America
Lake America: A Proposal for One Interconnected Freshwater System
Expanding the designation beyond Lake Ontario to recognize the entire Great Lakes system.
Independent Strategic Proposal
America | Geography, Shared Resources and Continental Identity
Published by AFADEL
September 2026
Executive Context
On August 27, 2026, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order directing the United States Government to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for federal use.
This historic action introduced the name Lake America into the official geographic terminology of the United States. However, the presidential action applies specifically to the body of water historically known as Lake Ontario.
AFADEL’s proposal goes further.
Rather than applying the name Lake America to only one of the five Great Lakes, this proposal recommends designating the entire interconnected Great Lakes freshwater system collectively as Lake America.
The AFADEL Proposal
The five Great Lakes are not completely isolated bodies of water. Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and the newly designated Lake America are connected through rivers, straits, and channels, forming one continuous freshwater system:
- Lake Superior → St. Marys River → Lake Huron
- Lake Michigan → Straits of Mackinac → Lake Huron
- Lake Huron → St. Clair River → Lake St. Clair → Detroit River → Lake Erie
- Lake Erie → Niagara River → Lake America
- Lake America → St. Lawrence River → Atlantic Ocean
AFADEL therefore proposes that Lake America become the collective designation for the entire Great Lakes system, not merely the federal name assigned by the United States to its easternmost lake.
Under this proposal, the traditional names of the five individual basins could remain in use for historical, navigational, scientific, and cultural purposes:
- Lake America — Superior Basin
- Lake America — Michigan Basin
- Lake America — Huron Basin
- Lake America — Erie Basin
- Lake America — Ontario Basin
Together, these five basins would constitute one unified natural system: Lake America.
Why the Proposal Goes Beyond a Name
The designation would recognize a hydrological reality: these waters form one interconnected system.
It would also express a broader continental principle. America is not merely one country. It is a continent extending from Alaska and Canada to Chile, Argentina, and Tierra del Fuego.
The name Lake America should therefore represent neither exclusive United States ownership nor the removal of Canada’s identity. It should represent a shared continental natural heritage connecting nations, communities, Indigenous peoples, ecosystems, industries, and generations.
A Binational and Continental Process
Because these waters are shared by the United States and Canada, expanding the name beyond the current United States federal designation would require consultation and cooperation.
This process should include:
- The governments of the United States and Canada.
- First Nations, Tribal Nations, and other Indigenous communities connected to the lakes.
- States, provinces, municipalities, and shoreline communities.
- Scientific, environmental, legal, cultural, and cartographic institutions.
- Binational organizations responsible for protecting and managing the Great Lakes system.
The objective should not be unilateral ownership. It should be the recognition of a shared natural system through mutual respect and continental cooperation.
Final Declaration
President Trump’s executive order established Lake America as the United States federal name for Lake Ontario.
AFADEL proposes the next step:
Lake America should become the collective name of the entire interconnected Great Lakes freshwater system.
Five historic basins.
Two neighboring nations.
One interconnected freshwater system.
One shared continent.
Lake America: Many Basins, One System, One Continent.
Zero Tolerance for Violent Gangs and Neighborhood Recovery Act
Published by AFADEL
September 2026
A model legislative proposal designed to prevent violent criminal organizations from establishing territorial control in communities. It authorizes court-supervised early intervention when prosecutors prove an organized criminal purpose, specific intent, and concrete acts such as armed intimidation, recruitment, financing, threats, surveillance, weapons distribution, or preparation for violence.
The proposal establishes coordinated investigations, individualized arrest warrants based on probable cause, enhanced protection for minors and witnesses, judicially authorized electronic monitoring when necessary, and sustained neighborhood recovery programs. It does not criminalize tattoos, appearance, social-media activity, family relationships, neighborhood residence, or association alone.
Originally structured for federal, state, and local implementation in the United States, the model may be adapted by other countries throughout the Americas according to their constitutions, criminal laws, human-rights obligations, and judicial procedures.
Food Security Begins at Home A Strategy to Rebuild America’s Agricultural Workforce
Published by AFADEL
September 2026
The United States should not have to face hunger before recognizing the importance of growing and harvesting its own food. The country possesses fertile land, advanced technology, financial resources, and a diverse population. Nevertheless, a significant share of American agricultural production depends on foreign workers.
For decades, Mexican workers have performed difficult and essential agricultural jobs that many Americans have been unwilling to do. Their labor has contributed directly to America’s food security and economy. They deserve recognition, dignified working conditions, and respect—not blame.
However, the United States should not depend indefinitely on Mexican workers to sustain its agricultural sector. Mexico is not responsible for supplying the workforce that America has failed to prepare. A truly powerful nation must possess the human, technological, and productive capacity necessary to feed its own population.
The National Challenge
American agriculture faces several serious challenges:
- A shortage of agricultural workers.
- Wages and conditions that make many jobs unattractive.
- An aging farming population.
- Insufficient agricultural education among younger generations.
- Excessive dependence on foreign labor.
- Limited automation for certain crops.
- A growing disconnect between the population and the origin of its food.
Immigration has helped meet an immediate need, but it cannot replace a long-term national strategy. The United States must recognize the contributions of foreign workers while simultaneously preparing its own population.
AFADEL’s Strategic Proposal
1. National Agricultural Education
High schools, technical institutions, and community colleges should provide practical training in farming, irrigation systems, machinery operation, farm management, agricultural technology, and food production.
2. Better Wages and Working Conditions
It is not enough to ask Americans to work in agriculture. Agricultural employment must offer competitive wages, workplace protections, appropriate housing when necessary, and genuine opportunities for professional advancement.
3. Responsible Automation
The United States should accelerate the development and adoption of equipment capable of planting, monitoring, and harvesting crops, particularly in jobs involving extreme physical demands. Technology should support workers and improve productivity, not justify inadequate working conditions.
4. Incentives for a New Generation of Farmers
Young people need access to training, land, financing, equipment, and markets. Programs should also support veterans, rural communities, and people interested in establishing small and medium-sized agricultural operations.
5. An Orderly Transition
Reducing labor dependence does not mean expelling or disrespecting the people who currently sustain the sector. The transition must protect Mexican and other foreign workers, recognize their experience, and allow them to participate legally in training a new American agricultural workforce.
Conclusion
Our country should not have to face hunger before Americans learn how to grow and harvest their own food. Mexican workers deserve respect, but the United States should not depend on them to sustain its agriculture.
It is time to change the rules of the game: value agricultural labor, prepare our own workforce, modernize production, and make food security a national priority.
America must prepare before dependence becomes a crisis.