Support the ACLU: Protect & Advance Immigrants’ Rights

Protecting immigrants’ rights is a core priority of the ACLU, which was founded amid an outbreak of anti-immigrant government raids during the first “Red Scare.” The ACLU conducts the largest litigation program in the country dedicated to defending the constitutional rights of immigrants and has been at the forefront of almost every major legal struggle on behalf of immigrants’ rights through impact litigation and other advocacy.

Defending Birthright Citizenship

In June, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to preserve the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara, one of the most consequential civil rights rulings in decades. In a landmark victory for our brave clients, the Court struck down President Trump's executive order attempting to rewrite the Constitution and overturn a fundamental American promise – that if you are born in here, you are a citizen.

This foundational principle survives its most serious legal challenge in over a  century. The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that every newborn in this country will continue to be recognized as a citizen regardless of their parents' immigration status. Had the Court ruled the other way, newborns in American hospitals would have been rendered stateless at birth, with parents facing proof of citizenship demands in delivery rooms to access basic social services.

Resources for Those Facing Termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Finally, in the case of Mullin v. Dahlia Doe, the Supreme Court allowed the terminations of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of over 350,000 Haitian and Syrian mothers, fathers, workers, and contributing members of our communities. TPS is a program Congress established in 1990 to protect individuals who cannot safely return to their home country due to war, natural disaster, or other emergencies.

This devastating decision paves the way for the administration to strip TPS status – and thereby legal status and work authorization – from more than 1.3 million people with limited judicial oversight in what would be the largest de-documentation campaign in U.S. history. For anyone seeking more information on what is next for TPS holders, our friends at IRAP have prepared this resource here at (https://support.iraplegalinfo.org/hc/en-us/articles/47960399631124-What-...).

Documenting ICE's Illegal Conduct and Pushing For Accountability

On July 29, the ACLU and our affiliates filed 53 claims across 17 states and Washington, D.C., under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) in a coordinated nationwide effort to seek justice for citizens and noncitizens alike harmed by federal immigration agents. We are representing people like Willy Wender Aceituno, a U.S. citizen on his way to a restaurant, who was pulled from his truck and thrown to the ground because he attempted to record agents who were preventing him from moving. The agents released him after confirming that he had no criminal record, but he was left bleeding miles away from his car. The FTCA is one of the few legal tools available to seek financial compensation for wrongdoing by federal government employees.

To learn more about the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, please visit our website: (https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights).

Thank you for joining us in this critical work and for your continued support.