New ACLU report says ICE uses force by default : NPR

"My first thought is it's a little embarrassing for this information to be gathered, aggregated, analyzed and shared by the ACLU instead of the Department of Homeland Security," says Seth Stoughton, a law professor at the University of South Carolina.

 "Living in a democracy means that the government is doing a good job when and only when we the people say it's doing a good job. And that requires a certain degree of transparency about the nature of governmental operations," he added...

 https://www.npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5891834/ice-use-of-force-aclu-report 

ACLU: Violent Policing Continues in Cities Where Trump DOJ Abandoned Reform — ProPublica

Police forces with records of unconstitutional policing continued to engage in excessive force even as the Trump administration declared federal oversight unnecessary, according to a new yearlong review by the ACLU...

https://www.propublica.org/article/aclu-trump-police-reform-doj-minneapolis-louisville-phoenix-memphis 

 

ACLU’s Lawsuit Over ICE Raid at an Idaho Racetrack Could Be a Game Changer – Mother Jones

Witnesses cited in the legal filing accuse the officers of myriad abuses—shooting rubber bullets at teens, throwing flash-bang grenades into vehicles with people inside, pushing children and old people, and preventing people from using the bathroom until some children had to relieve themselves in public. But, as experts I've interviewed have noted, it is difficult to hold federal officers accountable for misconduct...

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/aclu-lawsuit-wilder-idaho-ice-raid-la-catedral-racetrack/ 

 

ACLU sues Trump administration over ‘racial profiling and unlawful arrests’ in Minnesota ICE surge

Civil rights organization says federal immigration agents are violating US citizens' constitutional rights…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/15/aclu-lawsuit-ice-minnesota-trump

 

Alito’s Worst Nightmare (Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill; Unjustified podcast)

The American Civil Liberties Union files a motion for an en banc re-hearing of Judge Boasberg’s criminal contempt opinion after a three-judge panel stayed his ruling.

Attorney General Pam Bondi continues her assault on the Department of Justice by sidelining career attorneys causing every member of the Sanctuary Cities Working Group to resign.

The DC US Attorney’s office fails to return indictments from federal grand juries as another judge lambasts federal prosecutors.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Tulsi Gabbard clash over her disclosure of an undercover officer’s identity.

Plus listener questions…
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-uh4ec-275c34c8

Catholic School Fires Widowed Gay Teacher (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #590)

— ACLU sues Michigan school after Palestinian teen bullied by teacher over Pledge protest. (2:20)

— Catholic school fires widowed teacher over same-sex marriage. (14:42)

— Oklahoma sued over school standards that mix Christianity with right-wing lies. (38:18)

— Supreme Court opens door to religious veto of public school lessons, starting with LGBTQ books. (55:55)

— Trump policies force global Humanist conference to abandon U.S. plans. (1:11:42)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2025/07/03/catholic-school-fires-widowed-gay-teacher/

ACLU sues Michigan school after Palestinian teen bullied by teacher over pledge protest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neVQ18gshqg

 

Texas AG sues Dallas doctor, alleging she provided transgender care to minors - The Washington Post

The ACLU had sought to block Senate Bill 14. After the court upheld the law in June, the ACLU said the ban on gender-affirming care "threatens the health and lives of Texas transgender youth, and penalizes physicians who provide the best standard of care for their transgender patients." 

On Thursday, the ACLU said in response to the lawsuit filed against Lau that doctors "should not have to fear being targeted for providing health care to their patients,"…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/10/18/texas-transgender-healthcare-ken-paxton/

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ACLU sues Louisiana over requiring the display of Ten Commandments in public schools

"The first amendment promises that we all get to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to hold and practice, without pressure from the government. Politicians have no business imposing their preferred religious doctrine on students and families in public schools," the statement said. 

"Louisiana's communities and public schools are religiously diverse, yet HB 71 would require school officials to promote specific religious beliefs to which people of many faiths, and those of no faith, do not subscribe."…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/20/aclu-sues-louisiana-ten-commandments-public-schools

ACLU files lawsuit over Virginia’s transgender student policies - The Washington Post

One of the lawsuits filed in York County Circuit Court claims a teacher refused to use a transgender teen's preferred name and pronoun during the current school year. The student's mother had filed a form requesting the school use her daughter's preferred name and pronouns before the year began... 

"All children in Virginia deserve to have a parent engaged in their life and to be treated with dignity and respect," Youngkin said in a statement at the time. "The VDOE updated model policies reaffirm my administration's continued commitment to ensure that every parent is involved in conversations regarding their child's education, upbringing, and care."…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/02/15/aclu-lawsuit-virginia-transgender-policy/

ACLU files suit against D.C. transit agency over refusal to display religious group’s ads - The Washington Post

The Texas-based nonprofit asserts that the Founding Fathers never intended to separate the church from the state and wanted to create a Christian nation. Its website presents the group as a "national pro-family organization" and offers to revisit the "moral, religious, and constitutional foundations" of American history. 

