Press Releases

Georgetown scholar Dr. Badar Khan Suri, reunited with his wife and children, releases statement

“The moment I stepped out of the detention center, I inhaled deeply, a breath of freedom I had been deprived of for two, long months," said Dr. Badar Khan Suri.

Georgetown scholar to be freed from detention in another loss for the Trump administration

Federal judge orders Dr. Badar Khan Suri released; ICE arrested him on March 17th for constitutionally protected speech and associations

Federal judge rules against Trump administration by keeping Dr. Khan Suri’s habeas case in Virginia

"We are pleased the court saw through the Trump administration’s attempts to manipulate the law, and we won’t stop fighting until Dr. Khan Suri is reunited with his family," said ACLU-VA Legal Director Eden Heilman.

ICE's rogue tactics leave no safe place for immigrants

“Our courthouses should be a safe place for people to have access to the judicial process as witnesses, plaintiffs, or defendants.  These kinds of actions will have a chilling effect on all of us, especially victims of crime and witnesses who are immigrants," said Mary Bauer.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

Students sue Department of Defense schools over curriculum changes, book bans

“The government can’t scrub references to race and gender from public school libraries and classrooms just because the Trump administration doesn’t like certain viewpoints on those topics,” said Matt Callahan, Senior Supervising Attorney at the ACLU of Virginia. 
Issue Areas: First Amendment Rights

Video of arrest, new details in Trump administration’s case targeting Georgetown postdoctoral fellow Dr. Khan Suri for speech on Palestinian rights

“In my work, I’ve seen lots of injustice. I just didn't think it would happen to me here," says Dr. Khan Suri. 

Red Onion cannot be allowed to retaliate against incarcerated people for exercising their First Amendment rights

“Without electricity, people in solitary in Red Onion are completely cut off from the outside world, all for refusing to sign their name to something they believe is false,” said ACLU of Virginia Senior Staff Attorney Geri Greenspan. "That's not just cruel – it's unlawful."
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

ACLU of Virginia files emergency motion to stop Trump administration’s illegal deportation of Georgetown professor for exercising free speech

“Ripping someone from their home and family, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint and activism is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent,” said ACLU of Virginia Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg.

Gov. Youngkin’s anti-immigrant executive order is playing politics with people’s lives

"It's disappointing that Gov. Youngkin is planning to throw good money after bad by wasting Virginians' tax dollars terrorizing local communities," said ACLU of Virginia Senior Immigrants' Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights