ACLU Files 400 Lawsuits Against Trump Administration Over Civil Rights Violations

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) remarked this week that it has already filed about 400 lawsuits against the Trump Administration for cases pertaining to civil liberties and rights.

According to a report, the union's fight in preserving the rights and liberties of the people has not been an easy task due to the political setbacks it has faced since 2016 but, it has also met a part of its vision after winning several of these lawsuits and consequently gaining important victories.

Out of these victories, the most notable ones caused significant impacts to the lives of its citizens such as when it won over a Supreme Court case and prohibited the current administration from adding a citizenship question on the 2020 census, and when it led the move to forbid the separation of many migrant children from their parents.

Anthony Romero who is the union's executive director described the assault on civil liberties as something that is far greater than any other in modern history as most of the cases primarily shed light on the rights of immigrants and their children, the family separation policy, detention practices, and matters regarding the U.S.-Mexico border.

Moreover, the lawsuits brought great emphasis issues that were of high importance to the ACLU, to wit: Freedom of Information Act, LGBT+ rights, racial justice and others.

Responding to the news, the White House remarked that the ACLU has been fixating on the idea of opposing Trump that it had forgotten to look back on the organization's historical mission which is to fight for the most vulnerable and to become the voice of those who cannot defend themselves.

The ACLU cited that it had filed 13 lawsuits against the administration of former President George W. Bush - some of which were related to civil liberties and the counter-terrorism blueprint. It aslso maintained that although many of these lawsuits have been unsuccessful, Romera believed the union has been effective at winning the most important ones. For example, the Supreme Court had given employment protections to gays, lesbians, and transgender people during a 6-3 ruling in June.

Reportedly, the challenges faced by the union included Trump's efforts in prohibiting entry to foreign nationals of Muslim countries which had taken effect in 2018, and his effort to disallow transgender people from joining the U.S. army.

Jonathan Turley who is a law professor at the George Washington University of Law said that the union had given too much focus on Democratic fights and has been working less on unpopular cases such as freedom of speech and others.

However, the union commented that despite the disagreements, the current administration has indeed been able to benefit the country in some respects.

To date, the ACLU has been gifted $175 million three months after Trump's election in 2016. It has since been expanding its staff from 386 to 605 employees and from 84 to 122 attorneys.