We're not backing down in the fight to uphold the Fourteenth Amendment and birthright citizenship.

Earlier today, the Supreme Court limited the ability of courts to block illegal federal policies with injunctive relief. The decision is part of a case involving the President's executive order restricting birthright citizenship.

Our lawsuit challenging this illegal executive order will not stop here. Earlier today, we filed a new nationwide class-action lawsuit to protect birthright citizenship. This core American principle is in the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment and is part of what makes the United States the strong and dynamic nation that it is.

The full implications of today's ruling will take some time to become clear. In the face of this and other harmful rulings this week, it is natural for us to feel disappointed and even dismayed, at least at first – but we must not lose hope or resolve.

While these decisions may modify some of our legal strategies, they will not change the commitments the ACLU has held for over 100 years. The constitutional principles that form the foundation of freedom in this country have always been challenging, complex, and multifaceted. These rulings present new obstacles to overcome, requiring us to reframe and reshape our approach to find avenues for justice, fairness, and freedom – something ACLU has always done and will continue to do.

Thank you for your bravery, dedication, and resolve. It is an honor to do this work with you by our side.

Sincerely,

This week at the ACLU of Maine: The state legislature wraps up its session, SCOTUS hands down major decisions, Maine upholds its strongest-in-the-nation internet privacy laws, and more.   

ACLU Files Nationwide Class-Action Lawsuit to Protect Birthright Citizenship Following SCOTUS Ruling

This Friday, we filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship alongside several coalition partners. The executive order threatens to deny U.S. citizenship to babies born on U.S. soil -- a direct violation of the plain language of Fourteenth Amendment.

 

The new lawsuit was filed in response to Friday's Supreme Court ruling that restricts courts' ability to block illegal federal policies using nationwide injunctions. The ACLU's lawsuit aims to protect all families across the country who may be affected by those restrictions. It follows an earlier lawsuit we filed in January on behalf of advocacy groups whose members face harm under a birthright citizenship ban. While that case is currently pending before the First Circuit Court of Appeals, this new case fills the urgent gaps left by the Supreme Court's decision.

Read more about the lawsuit here 

The Supreme Court issued several other impactful decisions this week, which you can read about here. 

 

A Win for Internet Privacy in Maine

This week, we helped defeat LD 1088, protecting Maine’s landmark internet privacy protections from repeal. LD 1088 was the tech industry's latest attempt at rolling back Maine's strongest-in-the-nation internet privacy laws, which prohibits internet service providers from selling our personal data without our consent.

 

Thanks to advocacy from our supporters, lawmakers received over 6,500 messages supporting strong data privacy protections. It was a major win, and we couldn't have done it without your engagement. Next session, we’ll continue to need your help to pass LD 1822, which would set some of the highest standards for data privacy in the country.

Read more about LD 1822

 

Coming Soon: Legislative Session Wrap-Up

The Maine Legislature officially wrapped up its session this week, and we're excited to share some amazing outcomes from the session. We helped pass a number of priority bills protecting bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, freedom of expression, due process, data privacy, and more. We also defeated a slate of harmful proposals that would have undermined these fundamental freedoms.

We’ll share a full recap of the session next week, so stay tuned!

 

See You at Bangor Pride!

Come celebrate with us on Saturday, June 28, at Bangor Pride! We’ll be tabling at the festival along Merchants Plaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., sharing resources and connecting with our community. The parade is set to kick off at 11 a.m. We’d love to see you there!

 

Bangor Pride