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Know Your Rights
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Know Your Rights: Interacting with ICE in the DMV

Make an emergency plan to protect you and your family in the event of a fire, natural disaster, or an encounter with ICE.
News & Commentary
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What Trump’s Immigration Policies Mean for Families Across the DMV

In the DMV, where daily life crosses jurisdictional boundaries, immigration enforcement functions as a regional force — and so must the response.
Campaign
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2026 General Assembly

Stay informed about significant bills in Virginia's 2026 legislative session that will impact Virginians' civil rights and liberties.
Action | Take Action
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Become a Member

We fight every day in the courts, in the legislature, and in our communities to create a Virginia for all. But we can’t do it alone.

Press Releases

Jan 18, 2026

Gov. Spanberger's executive order is the first step to make sure Virginia law enforcement is not a tool for ICE

“To make her vision into a reality, the governor must terminate the state’s existing 287g agreements and Virginia lawmakers must deliver meaningful legislation to her desk to protect Virginians,” said ACLU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer.

Jan 16, 2026

Virginians will get to vote directly on whether to enshrine critical civil rights and civil liberties in our state constitution

"Amending Virginia’s constitution is a vital part of shoring up our rights here at home and putting them firmly out of reach of partisan politics," said ACLU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer.

Jan 08, 2026

Virginia Department of Corrections has not been vindicated of abuse, neglect, racism, and retaliation at Red Onion State Prison

"Lawmakers gave the ombudsman’s office the authority to bring transparency to VDOC, not to shield it from allegations of wrongdoing," said ACLU-VA Senior Supervising Attorney Vishal Agraharkar.

Issues We're Monitoring

Criminal Legal Reform First Amendment Rights Immigrants' Rights LGBTQ+ Rights Reproductive Rights Voting Rights View All Issues

Know Your Rights: Interacting with ICE in the DMV

Make an emergency plan to protect you and your family in the event of a fire, natural disaster, or an encounter with ICE.
Explore Your Rights
A person holds up a protest sign that says "America would be nothing without immigrants." To the right is a person holding another persons hand.

Featured Case

We are taking legal action to defend immigrants' rights, protect transgender people from discrimination, fight back against censorship efforts, and do so much more to defend civil rights and civil liberties across the Commonwealth.
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Sarmiento et al. v. Perry et al.

The ACLU of Virginia filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of four young people and a class of those in similar circumstances who Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are unlawfully holding in Virginia detention centers, flagrantly ignoring federal laws that give these young immigrants a legal right to be in the United States.