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And this is just the third week of Trump’s presidency.

Resistance has been steadily building, especially on the legal front. More than two dozen lawsuits have been filed by Democratic attorneys general, including Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. A number of the legal challenges have succeeded in stopping Trump’s more audacious moves. A federal judge blocked the attempt to end birthright citizenship, declaring that it was “blatantly unconstitutional.”

James Lyall is executive director of the ACLU of Vermont (full disclosure: I am a board member of the ACLU of Vermont). Nationally, the ACLU has already sued the Trump administration over fast track deportation and restrictions on trans youth health care, birthright citizenship and asylum.

Lyall acknowledged the fear that has gripped vulnerable communities including immigrants and LGBTQ+ people and that his office has seen a sharp uptick in calls. But he believes there is reason for hope.

“The fact that so many people want to help and are reaching out to figure out how to support their neighbors and their communities when they feel so threatened right now, that’s incredibly powerful,” he said.

“As difficult as it is in moments of uncertainty and fear and even chaos, it’s that determination of everyday community members to support one another and to find a way forward that’s just really powerful. That is what solidarity looks like.”

“Trump can say whatever he wants. It doesn’t necessarily make it so. It’s really important to remember that we have strong protections on the books,” he said. He urges people to know their rights.

“For all the progress we’ve made in recent years in Vermont, legislators can and do more to shore up our state-level defenses,” he advised.

Lyall urged people “not let ourselves or others just be overwhelmed by the chaos. Because that’s an intentional part of their strategy.”

“Those who would seek to divide us or sow fear — we know how to get through this, and it’s together,” he said. “That is what Vermont — the state of freedom and unity — that’s what we are designed for. I just have a lot of faith in the state and its people to come together to get through hard times, and this is certainly one of them.”