ACLU The Debrief
More than 200 members of Congress have signed a brief that calls on the Supreme Court to reconsider the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states. Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, points out a notable twist: The "friend of court" brief urges the court to go even further than the anti-choice Louisiana law that spurred the lawsuit in the first place. Read more
FROM THE FRONT LINES We're Suing to Let Asylum Seekers Speak With Their Lawyers
The government has a legal obligation to let asylum seekers work with attorneys in preparing for and going through the credible fear process. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention is making that impossible thanks to two policies they rolled out in secret last year. We're suing to change that. Read more
Trump Administration Quietly Removing LGBTQ Protections
Despite trying to garner LGBTQ support for the president's re-election campaign, the administration is systematically stripping away civil rights protections for gay and transgender Americans. GLAAD has counted 133 attacks on the community since inauguration day. Among the latest: removing "sexual orientation" from the Interior Department's anti-discrimination guidelines. Read more
Harsh Sentencing Laws are Tearing Families Apart
Cruel and outdated guidelines in our nation's criminal justice system are depriving children of their parents, wreaking havoc on communities, and feeding a mass incarceration crisis. Reform is happening, but slowly: California, Michigan and Oklahoma are among the states seeking to repair the damage of the "tough on crime" laws' racist legacy. Read more
A new, automated system in Iowa can make it easier for people with felony convictions to regain the right to vote after they complete their jail sentences, probation, and parole. While this is a step in the right direction, the process is still arduous, forcing individuals to answer difficult questions about their background. ACLU of Iowa's Veronica Fowler says "the way to permanently fix this is to pass a constitutional amendment." Read more
TUNE IN At Liberty Podcast: How to Stop Your City from Spying on You
We're looking back at an episode from last summer that got a lot of people talking—and thinking—about the ways in which surveillance technology is encroaching on our right to privacy. Since it first aired, a number of cities have passed laws banning the use of facial recognition by police and government authorities. Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, discusses a growing local movement to protect privacy. Listen here
What's Next Four ACLU Lawyers on 2019 and 2020
2020 is shaping up to be a year full of history-making fights for civil liberties in America's courts. Four of our lawyers look back on the landmark victories and challenges of 2019 and at the constitutional battles we face in the year ahead. Read more
TAKE ACTION Ask Your Representative: Protect Pregnant Workers' Rights
Pregnant workers in the U.S. still lack basic protections in the workplace. A Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act could change that by making it illegal for their employers to fire them or force them into unpaid leave. Your representative in Congress can take the lead in this by co-sponsoring this game-changing legislation. Take Action