and Asia; Eastern Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; and the Western European and other States group.

This year’s election filled five seats: two allocated to Africa, one to Asia-Pacific, one to Eastern Europe, and one to Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Disruption

 

 

Protesters walk through chemical irritants dispersed by federal agents at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Following a larger Black Lives Matter Rally, several hundred demonstrators faced off against federal officers at the courthouse. (APK Photo/Albi)

Portland activists first got word of federal agents in the city a few days before they arrived. Through the organization Don’t Shoot Portland, Tai Carpenter would receive messages from hotel owners who had turned down contracts from people trying to house agents or from people saying they saw federal agents at the airport.

After about two months of nonstop protest since the death of George Floyd, Portland has now become a city of unrest and social injustice, as federal officials target, teargas and pick up protesters. Some say President Trump sent federal agents to the city as a trial for cities such as Chicago, where he has plans to carry out Operation Legend, a federal law enforcement initiative created “to fight the sudden surge of violent crime” in U.S. cities, according to the Department of Justice.

But why would he start with Portland?

“Trump knows he’s comfortable here. Portland isn’t this, a lot of people watch the show Portlandia or they think that Portland is this very liberal, mostly White, but very liberal place and it’s not,” said Ms. Carpenter, who is the board president of Don’t Shoot Portland, a social justice nonprofit that uses art and community engagement to create social and legislative change.

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Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore state’s attorney, pauses while speaking during a media availability, Friday, May 1, 2015 in Baltimore. Mosby announced criminal charges against all six officers suspended after Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody.(APK Photo/Albi)

“Our mayor sits down with the Proud Boys, who are a very dangerous far-right extremist group. Our police bureau escorts White supremacists when they come to town so that they can protest and engage in violent behavior with counter protesters,” she said.

She said people weren’t surprised when federal agents arrived because there has been a long period of distrust between Black people and the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). She said the bureau and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler were condemning the protests before the agents arrived.

“They were complaining about the graffiti. They were complaining that some protesters were angry and shouting and throwing water bottles in response to being murdered and systematically marginalized,” the activist said. “People are going to be angry and have a reaction, but the fact that they weren’t condemning the police for brutalizing people exercising their right to protest, it’s funny that now they’re trying to say that. They’ve changed their tune now because the spotlight is on Portland and they’re like, ‘oh wait, hold on. We’re supposed to be super liberal, right?’ ”

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks to Black Lives Matter protesters on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Late Wednesday Wheeler joined protesters at the front of the crowd and was hit with chemical irritants several times by federal officers dispersing demonstrators. (APK Photo/Arhó)

On the contrary, she said, Portland was founded as an all-White state, and Black people could not own property until the 1920s.

“Portland has a unique history, but I think it’s because of that, people are so defiant. Stop killing us. Stop. Why do we have to keep saying it? Portland has their list of names that have been murdered by PPB. We have our own list of countless community members who have lost their lives,” she said.

President Trump cited crime statistics to justify deploying federal agents under Operation Legend. Attorney General William Barr said 200 federal agents have already been sent to Kansas City, Missouri, along with $3.6 million in grants to help hire more police officers. Chicago will see a similar number of grants and agents, according to communication between the president and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“If Donald Trump wants to send feds to arrest the White drug traffickers and gun traffickers who are bringing guns into Chicago and into Illinois, fine,” said Father Michael Pfleger, senior pastor of the faith community at St. Sabina. “We’ve heard for years that we know where guns come from, Gary, Indiana and Mississippi and other places. If we know where they’re coming from, my question is, why are we not stopping it?”

He sees what’s happening in Portland as an appetizer of what will happen in Chicago and other cities around the country.

Minister Ishmael Muhammad, the Student National Assistant Minister to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, echoed Father Pfleger. He noted all of the problems that exist in the Black community that create the current conditions, including health disparities, food deserts, unemployment and the lack of education.

He quoted Victor Hugo, who said, “If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin but he who causes the darkness,” and he questioned the hidden hand behind conditions and crime in the Black community.

“Now we have this other pandemic of Black on Black crime, but all of this is focusing America and the world on the Black problem. So Allah who has permitted all of these circumstances has everyone talking about the Black problem,” he said. “But out of that now comes the solution that Allah gave through the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, that the only solution to our problem is separation.”

Minister Farrakhan has been warning for decades that America would send federal troops into Black communities, said Ishmael Muhammad.

“He warned us that when it starts, the slaughter will be so horrible, because they are not coming in to make peace. They’re going to come in with full force,” he said.

