News & Commentary

After it became clear that Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee for president, the ACLU got to work digging into his policy statements. In July, we released "The Trump Memos," which was the first comprehensive constitutional analysis of his public statements and policy proposals regarding immigration enforcement, Muslim rights, torture, and freedom of the press. Our conclusions were alarming. According to our analysis, then-candidate Trump articulated policies that would flagrantly violate the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. That man is now on the verge of swearing a solemn oath  to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United Stat

During the Trump administration, our country faces an unprecedented constellation of threats to the regular oversight processes that keep the powers that be in check. Faced with attacks on journalists critical of the president as perpetrators of “fake news,” an era of one-party rule threatening healthy competition between the branches of government, the constant subversion of democratic and ethical norms, and more, the ACLU and the citizenry will unfortunately have many opportunities to provide a public check to keep our government honest. Well, we just couldn’t wait: on Thursday, we filed our first

On January 16, the ACLU launched a digital campaign and accompanying film asking people to take their own oaths to protect and defend the Constitution as Donald J. Trump takes the presidential oath. “The People’s Oath” aim

On January 16, the ACLU launched a digital campaign and accompanying film asking people to take their own oaths to protect and defend the Constitution as Donald J. Trump takes the presidential oath. “The People’s Oath” aims

In the fourth piece in the series, “Waking Up in Trump’s America,”  Deirdre Grimm explains the anxieties of being the parent of a transgender teenager as anti-trans animus and legislation revs up nationally after the election of Donald Trump.  Across the country, states are gearing up to push

Yesterday, around 4:15 p.m., we learned that President Obama commuted Chelsea Manning’s 35-year sentence to 7 years with a release date of May 17, 2017. In four months, with our continued vigilance to ensure her safety and lawful release, she will be free. No doubt saving her life, the president cut 28 years off her egregiously long sentence. Ha

In the third piece in the series, “Waking Up in Trump’s America,” Sharefa Daw, a refugee from Burma, discusses her fear that the Trump administration will limit the number of refugees the U.S. resettles while creating a suffocating atmosphere of hate and fear.  I now live in Dallas, Texas, about 9,000 miles away from where I was born in Southeast Asia. My husband and I came t

I believe in the culture of untrammeled free speech.I don’t block or unfriend people I disagree with on social media. I actively engage with them. Despite the prevailing advice, I read the comments section. It isn’t out of a hope that I’ll find a source of deep insight on complex issues. I do it because I believe it is important to connect with others who hold opposing beliefs. To me, an open exchange of ideas, even when I personally disagree with a viewpoint, is an integral part of living in a free democracy.   That’s what makes it all the more frustrating that I’ve spent almost a quarter of my life fighting the go