News & Commentary about Immigrants' Rights and Detention

The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

Detainees walk in a hallway at the Northwest Detention Center, a federal immigration facility in Tacoma, Washington.

Mar 25, 2020

Living with COVID — in an Immigration Jail

A collage of a black-and-white image of two people hugging, overlaying a beige and red background with a barbed wire gate behind the people. This image depicts the difficulties of family separation policies that have come from the Trump administration.

Feb 26, 2020

Family Separation, Two Years After Ms. L

The hand of a youth from Nuevo Laredo rests on the gate as he stops to watch a train pass, above the Rio Grande river on International Bridge 1 Las Americas, a legal port of entry which connects Laredo, Texas in the U.S. with Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Thursday, July 18, 2019.

Feb 26, 2020

Ban on Attorney Access for Asylum Proceedings in Inhumane CBP Jails Key to Trump's Attack on Asylum

Back of an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer's vest that reads "POLICE ICE." Taken in Portland, OR.

Feb 18, 2020

ICE's Destruction of Records Must Be Stopped

A CBP officer watches over travellers at an airport.

Feb 3, 2020

CBP Lied About Iranian-American Detentions, Leaked Memo Suggests

In this April 25, 2018 photo, a person holds up a sign that reads "No Muslim Ban" during an anti-Muslim ban rally at the Supreme Court

Jan 27, 2020

Trump’s Three Year Campaign to Separate Families: The Muslim Ban

Jan 14, 2020

The Trump Administration Weakens Standards for ICE Detention Facilities

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials stand at a border crossing facility on the U.S.-Canadian border

Jan 8, 2020

Iranian Americans Have Rights, Too — No Matter What's Happening Abroad

Immigrant detainees walk with their hands clasped behind their backs along a line painted on a walkway

Jan 7, 2020

It Is Time for a New Way Forward

Dec 18, 2019

A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We’re Suing.