The National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), an institution of ACCESS, is focusing their 2025 “Build and Block” strategy to address policies that threaten the social safety net and demonize communities.
The building work is spearheaded by NNAAC along with its members and allies around the nation. The efforts are aimed at strengthening and improving access to the social safety net, namely health care, education and other public programs geared towards helping individuals and families get out of poverty and become more self-sufficient.
The blocking action is focused on safety net protection – monitoring and addressing efforts to cut Medicaid, education, food assistance and other programs. In addition, NNAAC is working with allies across communities to push back on political fearmongering around immigration and to ‘take on hate’.
“With 36 members in 13 states, NNAAC has the national reach and local depth to help protect democracy for all Americans and block policies that are harmful to the most vulnerable communities,” said NNAAC Director Rima Meroueh. “No matter who you voted for in November, you don’t deserve to have your federal benefits cut, your community demonized, and your ancestry scapegoated.
The Social Safety Net
President Trump tapped Elon Musk to lead a task force dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with a mandate to cut costs across the federal government. Musk declared a $2 trillion reduction target of the federal budget for DOGE which would have a massive impact on mandatory spending programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, federal aid for public schools, public housing and rental aid.
While working to protect the safety net from potential cuts, NNAAC is also using data to strengthen it. In 2024, after years of coalition work, NNAAC and allies successfully persuaded the Biden administration to make “Middle Eastern or North African (MENA)” an option on federal questionnaires about the race and ethnicity of Americans. Prior to this historic change, anyone with roots in the MENA region had to identify themselves as White, a requirement that adversely affected federal benefit calculations for both MENA and White Americans.
In 2025, NNAAC and its members will keep working with policymakers at all levels of government – including in Lansing, Michigan, and other state capitals — to utilize more detailed data in the design and implementation of more effective public programs.
Fearmongering and Demonizing Communities
Shortly after taking office, Trump ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to conduct raids in major U.S. cities in support of his campaign promise to rid the nation of undocumented immigrants. The policies are often justified with divisive language, bigoted rhetoric and misinformation.
In the first weeks of the new administration, thousands of people were detained. Being undocumented is considered a civil offense, not a crime and these sweeps are wreaking havoc on Latino communities especially, disrupting life, creating chaos and separating families.
Additionally, one of Trump’s dozens of executive orders setup a 60-day window for top state, justice, intelligence, and homeland security officials to identify countries whose vetting and screening processes are “so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.” Civil liberty advocates fear this is a first step toward a reincarnated ‘Muslim ban’ which had immense and lasting impacts on the Arab and MENA communities in the U.S.
“Every administration presents new challenges for our communities,” Meroueh said. “In 2025, we will confront fearmongering and harmful policies wherever they emerge. And we will continue our work to strengthen the social safety net that helps millions live a better quality of life.”