On the heels of President Trump’s inauguration to a second term, we remain committed to the fight for freedom.
Based on his campaign rhetoric, playbook and actions from his previous term, we know the harm the Trump administration is capable of inflicting. His agenda seeks to jail and deport immigrants and separate families, criminalize protest, gut resources for people unhoused – and the list goes on.
But even when faced with such emboldened aggression, the ACLU remains resolute in defending California’s values and dismantling systems of oppression to ensure all Californians have opportunities to thrive.
For over a year, the ACLU —in California and across the country — developed a roadmap to defend our civil liberties and rights. When the Trump administration attempts to execute its extreme agenda, we will meet them in Sacramento and in the streets of our communities, prepared and ready.
Protect Immigrant Californians
California’s diversity is its strength, with more than 10 million immigrants contributing to the state’s cultural and economic success.
While California remains a welcoming place for immigrant families, too many state resources still harm our immigrant neighbors and loved ones.
We fight to keep our families together and our communities whole. We are committed to defending civil rights and liberties for all Californians – no exception.
Our Focus:
- Strengthening our defense against the administration’s plans for mass detention and deportation by ensuring our sanctuary laws include all state and local agencies.
- Protecting our communities against unconstitutional searches and arrests by federal immigration agents.
- Ensuring California officials are not complicit in unjust federal policies.
Defend Our Privacy
Technology should work for the people and enrich their lives. But we know that the Trump administration seeks to use technology to target and attack our communities.
For the administration’s extreme agenda to succeed, they would need to commandeer city and state resources, including our personal information. While California has strong privacy laws, there are major cracks in our digital defenses that the administration will exploit.
The Trump administration will be able to attack and target migrants for deportation and track people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care as well as journalists and protesters.
We must safeguard privacy, freedom of expression, and other inalienable constitutional rights guaranteed to all Californians, while defending against unjust government surveillance and invasions of privacy.
Our Focus:
- Securing California’s defense against sharing local information with other states and the federal government that could endanger immigrants, people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care or people exercising their right to protest.
- Uncovering and stopping dangerous government surveillance while advocating for greater transparency.
- Ending the stigmatization of impacted minority communities disproportionately targeted by surveillance and invasions of privacy.
Protect People Unhoused
Everyone deserves a safe, healthy and stable place to call home. Unfortunately, California continues to face a severe housing shortage crisis. The private for-profit housing market has failed our state.
The Trump administration has threatened to criminalize people experiencing houselessness and defund HUD and other critical programs. In response, California’s state leaders must fight this extreme agenda and allocate state resources to long-term access to housing’.
Our Focus:
- Advocating for permanent state investments in houselessness prevention (rental assistance and strategies to protect at-risk renters), houselessness services and affordable housing development.
- Advocating for a permanent state funding source for houselessness prevention (rental assistance and strategies to protect at-risk renters); houselessness services and affordable housing development.
- Demanding systemic reforms to ensure that all people, regardless of their socio-economic status, can thrive and exercise their rights and liberties with dignity.
- Eradicating racialized wealth extraction schemes, ending the criminalization of poverty and guaranteeing all Californians have their basic human needs met, including housing and health care.
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