Four months ago, activists and volunteers all over the country came together to launch the , seeking to bring meaningful policy change to their local communities and the nation.
Melissa Bruzzano of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was one of those volunteers, and she immediately joined People Power’s “Freedom Cities” campaign to help prevent the Trump administration’s immigration agents from tearing families apart. Melissa and the 1,200 People Power activists in the Ann Arbor area worked to persuade the City Council the ACLU “” word-for-word. These rules, which govern the actions of local police, are designed to protect immigrant communities from discrimination, surveillance, and unjust deportations.
Melissa’s path to activism began at the Women’s March in January. She had “never been politically active,” she says. “My life was pretty good, and so I just sat on the proverbial couch watching it all go by.”
That changed at the march.
“A man and a friend hoisted me up a tree about 12 feet off the ground so I could get a look at the crowd,” Melissa said. “I didn’t know what to do once I got up there. Everyone was watching me so I started chanting, ‘This is what democracy looks like’ and ‘Hell no, we won’t go.’ When I got down, a lady in a hijab hugged me and said something like ‘Are you with the ACLU?’ . . . . And here I am.”
Washtenaw County is one of many places where change has taken root.
A few months later, Melissa and her fellow activists made change happen in Ann Arbor, and they didn’t stop at the city level. They also met with and attended hearings of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, convincing the board to not only adopt similarly protective rules, but also to and other assistance for immigrants facing deportation.
Washtenaw County is one of many places where change took root. In April, with a strong push from People Power volunteers, , also adopted the “9 Model Rules” to the letter. Volunteers in communities like ; ; ; ; ; and ; have secured victories as well, pushing local leaders to put in place rules equivalent in substance to the ACLU’s model rules.
So far, People Power volunteers have had nearly 1,000 meetings with local law enforcement officials — in addition to meetings with mayors, city council members, and county commissioners — to press for the adoption of immigrant-friendly, constitutionally sound policies.
Volunteers have also made their voices heard on other immigration-related issues.
Wendy Snyder, an activist in , has continued to protest Donald Trump’s Muslim ban because, she says, it “is hurting the people who need to emigrate the most. These are people who are trying to flee their war-torn country.” And Robert Coffey, from , participated in May Day marches because immigrants “have earned the right for respect and civil treatment in our community.” Other volunteers have worked with ACLU state affiliates to support bills that would expand immigrant protections statewide — like SB 54 in California and the Safe Communities Act in Massachusetts. They’ve helped to kill anti-immigrant bills like , and they are working to defeat – the “show me your papers” bill in Texas.
Beyond leading the charge on immigration, People Power activists have fought relentlessly to stop health care bills that would eliminate coverage for millions of Americans, ; worked to oppose the roll back of “net neutrality” protections by to let cable companies control what we see on the Internet; canvassed in Washington State to ; and demanded that state lawmakers safeguard reproductive freedom by .
Part of the work of safeguarding civil liberties is also strengthening communities, and People Power activists are carrying that baton as well. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, Lisa Burke and other volunteers attended naturalization ceremonies to ensure that new citizens understand how welcome they are. And in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a potluck dinner in June drew more than 100 people, following Nadia Hassani’s “” idea to bring together people of diverse political, racial and religious backgrounds.
It’s through these small steps and large ones that People Power volunteers are making communities more just, more humane, more American. In a few short months, thousands of citizen activists, joined together in a common commitment to freedom and fairness, have brought about real and lasting policy changes. Imagine how much more could be done as this movement grows.
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News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More About State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More About State Supreme Court Cases
State Supreme Courts interpret laws that impact some of the most intimate parts of our lives. Communities have a right to know what’s on the docket. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
NEW YORK — Nearly half of all state supreme courts across the country fail to regularly post new cases they are considering, with only six meeting four key transparency measures already implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new report published today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report identifies significant steps that state supreme courts should take to inform the public about their cases, which have only grown in importance as the federal judiciary has become more hostile to protecting core rights and advocates have turned to state protections and state court litigation in response. Based on an analysis of the practices and policies of the highest courts in each state, including D.C., the report “Scorecard for State Supreme Court Transparency: How Does Your State Stack Up?” ranks each state supreme court in five tiers based on compliance with four key transparency measures. These measures include posting new cases online in a timely manner, providing timely information about legal issues presented by cases, making dockets accessible and free for the public, and making merits briefing accessible and free for the public. “State courts regularly hear — and are the final word on — cases affecting abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Yet, in many instances, the highest state courts do not provide meaningful public access to information about cases affecting the rights and liberties of millions of people. We urge state supreme courts to bring more transparency to the critical work they do,” said Julie Murray, co-director of the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative. “In the face of a federal judiciary increasingly unwilling to protect core rights and an incoming administration that threatens to exacerbate that problem, state courts are an important defense for our liberty. They should be leaders in transparency, too,” said Bridget Lavender, Skadden Fellow with the Initiative. The report emphasizes that state courts “play an outsized role” in many parts of the law, but their ability to “guard our liberties depends in significant part on whether those courts adopt transparent processes.” It further highlights that state supreme courts have led the way on enormously consequential decisions in recent years. In particular, some state supreme courts have recognized the right of same sex couples to marry, and did so long before federal courts. They have also declared the death penalty unconstitutional under state law despite contrary federal law, protected access to reproductive health care as a right even as that right was being stripped away at the federal level, and provided more robust protection to people subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. The report urges state supreme courts to take action to improve their transparency practices, taking notes from the courts that have already implemented these measures. It notes that regularly posting new cases and the issues they represent, and providing timely access to dockets and merits briefing allows the public, the press, and the legal community to track cases as they unfold, identify cases with statewide consequences, and understand what’s at stake. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
ACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political EnemiesACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups — by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. “Passing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,” said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU. “The freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it’s too late.” While there is a 90-day “cure” period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the ACLU and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations — including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants’ rights groups — wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.
Starting in 2016, the ACLU filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his administration. As Trump returns to the White House, we’re ready to return to the courts and Congress to fight for our civil liberties.