News & Commentary

The full version of this op-ed first appeared in the Bangor Daily News.

Each year, on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans gather together with neighbors, family and friends to share food and gratitude in remembrance of the “first Thanksgiving” some 400 years ago.

The ACLU has a long history of fighting voter suppression and has been on the front lines defending the Voting Rights Act. But the work is far from finished and issues of voter suppression and disenfranchisement continue to pop up.

President Trump has a record of attacking the rights of protesters, from suggesting that protest be illegal to praising dictators who crush any kind of dissent.

On Tuesday, President Trump will make his second appearance at the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly, where he will reportedly use the international spotlight to deliver a speech that centers on favoring U.S. “sovereignty” over our commitments to the global community.

The fight over the asylum rights of families who had been separated by the Trump administration took what could be a critical turn late last night. Following weeks of negotiation, parties in three lawsuits — including the ACLU’s class-action lawsuit, which first blocked the family separation policy and forced the government to reunite families — brokered an agreement that, if approved by the judge, will allow hundreds of parents to re-apply again for asylum in the U.S. after being turned down previously. 

In June 2018, the Supreme Court decided in a groundbreaking ruling that law enforcement must obtain warrants before demanding cell phone companies hand over information showing where we’ve been in the past and when. 

Many students heading back to school are being greeted by more police and metal detectors, but few, if any, counselors — this is especially true for students of color. Beyond having more police officers who could be armed, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is reportedly considering a plan to allow states to buy guns for teachers using federal funds. 

A week before his confirmation hearing, the public record on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s possible involvement in some of the Bush administration’s most abusive policies and programs is woefully incomplete.