ACLU GEARS UP FOR LEGAL SKIRMISHES OVER TRUMP IMMIGRATION ORDERS
The ACLU, which sues Republican and Democratic administrations alike, was a leader in challenging immigration policies during Trump’s first term. Big cases focused on border wall construction, family separations, and the travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries.
Their efforts helped end family separations and blocked Trump’s first attempt at a broad asylum ban. But Gelernt and other lawyers acknowledge that Trump’s team will be more prepared and more detail-oriented this term.
“When they came in the first time around, they had not thought through all the legal angles and were trying to do things very fast,” he said. “They’ve now had four years to think.”
Gelernt has been offering words of advice to his colleagues who weren’t around for Trump’s first term in office.
“Whenever I’m feeling like I’m tired and don’t want to continue with a case or it looks futile, I always just have to think about the clients, the families who are struggling for their lives,” he said.
An army of immigrants’ rights advocates will be joining the fight in federal court in the coming years. Groups to watch include the National Immigration Law Center, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, the National Immigrant Justice Center, RAICES, Human Rights First, HIAS, and others.
Democratic attorneys general are also poised to serve as heavyweights in legal challenges to Trump’s border and immigration policies, just as Republican AGs have led the charge during the Biden administration.
