Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has just delivered a masterclass in moral leadership. This comes at a time when America desperately needs examples of backbone, vision, and action. In response to El Salvador’s direct cooperation with Donald Trump’s extremist deportation agenda, Governor Pritzker announced a sweeping boycott. It targets Salvadoran trade, business, and investment ties. His announcement is not hollow theater. It is real and enforceable. It symbolizes the crucial role states must play when the federal government weaponizes its power against human dignity.
Governor Pritzker’s boycott is not a vague gesture. It is a comprehensive action plan. It has teeth. Every official in America who claims to care about human rights and constitutional governance should immediately follow suit. Pritzker’s checklist for resistance is clear, strategic, and direct:
✅ A total boycott on any trade with El Salvador. Illinois will not engage in commerce with a nation aiding Trump’s human rights violations.
✅ A full review of all Illinois state contracts to identify and address companies with ties to El Salvador, ensuring taxpayer dollars do not enrich those who collaborate with injustice.
✅ A thorough examination of Illinois pension fund investments to detect and divest from any Salvadoran-linked financial entanglements.
✅ Active consideration of a complete ban on all state investments in companies that have significant ties to El Salvador, severing the financial umbilical cord once and for all.
Governor Pritzker did not merely express disapproval. He did not tweet angry words or give empty interviews. He took action. He moved government machinery into position against injustice. He recognized that economic pressure is a powerful tool when human rights are under assault.
And now, every governor, every mayor, every legislator, every agency head, and every citizen must recognize the same.
If you are an elected official anywhere in the United States, Governor Pritzker has left you with no excuse. You have seen how to defend the vulnerable. You know how to protect constitutional values. You have witnessed refusal of complicity in authoritarian abuses. You either choose to act, or you choose the side of cowardice and collaboration.
This is the model: Identify ties to El Salvador. Cut them. Redirect funds and partnerships toward entities that uphold human dignity and justice. Refuse to allow the machinery of your government to become an accessory to Trump’s mass deportation agenda. There are no neutral parties. In times of injustice, neutrality is betrayal.
You are at a moral crossroads. This applies to those currently serving in the Trump administration who retain authority over contracting, procurement, and agency partnerships. You can no longer pretend that you are powerless or neutral. Your silence will be read by history as endorsement. Your inaction will be remembered as collaboration. You must take action to block any federal partnerships. Cancel or refuse partnerships with any foreign government that helps Trump’s campaign of constitutional destruction. If you do not, you are not merely failing to do your duty—you are choosing to be complicit.
Mama says it is time for tough love. Here it comes: if you are eligible to vote in the United States, you must take action. You no longer have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines. Stop whining about politics without doing the hard work of citizenship. Mama says you must first confirm that you are registered to vote where you live right now. Not where you used to live. Not where you might live next year. Where you are planted today. Check today. Verify today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today.
If you are not registered to vote where you live, Mama says, fix it immediately. No more excuses about being busy. No more nonsense about politics being corrupt. Register. Today. Because if you give up your voice, you have given up your power.
After you are registered, Mama says your job is not done. You must recruit three friends, three family members, or three neighbors to confirm their registration too. Not two. Not maybe. Three. Democracy is a team effort, and Mama says you must build your team.
Next, Mama says you must learn about every candidate running for every office in your area. Not just president. Not just governor. Every office. City council. School board. County supervisors. Judges. Sheriffs. District attorneys. Zoning boards. Every level of government shapes your life, your freedom, and your future. Ignorance is not an option.
Once you start learning, Mama says you must share it widely. Tell your friends what you are learning. Post it online. Talk about it in text messages. Bring it up at lunch. Spread your knowledge like wildfire. Your community needs to see examples of informed, engaged citizenship.
If you have a kitchen table, a porch, a garage, or even a small backyard, Mama believes you should host a voter education gathering. Invite your friends. Invite your family. Invite your neighbors. Make it casual. Make it welcoming. Make it happen. Real change does not start in Washington—it starts where you live, with the people you know.
