ACLU Supporter, this time last year, the ACLU was hard at work preparing for the possibility of a second Trump administration. Thanks to the steadfast support of people like you, we came into this year well-resourced and ready, with a playbook for defending our freedoms – just as we have for the last 105 years.

Now, we have spent the last 10+ months following through on those plans – challenging the administration's unconstitutional policies in the courts, building firewalls for freedom in our communities, and mobilizing activists to send hundreds of thousands of messages to their representatives in Congress:

• Birthright Citizenship: We won two orders – including the first nationwide preliminary injunction on behalf of all affected individuals – blocking President Trump's blatantly unconstitutional executive order that would deny birthright citizenship to thousands of babies.
• Family Separation: During the first Trump administration, we stopped President Trump's horrifying family separation policy – now, his second administration is illegally detaining, deporting, and again re-separating these families. This year, a federal court found that the second Trump administration has breached the settlement agreement in our case that obligates it to provide legal and social services to the families they tore apart. Now, we're working tirelessly to ensure the government does not subject these families to further suffering.
• ICE Detention: We've sued over due process violations and inhumane conditions being reported at ICE detention centers, and sued again when the agency refused to comply with our request for information on expanded immigration centers. Our previous information requests exposed alarming collusion between the administration and private prison corporations to massively expand detention capacity, even in facilities with records of abuse and neglect.
• Attempts To Silence Dissent: When Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air for making comments the administration didn't like, we quickly mobilized to protect the rights of journalists and entertainers to speak freely. Just hours after over 475 artists and 50,000 ACLU supporters signed a letter condemning the suspension, Kimmel's show was returned to the air. We have also filed briefs on behalf the law firms that have challenged the Trump Administration's executive order that have targeted them because they have dared to disagree with the Administration.
• Free Speech on College Campuses: Our clients Mohsen Mahdawi, Rümeysa Öztürk, Mahmoud Khalil, and Dr. Badar Khan Suri have all been released on bail – but the government is still trying to argue that federal district courts don't have jurisdiction to release them. We've argued in federal appellate courts in the Mahdawi, Öztürk, and Khalil cases that district courts can intervene when unconstitutional detention and censorship are at stake.
• Abuses of Power: President Trump is blatantly abusing his power to attack our neighbors and communities, violate the First Amendment, and create a climate of fear – but we won't let him win. In addition to taking over 200 legal actions against the administration and mobilizing hundreds of thousands of supporters to demand action from their legislators, the ACLU is working with city and state officials to build a firewall for freedom – ensuring that local leaders help block the administration's unconstitutional agenda and pass responsive policies that protect our communities.

I said this last year, and I'll say it again: If the Trump administration wants to enact an anti-civil liberties agenda and dismantle democracy as we know it, they will have to go through the ACLU.

I am able to write these words with confidence because I know we are not alone in this fight. Our work this year and for the last century has been powered by the generosity of people like you, ACLU Supporter, who understand that it takes all of us to uphold our fundamental rights.

And so I must ask: With many of these battles ongoing and the administration's attacks only escalating, will you make an urgent donation now to fuel our vital work in the months and years ahead?

Thanks for all you do,

Anthony D. Romero
Pronouns: He, him, his
Executive Director, ACLU