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American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Nonprofit Organization

Appears in 17 stories · Last updated Nov 10, 2026

Stories

U.S. becomes first country to skip U.N. rights review twice

Rule Changes

Led civil society delegation to Geneva

On November 10, 2026, the United States left its seat empty at the United Nations Universal Periodic Review in Geneva for the second year in a row. No other of the 193 member states has skipped the review twice. The Human Rights Council responded by postponing the U.S. review to January 2027.

Updated Yesterday

The fight over who gets a bond hearing

Rule Changes

Lead counsel opposing the policy; the full Fifth Circuit rejected the constitutional claim on October 23, and the Supreme Court will hear the case in the new term

Eight federal appeals courts have rejected the Trump administration's policy of holding immigrants without bond hearings. The full Fifth Circuit broke with them on October 23, ruling 10-7 that the Constitution does not require bond hearings for people detained in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Updated Oct 24

Supreme Court denies Trump administration bid to end transgender inmate care

Rule Changes

Represents the transgender inmates in the lawsuit

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to let the Trump administration enforce new restrictions on medical care for transgender federal inmates. The 7-2 order leaves a lower-court block in place, so the roughly 1,000 people covered by a class action can keep receiving hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care while the case continues.

Updated Oct 22

Lawsuits challenge federal surveillance and intimidation of ICE observers

Rule Changes

Represents Memphis plaintiff Hunter Demster

Common Cause's 94-page lawsuit, filed Sept. 10 in Washington, D.C., asks a judge to bar the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and the FBI from retaliating against people who record immigration enforcement. A federal judge in Ohio dismissed a similar suit from observer Sean Moorman on Oct. 2, saying the court lacked jurisdiction because the officers had left the area. The judge agreed observers have a First Amendment right to record.

Updated Oct 21

Trump administration proposes census overhaul that could exclude millions

Rule Changes

As of October 2026: Considering a lawsuit against the 2030 census proposal

The Trump administration's proposed 2030 census rule would count only U.S. citizens and green-card holders when dividing House seats, and would drop race and ethnicity questions from the form. The public comment period closes October 13; more than 20,000 comments had been filed by late September.

Updated Oct 10

California bans child marriage after nine-year push

Rule Changes

As of October 2026: Opposed the ban

California had no minimum marriage age: a child could marry with a parent's signature and a judge's approval. Starting January 1, 2027, that ends — Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law setting 18 as the minimum marriage age, with no exceptions.

Updated Oct 3

Supreme Court rules ISPs not liable for subscribers' copyright infringement

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Filed amicus brief supporting Cox; celebrated ruling

For more than a decade, major record labels have tried to make internet service providers pay for their subscribers' music piracy. On March 25, 2026, the Supreme Court shut that door unanimously. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for a 9-0 court, held that a company providing internet service cannot be held liable as a copyright infringer simply because it knows some customers will use that service to download music illegally.

Updated May 30

Supreme Court tests whether marijuana users can own guns

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Representing Hemani as co-counsel

Since 1968, federal law has barred anyone who uses illegal drugs from owning a firearm. On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether the ban violates the Second Amendment for roughly 50 million Americans who use marijuana legally under state law but not under federal law.

Updated May 30

Alien enemies act deportations face legal reckoning

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Lead counsel challenging AEA deportations

The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked only four times in American history—during the War of 1812, World War I, World War II, and now. In March 2025, President Trump became the first president to use the 1798 wartime statute outside of a declared war. He targeted alleged members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang and sent 137 men to El Salvador's maximum-security CECOT prison within 24 hours.

Updated May 27

DHS expands biometric surveillance infrastructure

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Litigating against ICE biometric collection

On May 22, ICE awarded a $25.1 million no-bid contract to Plymouth, Massachusetts firm BI2 Technologies for iris-scanning hardware and continuous access to a database of more than five million booking records. The award is roughly five times the size of the $4.5 million contract ICE signed with the same vendor eight months earlier.

Updated May 27

Federal immigration showdown in Minnesota

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Lead counsel in Hussen v. Noem class-action lawsuit

The Department of Homeland Security deployed 3,000 federal agents to Minneapolis in what it calls the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history. Two months in, two U.S. citizens are dead: Renee Good, 37, shot January 7, and Alexander Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse, shot January 24; DHS claims self-defense in both cases, but witness videos contradict that.

Updated May 23

Cold war law revived to deport campus activists

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Lead counsel representing Khalil

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 gave the Secretary of State power to deport noncitizens whose presence threatens U.S. foreign policy. For seven decades, this Cold War-era statute gathered dust until March 8, 2025, when ICE arrested Mahmoud Khalil—a Columbia graduate student and green card holder—from his apartment for his role negotiating on behalf of pro-Palestinian protesters.

Updated May 21

Supreme Court takes up transgender sports bans

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Lead counsel for plaintiffs in both cases

The Supreme Court heard more than three hours of oral arguments on January 13, 2026, in two cases that could determine whether states can bar transgender students from sports teams matching their gender identity. The conservative majority signaled strong support for upholding state restrictions, though several justices appeared wary of a broad ruling.

Updated May 20

The five-year journey of Trump's pandemic asylum ban

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Leading legal challenges against Trump asylum restrictions

A Trump-era rule takes effect December 31, 2025, letting immigration officials deny asylum to anyone deemed a security threat based on communicable diseases. The rule was first published in December 2020, delayed five times by Biden's DHS, and now becomes law under Trump, despite no active pandemic.

Updated May 18

Trump's expanding travel ban: from seven countries to thirty-nine

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Challenged travel bans in 2017-2018, active on other Trump immigration policies in 2025

Trump signed his first travel ban seven days into his presidency, blocking entry from seven Muslim-majority countries and igniting protests; courts blocked it within a week. After Supreme Court victories, a Biden reversal, and his return to power, Trump's December 2025 expansion restricts entry from 39 countries—affecting one in eight people worldwide and eliminating exemptions for immediate family.

Updated May 16

The SEC picks a fight with its own superpower: financial surveillance vs. privacy in crypto

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Provided a civil-liberties critique of expanded financial surveillance

The SEC spent years telling crypto: "We can't see you, so we can't trust you." Now it's hosting a public, recorded forum on the most explosive question in the space: how much visibility regulators should demand—and how much privacy Americans should keep.

Updated May 15

Trump’s birthright citizenship order heads to the Supreme Court

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Lead plaintiff‑side litigator against EO 14160

On January 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14160, "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship." The order denies automatic citizenship to U.S.-born children when the mother is unlawfully present or on a temporary visa and the father is neither a citizen nor a lawful permanent resident. It challenges 125 years of legal consensus (grounded in the 14th Amendment and the Supreme Court's 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark) that nearly all children born on U.S. soil are automatically citizens.

Updated May 10