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american civil liberties union
'We Are All DC': Tens of Thousands March to White House
D.C.rallies against Trump’s troops as more cities targeted
Sep 06, 2025
The heart of Washington, D.C., pulsed with defiance on Saturday as tens of thousands of demonstrators surged down 16th Street toward the White House. It was the city’s first major organized protest since President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency and unleashed federal troops onto its streets. Banners waved and voices rose in unison at the “We Are All D.C.” march, a massive show of resistance led by a coalition that included Free DC, defenders of local self-rule, Democracy Forward, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Their message was clear: the federal occupation of the capital must end.
People participate in the "We Are All DC" national march in solidarity with DC communities and calling for an end to the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, DC, on September 6, 2025.(Photo by AMID FARAHI/AFP via Getty Images)
“Today, in defense of the people and communities living under a military takeover of DC, we join in sending a clear and peaceful message: the American people will not bow to dictators. We are in solidarity with our neighbors and Black, Brown, immigrant, and other communities targeted. We will march, we will resist, and we will peacefully protest,” Democracy Forward wrote in a statement on X.
Thousands march to the White House united in our demand. We want federal forces out of DC Now!! Free DC! Free DC! #WeAreAllDC #FreeDC
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— Free DC (@freedcproject.bsky.social) September 6, 2025 at 1:07 PM
With Trump vowing crackdowns in other Democratic-led cities as well, he appeared to threaten Chicago with migrant deportations in a social media post with an image that parodied the 1979 Vietnam war movie "Apocalypse Now."
“I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” Trump said, converting a line about napalm in the Vietnam War to refer to deportations. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
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Trump-Appointed Judges Quash Contempt of Court Case Against White House
Judge Cornelia Pillard, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, dissented and described the other two judges' ruling as a "grave disservice."
Aug 08, 2025
Two judges appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday at least temporarily shut down a bid by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to potentially hold members of the Trump administration in contempt of court.
Politico reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit voted in a 2-1 ruling to quash contempt proceedings that Boasberg initiated against the Trump administration after he found there was probable cause to believe officials had defied his orders by sending 130 Venezuelan immigrants to be detained at El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center.
Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, both of whom were appointed by Trump, ruled in favor of shutting down the hearings. Judge Cornelia Pillard, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, dissented and described the other two judges' ruling as a "grave disservice" to Boasberg.
Politico noted that the ruling does not totally shut the door on Boasberg holding administration officials in contempt.
Among other things, the full 11-member bench of the D.C. Circuit could decide to take up the case and overrule the three-judge panel. Additionally, Judge Rao stopped short of saying that her ruling completely foreclosed upon the possibility that Boasberg could initiate criminal contempt proceedings against members of the administration.
In an interview with Politico, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt signaled that an appeal of some kind was forthcoming.
"We strongly disagree with the ruling and are considering all options going forward," Gelernt said. "The opinion brushes aside the considerable evidence that has emerged that DOJ's lawyers understood the order at the time and simply ignored it."
The possible contempt of court charges stemmed from a ruling that Boasberg delivered back in March demanding that the administration halt and return the group of Venezuelan immigrants who were sent to El Salvador. The men were sent to the prison regardless and administration officials argued that they had no jurisdiction to order their return because the plane they were on had already left American airspace at the time of Boasberg's ruling.
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'Deadly Shadow Prison': Inmates, ACLU Sue Trump Admin for Denying Due Process at 'Alligator Alcatraz'
"What's happening here is not just a policy failure, it's a moral one," said the executive director for the ACLU of Florida. "This is how rights are erased."
Jul 17, 2025
Detainees at "Alligator Alcatraz" are suing the Trump administration for subjecting them to inhumane conditions at the prison without due process.
The class action suit, brought Wednesday with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other immigrant rights groups, challenges the government's refusal to let detainees speak with lawyers and file legal documents needed to petition for their release.
Inmates in the Everglades detention facility have detailed horrific conditions, including crushing heat, incessant mosquito presence, tainted food, cramped conditions, and a lack of access to water and basic sanitation.
After visiting the detention center over the weekend, some Democratic lawmakers described it as an "internment camp," where as many as 32 inmates apiece were crammed into small cages beneath a single tent.
The majority of the roughly 1,000 people detained there, according to the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times, have not been convicted of criminal offenses, while over a third have not even been charged.
"This facility opens another dark chapter in our nation's history. Its very existence is predicated on our country's basest impulses and shows the danger of unchecked governmental authority when combined with unbridled hate. It represents an attack on common decency, and in this case, its treatment of detained people is also unlawful," said Eunice Cho, senior counsel with the ACLU's National Prison Project and the lead attorney in the case.
According to the complaint, multiple attorneys have arrived at the detention center to meet with their clients, only to be turned away by armed police and members of the Florida National Guard. The attorneys were later told no in-person meetings would be allowed. They have additionally been given no information about how to communicate with their clients over the phone or virtually.
"The U.S. Constitution does not allow the government to simply lock people away without any ability to communicate with counsel or to petition the court for release from custody. The government may not trample on these most fundamental protections for people held in its custody," Cho said.
The plaintiffs argue this violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights of those being detained, as well as the First Amendment rights of the attorneys.
"What's happening here is not just a policy failure, it's a moral one," said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. "The state has hastily erected a costly and deadly shadow prison in the middle of the Everglades during hurricane season to warehouse human beings—stripping them of due process and dignity, cutting them off from their families and legal counsel, intentionally putting their lives in danger, and leaving them to suffer in silence. This is how rights are erased."
The Trump administration is seeking to replicate "Alligator Alcatraz" all around the country. As The New Republic reports, the budget megabill signed by the president earlier this month contains $3.5 billion for "eligible states" to use for the "temporary detention of aliens."
In a Fox News interview earlier this month, Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's "mass deportation" crusade, called on Republican governors to use this fund to build their own immigrant detention camps.
"We want every governor of a red state, and if you are watching tonight: Pick up the phone, call [the Department of Homeland Security], work with us to build facilities in your state," Miller said.
"No amount of armed guards or government spin can shield this facility from legal scrutiny," Jackson said Wednesday. "We will use every tool at our disposal to end this cruel experiment and defend the rights of every person trapped inside of this unconstitutional abomination."
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