ACLU To Launch 'Robust Challenge' To Trump's Mass Deportations As Soon As He Takes Office

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is gearing up to challenge state laws that could ease the implementation of President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, with the goal of creating legal barriers to hinder large-scale raids once the Republican takes office.

The organization's southern border chapters announced on Tuesday, they will launch a "robust challenge" in order to contest the expansion of expedited removals and oppose the construction of new mass detention facilities, as reported by Axios.

This isn't new territory for the ACLU. During Trump's first term, the group fought the administration's travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries, filed lawsuits against alleged abuses in immigration detention centers, and initiated over 400 legal actions targeting the administration's policies, among other initiatives.

Laws from states like Texas and Arizona have made it easier for mass deportations to proceed. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, for example, signed a law in 2023 authorizing state officials to arrest and deport unauthorized migrants crossing the border.

Critics, including the ACLU, argue such measures are unconstitutional and risk promoting racial profiling. Abbott and other Republican governors defend the laws as necessary, instead accusing the Biden administration of failing to enforce federal immigration rules effectively.

Meanwhile, U.S. immigration courts are processing record numbers of deportation cases, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed over 271,000 people in the last fiscal year—the highest figure in nearly a decade.

Despite these statistics, ACLU officials anticipate that some Democrats in Congress may support Trump's stricter immigration policies, including the proposed Laken Riley Act, which mandates detention for undocumented immigrants arrested for non-violent crimes like theft.

The ACLU plans to counter these measures through public campaigns, including its "Letters to America" project. Launched last week in southern border states, the campaign shares the stories of asylum seekers from countries like Mexico, El Salvador, and Cameroon, aiming to humanize immigration debates. The organization is also conducting workshops to educate immigrants about their rights and offering guidance to cities and states on limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities through its "Firewall for Freedom" initiative.

Speaking about the campaign, ACLU's director of border strategies Jonathan Blazer said that it aimed to show immigrants as real people, not just stereotypes used by politicians. He explained that many false claims about immigrants can be disproven by hearing their personal stories and reasons for coming to the United States. Blazer added that immigrants often share how they came not to cause harm, but to contribute positively and give back.

Few organizations have been as active this election cycle as the ACLU. Last year, the organization published a report on widespread inhumane treatment at migrant detention centers in Louisiana, filed a lawsuit to disclose records on refugees at a controversial Guantanamo Bay facility and joined over 70 other organizations in urging ICE to immediately release immigrants who have won their deportation cases.

At that time, the ACLU filed a lawsuit seeking information on the federal government's capacity to detain and deport immigrants on a large scale. The lawsuit targets the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Border Patrol, and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The ACLU argues that the public lacks crucial information about the operations of the detention and deportation system, despite billions of dollars spent annually on these activities.