ACLU Comment on Biden Administration Supporting Waiver of Intellectual Property Protections for COVID-19 Vaccines

NEW YORK – A U.S. District Court granted a permanent injunction today that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to improve detention conditions and mitigate overcrowding at 26 Federal Plaza. Notably, the order prohibits ICE from detaining people in overcrowded holding rooms and also requires that ICE provide adequate sanitation and hygiene, as well as adequate meals and medical care for all people detained at the facility. It also orders ICE to allow all detained people to make confidential, unmonitored, and free telephone calls to their attorneys within an hour of arriving at the facility, among other protections. In September of 2025, the court granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting ICE from holding people in abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza after the American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and Wang Hecker LLP filed a class action lawsuit. Despite the order, damning evidence presented at a bench trial in May 2026 showed that ICE repeatedly violated the preliminary injunction and exceeded the court-imposed capacity limits in temporary holding rooms at the facility. The temporary holding facility became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation and detention campaign last summer, after ICE held more than 100 people, sometimes for weeks, in inhumane, overcrowded, and unsanitary conditions without beds, showers, or adequate medical support. The government also banned in-person legal visitation, any confidential phone or video communication, and confidential exchange of written documents, in violation of people’s First and Fifth Amendment rights. Quotes from co-counsel are as follows: “While we applaud the court’s decision to issue permanent protections requiring ICE to improve conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, it shouldn’t take a federal lawsuit to get the government to comply with the law,” said Carmen Iguina Gonzalez, deputy director of immigration detention for the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “As our legal teams have argued before, the conditions at this facility were entirely a crisis of ICE’s own making. We will continue to hold ICE accountable and ensure that people’s rights are upheld.” “Today’s order rightly affirms that ICE cannot continue subjecting people to dehumanizing, abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza,” said Molly Biklen, Legal Director at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “We’ll continue to hold the Trump administration accountable and fight to end ICE’s cruel, unconstitutional detention conditions across New York.” “The horrific detention conditions inside 26 Federal Plaza are emblematic of this administration's contempt for the rule of law and hostility toward immigrants. Today's decision is a testament to the courage of those who endured and spoke out against conditions no human being should ever be forced to bear: severely overcrowded cells, a lack of medical care, and the denial of basic hygiene and human dignity. Thanks to the bravery of those who came forward to support this lawsuit, this ruling will help ensure that no one else is forced to endure the same inhumane treatment at 26 Federal Plaza. At the same time, we are clear-eyed that these abuses did not occur in isolation. They are part of a broader pattern of cruelty and lawlessness that has characterized this administration's treatment of immigrants over the past year, fueling fear, inflicting profound harm on communities, and undermining the rights and safety of citizens and noncitizens alike. Today's decision is a firm reminder that the Constitution demands better,” said Harold Solis, Co-Legal Director of Make the Road New York. "We are thrilled that the Court has imposed permanent, expanded protections to ensure that nobody will ever again have to experience the inhumane, traumatizing, and punitive conditions that our clients were subjected to at 26 Federal Plaza," said Heather Gregorio, a partner at Wang Hecker LLP. "We will stay vigilant to make sure that ICE complies.” The full order and opinion are available here: https://www.aclu.org/cases/barco-mercado-v-noem

