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Research & Publications

Access in-depth resources and analysis published by the ACLU regarding our most pressing civil liberties issues.

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ACLU 2025 Annual Report

Our 2025 annual report details how the ACLU's network of 2,175 staff and 7 million activists and members worked around the clock this year to protect free speech, immigrants' rights, LGBTQ equality, and much more from the Trump administration's unconstitutional agenda. To date, the ACLU has already taken over 200 legal actions against the Trump administration. Alongside lists of the ACLU’s key wins and efforts in 2025, the report tells the stories of ACLU advocates, clients, and staff who are on the front lines of this fight.

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2025 Annual Report Cover - IDEAS ARE NOT ILLEGAL

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Research & Analysis

Deputized for Disaster

Deputized for Disaster, details how the Trump administration is drastically expanding the federal 287(g) program to transform state and local law enforcement into a national deportation policing force — fueling racial profiling, civil rights violations, and widespread fear in communities across the country.

The report examines the impact of 287(g) agreements in nearly two dozen states and finds that the Trump administration’s misuse of the 287(g) program has extended Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) reach into everyday policing. As a result, local officers are being used to carry out “show me your papers” immigration enforcement — often during routine traffic stops — eroding constitutional protections, undermining public safety, and diverting limited local resources away from core law enforcement responsibilities. These actions reflect a broader pattern of abusive and unconstitutional immigration practices by ICE, Border Patrol, and their partner agencies playing out nationwide.

Research & Analysis

Defeat, Delay, Dilute: ACLU Versus President Trump

One year ago, President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term. His administration has created chaos, trampled on our rights, and harmed so many of us. But the ACLU has been fighting back — and winning. Now, we're telling the story of the first year of our fight against the Trump administration’s second term, our lessons learned, and our path forward.

The cover image of our report Defeat, Delay, Dilute, ACLU vs. President Trump
Research & Analysis

Vote-By-Mail Regimes and the Disability Turnout Gap: A New Survey on Voting Accessibility in the United States

Issue Areas: Voting Rights, Disability Rights
Research & Analysis

Using AI to Make Sense of AI Policy

Issue Areas: Privacy & Technology
Cover of an ACLU research report titled “Using AI to Make Sense of AI Policy,” featuring a collage of images including the U.S. Capitol, two people collaborating at computer screens with code, and a hand signing a document, set against a dark blue background with red graphic accents.
Research & Analysis

Re-Estimating the Disability Turnout Gap with a Historic, Voter-Validated Survey

ACLU Magazine

Published twice a year, ACLU Magazine shares updates on the ACLU's critical litigation and advocacy work across the country and tells the stories of the activists, attorneys, and clients at the heart of each case and campaign. To receive ACLU Magazine by mail, become a monthly donor today.

Black-and-white ACLU Magazine cover (Spring 2026) featuring a close-up portrait of Marta V. Martínez with her hand at her chin and the headline “Truthseeker.”

ACLU Magazine Spring 2026

The latest issue of ACLU Magazine includes stories about the fight for birthright citizenship; the ACLU's litigation challenging the Trump administration’s crackdown on academic and creative freedom, featuring client-scientists, artists, and public health researchers; and the ACLU's success mobilizing local and state leaders to enact dozens of new laws and policies to protect our rights. Among the many voices spotlighted in this issue include federal workers dismissed for DEI efforts, client Brittany Martin who was incarcerated for protesting police violence, the ACLU’s Pauli Murray fellows, and volunteers turned organizers from the ACLU of Colorado. The magazine concludes with a look back at another tumultuous moment when thousands of so-called radicals were arrested and deported during the Palmer Raids. ISSN (online): 2640-3579 To download a more print-friendly spreads layout, click here.
ACLU Magazine Fall 2025

ACLU Magazine Fall 2025

This issue of ACLU Magazine includes stories about how the ACLU is fighting the second Trump administration’s assaults on immigrants’ rights and free speech, and mobilizing millions to act as a firewall against the administration’s abusive agenda. The issue features interviews with the ACLU’s Cecillia Wang, Deborah Archer, and Emerson Sykes, NYCLU organizer Ignacio Acevedo, and community activists from Arizona, Pennsylvania, and more. It also includes spotlights on the Freedom to Be monument for trans justice and the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial. ISSN (online): 2640-3579 To download a more print-friendly spreads layout, click here.
The front cover of ACLU Magazine's Spring 2025 cover.

ACLU Magazine Spring 2025

This issue of ACLU Magazine includes features on the ACLU’s Firewall for Freedom playbooks comprising 40+ policy proposals for state and local actors to defend civil rights and civil liberties during a second Trump administration; the ACLU’s National Advocacy Institute, a summer program that prepares youth activists to challenge injustices; and the Freedom to Be campaign, which spotlights the joyful stories of transgender people and their families. The issue also highlights how the ACLU played a major part in securing reproductive rights in Montana, Arizona, and Missouri; how an ACLU of Idaho advocacy fellow is showing up for LGBTQ people in their state; how a Mississippi student is challenging her school's sexist dress code; and much more. ISSN (online): 2640-3579 To download a more print-friendly spreads layout, click here.
The front cover of ACLU Magazine's Fall 2024 cover.

ACLU Magazine Fall 2024

This issue of ACLU Magazine focuses on the ACLU’s voting rights and election protection work across the country as well as our ongoing fight for abortion rights, free speech, immigrants’ rights, and transgender justice. There are features on the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s legal and advocacy efforts to ensure free and fair elections; litigation against the state of Alabama to preserve the existence of birth centers in communities without abortion access; and an ACLU guide to students’ rights—from protest to academic freedom. The issue also highlights the ACLU’s Freedom to Be campaign, Nebraska activist Jason Witmer, the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, and more. ISSN (online): 2640-3579 To download a more print-friendly spreads layout, click here.
The front cover of ACLU Magazine's Spring 2024 cover.

ACLU Magazine Spring 2024

This issue of ACLU Magazine covers recent litigation efforts for voting rights, free speech, and racial justice as well as historic electoral victories for reproductive freedom. There are features on the ACLU’s wave of redistricting cases across the South after Allen v. Milligan, the decade-long fight to secure federal protections for pregnant workers, and ongoing advocacy to ensure that advances in artificial intelligence don’t deepen racial inequities in public life. The issue also spotlights the ACLU of Alaska’s “DEcarcerated” art exhibition, border activist Fernie Quiroz, Reynolds v. Sims, and more. ISSN (online): 2640-3579 To download a more print-friendly spreads layout, click here.
The cover of ACLU Magazine Fall 2023 features a close-up of Emahunn Raheem Ali Campbell, a legal fellow at the ACLU Racial Justice Program.

ACLU Magazine Fall 2023

The stories in the Fall 2023 issue of ACLU Magazine cover the ACLU’s work to expand voter access, defend abortion rights, and challenge housing discrimination and racist jury bans. There are feature stories on the next generation of social justice advocates, the ACLU of Louisiana's Justice Lab, and how the ACLU of Massachusetts and its partners jumped into action when immigrant families were sent to Martha's Vineyard from Texas as part of a political stunt. The issue also spotlights the ACLU's Drag Defense Fund, criminal law activist Marq Mitchell, Tinker v. Des Moines, and more. ISSN (online): 2640-3579 To download a more print-friendly spreads layout, click here.