Support the ACLU: Protecting Birthright Citizenship and Fundamental Values

In April, the ACLU went to the Supreme Court to defend birthright citizenship in our landmark case, Trump v. Barbara. We came to Washington, D.C., determined and inspired by the over 315,000 people who signed our petition in defense of this fundamentally American right.

We are proud of Cecillia Wang, ACLU’s National Legal Director, and her powerful arguments in front of the Supreme Court. President Trump himself was in attendance, the first sitting president to ever attend Supreme Court arguments. You can find our experts’ post-argument analysis on YouTube here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLCV8HNGRuk).

Here are some other updates on our work to protect core rights and immigrant communities from abuses of power.

We continued to block:

- The Trump administration’s claim that the “212(f)” proclamation allowed the president to summarily deport asylum seekers who cross the border without allowing them to seek protection as required by Congress. A key federal appeals court held that President Trump’s Day 1 proclamation aimed at completely shutting down asylum at the border is unlawful.

- An Iowa law in appeals court that attempted to criminalize immigrants and allow local police officers to make arrests based on immigration status. This decision extends a string of wins against similar laws in Florida, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Texas.

We won a preliminary injunction:

- Requiring ICE to provide basic components of a functional healthcare system to more than 1,000 people currently held at California’s largest immigration detention center. This follows our emergency relief guaranteeing immediate medical care for two of our clients with serious medical needs being held in the California City Detention Facility.

- Restricting the use of force by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on peaceful protesters in Oregon, after ICE and other federal agents followed peaceful protestors to their homes, used chemical irritants and rubber bullets on them, and arrested people for standing on the public sidewalk and observing them. However, a federal appeals court stayed that injunction while the government’s appeal proceeds.

- Ordering ICE and the Florida Department of Emergency Management to provide access to legal counsel for people detained at the facility commonly referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Through our Firewall for Freedom (https://www.aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/firewall-for-freedom) initiative, ACLU affiliates are limiting local collaboration in immigration enforcement, preventing the Trump administration from executing deportations at its preferred scale and speed. Recent wins include:

- A mask ban for law enforcement in Washington, prohibiting officers from concealing their identity during public interactions in the state with limited exceptions.

- An executive order in New Jersey that limits the use of state property for federal immigration enforcement.

- An executive order in Boston, Massachusetts, restricting the use of local resources for federal immigration enforcement and reinforcing the city’s commitment to uphold the rule of law and protect public safety.

- A law in New Mexico that prohibits state and local governments from entering into agreements to detain people for civil immigration violations, stops the use of public land for immigration detention, and bans 287(g) agreements.

- A refusal by a Helena, Montana Police Department to participate in the Missouri River Drug Task Force after the Task Force had decided it would collaborate with U.S. Border Patrol.

- The end of a directive to Virginia State Police and Virginia Department of Corrections to perform federal civil immigration responsibilities.

The ACLU and our partners will keep fighting in court to defend the integrity of our Constitution – and the safety and dignity of immigrant communities. To learn more about any of these cases and the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, please visit our website: (https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights).

Thank you so much for your continued support.