Weekly Highlights December 1 – 5

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in our case challenging President Trump’s executive order targeting birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Trump v. Barbara. Courts have repeatedly blocked the administration from implementing the executive order, finding it violates the Constitution, over a century of Supreme Court precedent, and a longstanding federal statute.

This case was filed by the ACLU of Maine, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Massachusetts, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund on behalf of babies who would be subject to the executive order.

The 14th Amendment is clear: Babies born in the U.S. are U.S. citizens. We look forward to seeing the president in court to put this matter to rest.

We’re celebrating a crucial victory for children with disabilities and government accountability. Late last month, a federal court preserved a landmark settlement agreement to reform Maine’s children’s behavioral health system and uphold youth disability rights.

This lawsuit was originally filed because Maine was unnecessarily segregating hundreds of children with behavioral health disabilities in institutions, separating them from their families and communities. This practice violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The settlement was a hard-fought win designed to provide these children with appropriate, integrated, community-based services. Central to that agreement was the appointment of an independent reviewer – a mechanism for accountability to ensure the state follows through.

We immediately stepped in and filed a friend of the court brief when DOJ and the State asked the court to remove the independent reviewer, working alongside our partners at Disability Rights Maine, GLAD Law, and the Center for Public Representation. Our coalition brief argued that removing the independent monitor would severely weaken the agreement and endanger the children it was meant to protect.

We will continue to monitor the State's compliance with the settlement agreement to ensure justice for all of Maine's children.

A group of former federal employees filed a federal class action lawsuit this week challenging the Trump administration for unlawfully firing employees who the administration claimed were involved with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work.

The lawsuit asserts that the firings were “intended to punish perceived political enemies, as well as to eliminate from the federal workforce people of color, women, non-binary employees, and those, like Plaintiffs, who advocated for or were perceived as advocating for protected racial or gender groups.” These actions violate federal employees’ rights under the First Amendment, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Civil Service Reform Act.

This case was filed by the ACLU of the District of Columbia and includes a lead plaintiff from Maine.

Mainer, other former federal employees, sue Trump administration over DEI firings, Porland Press Herald

Judge rejects move by Maine and Justice Department to rollback settlement over disabled children’s rights, Bangor Daily News

Birthright citizenship case involving Maine ACLU heads to Supreme Court, Portland Press Herald

Mainer among former federal employees leading class action lawsuit against the Trump administration, Maine Public