An Open Letter to Utah Senators

Shadowed figures in an empty Senate chamber — a stark metaphor for institutional silence in the face of democratic erosion.

Silence in the face of authoritarian overreach is not neutrality — it’s complicity. As a Jewish American whose family fled tyranny, I’m alarmed by the erosion of constitutional norms unfolding in plain sight. This is a plea for moral clarity and constitutional courage from Utah’s elected senators.

The Honorable John R. Curtis The Honorable Mike Lee United States Senate Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators Curtis and Lee,

As your constituent and a fellow Utahn, I am writing to express my deep concern about your silence in the face of increasing government overreach and apparent violations of constitutional rights by the current administration, including violations of the First Amendment, the targeting of individuals based on political speech, the circumvention of legislative and judicial checks on executive authority, and the erosion of due process protections.

You are members of one of the most exclusive and august legislative bodies in the world. The U.S. Senate is held in the highest regard internationally — not simply because of its power, but because of its historic role in advancing and protecting democratic ideals. That legacy is now under direct threat, and I am urging you — as individuals who swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution — to stand up and be counted.

As a Jewish American whose parents fled Austria and Berlin in the 1930s to escape the Nazi regime’s sudden and total consolidation of its authoritarian power, I am especially appalled by the parallels I see today. In one of the clearest echoes of that era, former President Trump has now twice invoked the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act — most recently in March 2024 — declaring a fabricated “foreign invasion” by gangs like MS-13 to justify stripping noncitizens of habeas corpus, due process, and basic civil liberties. This is not speculative: it is a deliberate and active abuse of executive power. I am particularly appalled at the Senate’s complicity in the executive branch’s subordination of its two co-equal branches of government: the legislature and the judiciary. The parallels are deeply disturbing. Silence and inaction from our elected representatives in the face of authoritarian behavior are not only dangerous but historically damning.

How can you remain silent while individuals like Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia — and others subjected to the same extrajudicial detention, forced rendition, and abandonment in a notorious foreign prison — are blatantly deprived of their constitutional rights? Or while Mahmoud Khalil — whose views I personally find abhorrent — is nevertheless unlawfully detained and silenced in violation of his First Amendment rights? The principle of free speech must not be subject to political litmus tests. That applies equally to Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk, whose abduction and detention appear to be clear violations of her constitutional protections.

The Constitution does not grant the executive branch the authority to choose who is protected and who is expendable. Its guarantees are universal — or they are meaningless. It is not acceptable for this or any administration to determine who qualifies for protection under the law based on ideology, background, or political affiliation. If this becomes the standard, then none of us are safe from the reach of an unchecked government.

I urge you to take a clear and public stand against the alarming autocratic drift we are witnessing. Failing to do so is not only an abdication of your duty under your oath, it betrays the founding principles of the Republican Party — a party born from a moral stand against the abuse of power.

Your legacies are being written now — not by your words, but by your silence. History will remember who defended the Constitution when it was tested and who stood by while its foundations were weakened. The erosion of civil liberties is not theoretical; it is happening in real time, on your watch. As a citizen whose family fled tyranny in Europe, I know too well how fragile freedom becomes when good people choose political safety over moral clarity. You have both the authority and the responsibility to speak out. I urge you to act — before your inaction becomes complicity, and before your legacy becomes one of regret.

Respectfully, Jonathan Spira Constituent, State of Utah