Many mayors and local officials are rejecting the president’s plan, including Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who tweeted, “If President Trump sends militarized federal agents to Baltimore City to attack our citizens by making illegal arrests, kidnapping people, assaulting them, or committing any other crime, they will be prosecuted by my office.”

Chicago Mayor Lightfoot has also expressed concern. Though she has approached Mr. Trump’s plan cautiously and hesitantly, she is allowing a partnership to help deal with Chicago’s crime.

“We welcome actual partnership, but we do not welcome dictatorship, we do not welcome authoritarianism, and we do not welcome unconstitutional arrest and detainment of our residents,” she said.

Afrika Porter, CEO of Afrika Enterprises, a consulting and public relations firm, said she’s optimistic about the mayor.

“I think we have a mayor that’s fierce and unafraid. When I think of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, I think of Shirley Chisholm,” she said. “I was nine years old watching this Black woman run for president of the United States of America. I will never forget it. I see Lori Lightfoot in that same way. She challenges the president, Donald Trump.”

Many have been issuing lawsuits against the federal agents, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Don’t Shoot Portland.

“What is happening now in Portland should concern everyone in the United States. Usually when we see people in unmarked cars forcibly grab someone off the street, we call it kidnapping. The actions of the militarized federal officers are flat-out unconstitutional and will not go unanswered,” said Jann Carson, interim executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

One ACLU lawsuit “seeks to block federal law enforcement from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against journalists or legal observers.” Another one argues that “the law enforcement attacks on medics violates the First and Fourth Amendments.”

In response to the first lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon blocked federal agents in Portland from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or targeting force against journalists or legal observers at protests, according to an ACLU press release.

Ms. Carpenter said Don’t Shoot Portland has two class action lawsuits in the works and said that they are still taking statements from people who have been affected.

Similar to the language of the ACLU lawsuits, Attorney Barbara Arnwine called President Trump’s actions unconstitutional.

“By his own admission, he is singling out what he calls liberal, Democratic cities. That kind of unequal, discriminatory targeting of African-Americans, Latinos and Democratic strongholds is absolutely outrageous,” said Ms. Arnwine, president and founder of the organization Transformative Justice Coalition.

She said “secret police” exist in fascist and dictatorial nations to squash dissent and opposition.

“You cannot have freedom of thought. You cannot have a democratic process, a competition of ideas. You cannot have freedom of press and freedom of the right to assembly when you are having police, a secret police, unidentified police running around in militarized uniform intercepting, kidnapping and disrupting protests,” she said.

Several interviewees commented that the president’s actions are rooted in an attempt to play on the fears of the public in order to win reelection.

“This has nothing to do with protests, but it has everything to do with him rolling out and testing how he can disrupt the federal election in October and November,” Ms. Arnwine said. “I think this is all a test run for his ability to occupy, intimidate and scare voters during the electoral season, and we and every American should raise their voice in utter opposition.”

Interviewees also said that President Trump’s actions were a call back to Bill Clinton’s 1994 “three strikes” crime bill.

“That’s a part of their wicked policy, to blame the country’s woes and problems on the most vulnerable in the society, and they are the architects and they are responsible for creating the conditions and circumstances out of which violence has become a byproduct of,” Minister Muhammad said.

Father Pfleger said Americans have to be smarter and not fall for the cheap trick of the law and order card.

“Instead of sending the federal government to bring more military that we don’t need, send your housing department to help build some affordable housing. Send your department of human services to create jobs and funds for infrastructure. Send your office of economic development to help bring in and to support and build Black businesses,” he said. “Send in your department of health to develop health clinics and mental health access. You can send in the federal government. Just send in the right departments. We don’t need more militarism and law enforcement. We need investment and opportunity.”

For Ms. Porter, the Black community can do better at rebuilding the Black family and doing for self.

“Part of it, to me, is doing for self, which is part of what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us. We have to continue to do for self,” she said.

Minister Muhammad described the deployment of federal agents in American cities as the perfect storm set up to exterminate Black people.

“Since you don’t want us anymore, since you don’t care for us, we’re fine with that. But we want the opportunity to exercise independence and to be a sovereign nation. We do not want from you that which you are unwilling to give to us, but we want to do what your fathers did when they found conditions unbearable, intolerable, under the King of England,” he said. “And they separated from England to become a nation. That’s the only solution to the problem of Black and White. That’s the only solution to the problem of ignorance and despair and hopelessness in the Black community.”