Op-ed – From Inside The House: How Surveillance Tech Further Threatens Independent Living

Op-ed – From Inside The House: How Surveillance Tech Further Threatens Independent Living The following op-ed authored by Ariana Aboulafia first appeared in Disability Culture Currents on June 30, 2026. A excerpt of the text has been pasted below. Independent living is under attack from all sides. On June 18, 2026, the Department of Justice released a memo undermining decades of precedent surrounding the right of disabled people to live in our communities. The Supreme Court established these rights in the 1999 landmark decision of Olmstead v. LC, which found that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities have the right to receive community-based services in the home of our choice, as opposed to being segregated into institutions. This integration mandate has become one of the cornerstones of the disability rights movement and the independent living movement, often encapsulated by the rallying cry of “Our homes, not nursing homes.” Independent living means more than living at home; the movement also focuses on autonomy, agency, and freedom of choice, which is one reason why this memo is so concerning to disability activists. While the DOJ memo — reportedly driven by Stephen Miller — marks a direct attack on the basic rights of people with disabilities to live our own lives, policies that threaten independent living have multiplied throughout Trump’s second term. The recent cuts to Medicaid will be felt disproportionately by disabled people, and a recent presidential executive order encouraging the institutionalization of people experiencing homelessness with mental health disabilities will fast-track disabled people into institutions instead of connecting us with housing and care solutions. Further, the Trump administration is working on a rule revision that would slash or completely end the benefits of low-income recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), severely harming disabled people who live at home with low-income relatives.