David Barton, named one of the nation's 25 most influential evangelicals in 2005 by Time magazine, founded the organization in 1989. Barton is the author of "The Jefferson Lies," a book that purports to disprove myths about Thomas Jefferson. In the book's abstract, the Founding Father is described as "a man who revered Jesus, a classical Renaissance man and a man whose pioneering stand for liberty and God-given inalienable rights fostered a better world for this nation and its posterity." 

The book became a bestseller but was pulled from distribution by its publisher after historians debunked numerous details in it…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/12/15/wmata-wallbuilders-aclu-lawsuit/

Taxpayer Money is Going to Fund Religious Schools (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad speaks to Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. They discuss AU’s lawsuit with the ACLU and FFRF in the case of the state of Oklahoma agreeing to send taxpayer funds to a Catholic school. This is, in essence, an attempt to make Christian schools into public schools.

From AU: And public schools must be secular and open to all students. They are not allowed to discriminate against students or indoctrinate children into one religion.

But that is exactly what Oklahoma’s newly approved religious public charter school, St. Isidore of Seville, intends to do.

Approved by the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in June 2023, St. Isidore would be a public school—entirely funded by the taxpayers of Oklahoma—even though St. Isidore makes clear in its charter school application that it intends to run the school “as a Catholic school” and a “place of evangelization.”

That’s why Americans United along with the ACLU, Freedom from Religion Foundation and Education Law Center is suing.
Interview:

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/taxpayer-money-is-going-to-fund-religious-schools/

Inside the ACLU's campaign to build a Roe firewall

The ACLU is launching an unprecedented, multimillion-dollar midterms initiative aimed at influencing the makeup of state Supreme Courts and district attorneys in battleground states where abortion access is on the line, Axios has learned…

https://www.axios.com/2022/07/06/inside-the-aclus-campaign-to-build-a-roe-firewall

ACLU sues Oklahoma over law prohibiting critical race theory topics from being taught in schools - CNN

… "All young people deserve to learn an inclusive and accurate history in schools, free from censorship or discrimination," said Emerson Sykes, staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. "The bill was intended to inflame a political reaction, not further a legitimate educational interest."…

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/us/oklahoma-lawsuit-critical-race-theory/index.html

Black Student Sues Illinois Police, Claims They Held Him at Gunpoint | Time

A black Illinois college student has filed a lawsuit against police officers who he alleges held him at gunpoint while traveling with his high school swim team. The lawsuit claims one officer held a gun to the young swimmer’s head and warned that he would “blow [his] f-cking head off” if he dared to move, according to a lawsuit filed by the student’s attorneys, who include lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union’s Roger Baldwin Foundation.
https://time.com/5785070/black-college-swimmer-lawsuit-police-illinois/

ACLU lawsuit alleges Georgia woman evicted for having black guests - The Hill

A Georgia woman sued her former landlord, accusing him of evicting her because she invited her black co-worker and his 5-year-old son in her home, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union...
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/452727-aclu-lawsuit-alleges-georgia-woman-evicted-for-having-black

Netflix to work with ACLU to fight Georgia abortion law -- The Hill

Netflix says it'll work with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to "fight" against Georgia's so-called heartbeat abortion law...
https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/445739-netflix-to-work-with-aclu-to-fight-georgia-abortion-law

ACLU Airs National Ad Campaign Targeting Restrictive Abortion Laws - HuffPost

"You know me. You know someone like me." Those words, read by the actress Busy Philipps, will be aired around the country this week by the American Civil Liberties Union as part of a nationwide campaign targeting a spate of restrictive abortion laws that have passed in recent months."I had an abortion. It was my decision," Philipps says in the ad. "Today, it's my right. But states are trying to take that right away by taking on Roe v.Wade, and Trump is making it possible."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aclu-abortion-laws-busy-philipps_n_5ce60253e4b09b23e65dad46

In God we trust in Wentzville MO (The Phil Ferguson Show podcast #285)

Interview with Sally Hunt. She dared to speak up against "In god we Trust" used by the city of Wentzville, MO. They cut her short and kicked her out of the meeting. With the help of the ACLU, she sued the city.

Bonus segment - Church Money

Investing Skeptically - Rant on debt, bankruptcy and the insurance industry.
Interview:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/8084919/285-n4KFyr

ACLU appeal aims to keep Michigan taxpayers’ money out of the hands of private schools - Daily Kos

The ACLU of Michigan has filed an appeal with the state supreme court in an attempt to stop a Republican-backed effort to divert public money into the hands of private schools. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1815855