WASHINGTON — Today, the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International USA released a new report, "Student Speech Under Attack: Suppression of Pro-Palestine Speech and Dissent on Campus," analyzing how higher education institutions, the federal government, and policymakers censored and suppressed speech in support of Palestinian rights and critical of the Israeli government. The report documents fierce retaliation against pro-Palestinian speech and expression that began in late 2023 and continues today. This repression has infringed on academic freedom and violated students’ and scholars’ free speech, association, and assembly rights across the country. The report provides an in-depth review of university and college administrations’ punitive responses to campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, which has been declared an ongoing genocide by Amnesty International. The report documents how colleges and universities aggressively enforced campus policies and wielded disciplinary actions against community members based on their viewpoint, such as by suspending students, terminating faculty, and banning student organizations. It also documents how campus police and law enforcement used unlawful and unnecessary force against largely peaceful protesters, often leading to serious psychological harm and physical injuries. This nationwide crackdown has also contributed both to the rise of surveillance on campus to identify those who expressed pro-Palestinian views, and to universities’ failure to protect international students and scholars who spoke out under the Biden and Trump administrations from harassment and immigration enforcement. The report also details how the Trump administration retaliated against universities and colleges that were sites of pro-Palestinian and anti-genocide activism. Under the guise of applying civil rights laws to combating campus antisemitism, the federal government withheld federal funding and research grants to coerce universities into accepting overly broad agreements that curtailed lawful expression on campus. "Universities and colleges must take all possible measures to ensure that their campuses are spaces where students may exercise their rights to freedom of speech and expression without fear of unwarranted punishment or retaliation regardless of viewpoint," said Jennifer Turner, principal human rights researcher in the ACLU's Human Rights Program. "Schools should resist the pressures placed on them to silence and punish students or faculty who engage in protest or advocacy for Palestinian rights. Instead, they should stand up to the federal government’s intimidation tactics and defend the university’s core mission of fostering free-flowing inquiry and debate." The report closely documents the federal government's targeting of noncitizen students and scholars for arrest, detention, and deportation based on their political views and in direct retaliation for their advocacy for Palestinian rights. Such actions include revoking the visas and green cards of noncitizen students and scholars who engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy – such as Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Dr. Badar Khan Suri, among others – and arresting, detaining, and attempting to deport them solely because of their political viewpoints and constitutionally protected expression. “Universities and colleges should prepare students for open discourse in a pluralistic society. Instead, campus leadership has suppressed free speech and peaceful protest while enabling the Trump administration to advance its anti-rights agenda and seek ideological control over higher education,” said Justin Mazzola, deputy director of research at Amnesty International USA. “The Trump administration’s targeting of students and faculty who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza is dangerously reminiscent of McCarthy-era censorship and a blatant violation of academic freedom. The Trump administration must stop stifling political expression on campus and end its relentless push for ideological conformity in higher education. Students' rights must be respected, protected, and fulfilled.” The report is based on a two-year investigation that covered instances at 46 public and 34 private university and college campuses nationwide, located in 28 states and the District of Columbia. It additionally includes detailed case studies of six universities and colleges that were sites of student activism: the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Michigan; Columbia University; City College of New York; Tulane University; and the University of Texas at Austin. The "Student Speech Under Attack: Suppression of Pro-Palestine Speech and Dissent on Campus" report concludes with recommendations for college and university leadership, as well as any law enforcement to: Uphold free speech protections for all students and scholars, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, and race, and ensure that campus policies on political speech and protest are viewpoint neutral. Refrain from adopting overly broad and vague policies against discrimination and harassment that punish or chill protected political speech. Resist demands from the federal government that undermine academic freedom and students’ and faculty’s civil and human rights. Impose strict limits on the deployment of law enforcement and use of less-lethal / crowd-control weapons, especially in the context of protests on college campuses. The report also includes urgent calls for the Trump administration and Congress to: Cease the campaign to deport students and faculty involved in Palestinian rights advocacy and end all pending removal proceedings against students and faculty targeted in retaliation for their lawful advocacy in support of Palestinian rights. Cease the misuse of Title VI investigations to compel universities and colleges to impose unconstitutional policies and measures that violate free speech and undermine academic freedom. Oppose any legislation that would punish noncitizens for exercising their First Amendment rights. Oppose any legislation that threatens free expression and academic freedom to suppress criticism of the Israeli government or support for Palestinian rights. You can read the full report and findings here. You can also read the executive summary here.

NEW YORK - In remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, issued the following statement: “Twenty-five years after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the ACLU remembers the victims, their families, and all of those impacted. We pay particular tribute to John William Perry, a New York Police Department officer, lawyer, and longtime member of the Nassau County Chapter board of the New York Civil Liberties Union who tragically died in the rescue effort. "The lessons of the post-9/11 era apply to the abuses of power we face today. Immediately following the attacks, the ACLU urged government leaders to respond justly and in accordance with the safeguards enshrined in our Constitution. “Instead, successive presidents claimed expansive power that eroded many of our fundamental freedoms. U.S. leaders authorized torture and indefinite detention, launched illegal wars, warrantlessly surveilled Americans, and signed off on other horrific human rights violations. The Patriot Act was rubber-stamped by a Congress too afraid to ask the tough questions. And the courts all too often abdicated their role in our system of checks and balances and deferred to the executive. “Yet, thanks to the tireless work of civil liberties and civil rights organizations, human rights groups, investigative journalists, and the communities who were at the center of the harm, some of the worst abuses of that era came to light — and some of them ended. Other abuses continue to this day: Notably, key provisions within the Patriot Act are still the law of the land, and the government is still prosecuting individuals through a military commission process that has never worked and will never render true justice. "As we challenge the Trump administration's daily assault on our civil liberties and civil rights, we remain steadfast in the knowledge that our nation’s true strength lies in its people, an independent judiciary, and our commitment to due process. “The tragedy of 9/11 taught us that adherence to the rule of law is what makes this country great. Twenty-five years ago, we learned that we ought not forfeit our civil liberties in the face of government officials who are abusing their power. That lesson is doubly relevant today.”

One woman violently forced into assisting a murder seeks clemency in Michigan. Author and journalist Justine van der Leun calls for states to enact laws protecting criminalized survivors.