ACLU Supporter's 2025 Impact Report

ACLU Supporter, we are nearly to the end of 2025, and there's a lot to be said about this year.

With your help, we've spent the past twelve months confronting the worst of the Trump administration's cruelty – taking hundreds of legal actions, joining millions of protesters on the streets, and protecting the rights of countless people.

We couldn't have done any of this without you.

Here's a look at the impact our community had this year on the fight for our democracy:

In the courts

To date, we've taken 231 legal actions against the Trump administration to protect our rights.

That includes…

• 132 lawsuits
• 75 FOIA requests
• 22 amicus briefs
• 2 agency complaints

Seven of our cases protecting civil rights and liberties – including cases reining in state-level attacks and shoring up some of our most fundamental freedoms – reached the Supreme Court.

• This term, we've re-argued an essential case to protect Black voters
• In the New Year, we'll be arguing to protect trans kids' right to be equal participants in school sports
• We'll also be arguing to protect birthright citizenship – ensuring that every baby born on U.S. soil is granted the same rights and protections promised by our Constitution

Because of this work…

• Over 25,000 detained immigrants have been guaranteed access to counsel at ICE facilities that were unlawfully restricting communication with lawyers
• The legal status of 660,000 people in the country with temporary protected status was ensured, blocking the unlawful termination ordered by the Department of Homeland Security
• 310,000 parents and children can still access early childhood education despite attempts to exclude immigrant children from the Head Start program
• $45 million was restored in Title X family planning funding for preventative reproductive health care like birth control
• An estimated 2,075 potential grant recipients can still apply for over $62 million in federal arts grants – without restrictions disqualifying applicants for "promoting gender ideology"
• Over 2,000 transgender people currently incarcerated in federal prisons can access critical health care
• Peer-reviewed medical research was restored to the country's leading patient safety resource, despite President Trump's attempts to ban the words "LGBTQ" and "trans(gender)" from federal research sites

At Congress and in the streets

From day one in Congress, we've fought relentlessly against bills restricting our fundamental rights – and for legislation that would protect them. We've been organizing in communities across the country to demand change.

Together, we've…

• Arranged 206 meetings between constituents and congressional offices on both sides of the aisle – putting the people who will be directly impacted by this legislation in front of their lawmakers
• Built a volunteer force of over 800,000 people through our People Power program
• Helped organize No Kings events in June and October, with the fall mobilizations drawing 7,000,000 people to events across the country

And our digital community was right there with us. Supporters like you:

• Took action over 3,000,000 times to advance policies that protect our rights, condemn the worst of the Trump administration's attacks, and urge our lawmakers to truly represent the interests of their constituents
• Joined over 84,000 ACLU supporters in virtual Know Your Rights trainings to ensure that everyone is equipped to respond to policies impacting our neighborhoods

Here's what that meant…

• We protected approximately 12,000 people a year from extreme federal imprisonment by defeating a bill that would've imposed unprecedented sentences on asylum seekers, teenagers, and immigrant families
• Jimmy Kimmel's show was restored to air after the FCC pushed to censor speech that the government disagreed with, with his return being announced just hours after thousands of ACLU supporters joined to decry this government censorship
• The White House "border czar" complained that Know Your Rights trainings like the ones we've been conducting for years interfere with the administration's cruel mass deportation and detention plans, claiming that immigrants are "very difficult to arrest" when they're "educated" about their rights

In the states

We're building a firewall for freedom with our state affiliates – advancing critical protections at the state and local level and safeguarding our communities from federal attacks.

State and local lawmakers have made progress for our rights across the country, including…

• Protecting 1.5 million immigrants in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington by passing laws and bills restricting local law enforcement from voluntarily cooperating with ICE
• Securing legislation that protects access to abortion care by preventing people's consumer health data from being weaponized against us in Virginia and Washington
• Securing access to affordable contraception for 1.9 million Michiganders

These numbers are just a sample of the impact we've had together this year – and most importantly, they represent the millions of people who were able to continue exercising their rights and freedoms thanks to the legal intervention and advocacy that your support has powered. You can get to know a few of these individuals whose lives were impacted by looking at our piece detailing this year's impact in photos.

Thanks to you, ACLU Supporter, we're just getting started.

Going into next year, we're ready to double down on our commitment to protecting the people. Our lawyers are ready, our organizers are ready, and we hope you're ready, too.

Thank you for all that you've done throughout the past year. We can't wait to see what we do together in the next.

Yours,

The ACLU Team