Finally, Mama says you must share, share, and share again. Share what you learn. Share registration information. Share information about deadlines. Share candidate information. Share knowledge like your rights depend on it—because they do. Knowledge is power. Mama says pass it around like your life depends on it, because in many ways, it truly does.
Governor Pritzker has drawn the roadmap. He has built the model. He has set the standard. Now, it is up to the rest of us to meet that standard. Otherwise, we will fall short and watch our democracy crumble.
The stakes are not hypothetical. They are not distant. They are immediate and personal. Trump has already made clear that his deportation agenda is not limited to undocumented immigrants. He has openly mused about deporting American citizens he deems “undesirable.” El Salvador has chosen to assist in this campaign of cruelty. No partnership with such a regime can ever be justified in moral, ethical, or constitutional terms.
Governor Pritzker’s boycott is about more than trade. It is about drawing a line in the sand that says: we will not be complicit. We will not fund oppression. We will not stand silently while human rights are trampled.
Every governor must now initiate a full audit of their state’s trade deals, contracts, and investments. Every city must do the same. Every agency responsible for public funds must investigate where their money goes and what it supports. Every pension board must examine their portfolios and sever ties with entities that profit from injustice.
And every citizen must demand it. Show up at city council meetings. Flood your governor’s office with calls and emails. Write op-eds. Post online. Host conversations. Raise your voice. Insist that your leaders act. Tell them that Governor Pritzker has shown what leadership looks like. You expect them to meet or exceed that standard.
To those in Trump’s federal agencies: your choices matter too. You cannot claim to be “following orders.” Your signature on a contract facilitates deportations that violate human dignity. These actions infringe on constitutional rights. You cannot claim to love America while you betray its highest ideals. You must resist. You must obstruct. You must use your authority to disrupt this machinery of cruelty at every opportunity. Governor Pritzker has offered an example of courage. You must find the courage to follow it.
The cost of silence is too high. The cost of cowardice is too steep. Every official who fails to act now must be held accountable. History will judge them, and so will voters at the ballot box.
Governor Pritzker’s boycott is an act of patriotism. It is an act of faith in the ideals of liberty and justice for all. It is an act of love for the American promise. Every person has worth. Every life has value. Every right must be defended.
Let his example spark a movement across the nation. Let it awaken every sleeping conscience. Let it fuel a resistance so loud, so fierce, so undeniable that even the walls of corruption tremble.
The time for waiting is over.
The time for hoping someone else will fix it is over.
The time for leadership is now.
The time for courage is now.
The time to rise up, to act, to resist, and to follow Governor Pritzker’s example is now.
Mama says you were built for this. Mama says you have the power. Mama says the future is watching.
Rise. Act. Resist. Vote. Build the America we all deserve!
Author Bio:
JT Santana is a writer, advocate, and lifelong protector of those too often cast aside. Long before he ever put pen to paper, JT opened his home to young LGBTQIA+ individuals. These individuals had been kicked out, abandoned, or abused after coming out. Many of those young people found safety under his roof. They called him “Mama” or “M’am”—short for “Mom Away from Mom.” This is a title he wears with deep pride and enduring love.
Today, JT pours that same spirit of shelter, truth, and fierce belonging into his work. He is currently leading The becoming Project*. This is a bold storytelling initiative focused on dismantling stigma. It celebrates resilience and honors the messy, beautiful process of becoming who we are meant to be. JT uses writing, speaking, and advocacy to invite readers and communities. He encourages everyone to step into their fullest selves without apology. They do so without shame and without fear.
Every story he tells and every platform he builds share a core belief. We are all still becoming. None of us should have to walk that road alone.
*Why “becoming” is never capitalized in The becoming Project
The word becoming in The becoming Project is purposefully styled in lowercase to reflect a central philosophy of the initiative: that becoming is never finished. It is a living, breathing process of growth, healing, learning, and unlearning. By forgoing capitalization, the project resists the illusion of arrival or perfection and instead honors vulnerability, evolution, and humility. Lowercasing becoming reminds us that identity is fluid, resilience is ongoing, and transformation is not a title to earn but a journey to embrace. This stylistic choice is both quiet and radical—a visual cue that no one is ever done becoming.
