In a rare occurrence, this year Martin Luther King Jr. Day will coincide with the inauguration of President Donald Trump. The two federal holidays have only fallen on the same day once since former President Ronald Reagan made Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday in 1983.

At the ACLU, we’re using this rare Inauguration-MLK Day pairing to advocate for our civil rights and civil liberties. While we don’t endorse or oppose candidates for elected office, we recognize that Trump’s re-election will have immense implications for the future of our democratic norms, institutions, and processes.

Dr. King encouraged Americans to engage in nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice and oppression. In his honor, the ACLU has created a non-exhaustive guide for how to take action and join the effort to create a more perfect union. Read more below.

Project 2025 is a federal policy agenda and a blueprint for a radical restructuring of the executive branch that threatens to strip away our vital civil rights and civil liberties. Published by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and aligned with the Trump administration, its 900-page proposals would undercut decades of progress and Constitutional protections.

In 2024 we broke down the impact that Project 2025 will have on real people. From immigrant families torn apart, to the denial of vital reproductive healthcare, to censorship in our classrooms, Project 2025 promises vast and devastating ramifications. While Project 2025’s alarming vision threatens our fundamental liberties, the ACLU has a roadmap for how we’ll continue to fight for an America where we have the right to say what we want, to control our bodies, and participate freely in society. To join us in the fight, add your name to a growing movement of community members looking to fight back.

At the ACLU, we believe that knowledge is power. To help communities make informed decisions about our civil liberties and civil rights, our news blog offers perspective on current events, updates on our legal and advocacy work and real stories from the individuals and groups impacted by the fight for our rights.

In 2024, we explained what’s at stake in the Supreme Court case on gender-affirming care. We broke down what the Constitution says about birthright citizenship. We also explored why the government should not be allowed to childproof the internet and why banning TikTok is unconstitutional.

Our news page is updated regularly with the latest from the courts, Congress and our communities. Bookmark this page or sign-up for email updates to stay informed.

Bill tracking, or the monitoring of proposed laws that may expand or restrict our rights, empowers us to stay informed, take action, and intervene before bills become law. To follow bills, start by visiting your state legislature’s website, where most have searchable databases containing summaries of current legislation, bill sponsors, and voting history.

From Roe v. Wade and the Dobbs case, which overturned the right to an abortion; to Loving v. Virginia, which struck down laws banning interracial marriage; and Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognized marriage equality across the country — many Supreme Court cases that address all of our civil rights come from laws that were passed in state legislatures.

At the ACLU, our 54 affiliate offices across the nation provide local connections to attorneys and advocates working on state-level civil rights issues impacting your community. Use our interactive map to find your affiliate, learn about local legislative action, and access resources to inform your advocacy. The ACLU action page is also updated regularly with petitions and volunteer opportunities to help you get involved in your state.

State Supreme Courts are responsible for interpreting their own state’s constitution and laws, and serve as the highest authority in a state’s judicial system. This often means that state Supreme Courts have the power to provide broader protections for civil rights and civil liberties than the U.S. Supreme Court or federal law.

With federal courts growing increasingly hostile to civil liberties, state Supreme Courts have become a first line of defense for our freedoms. In 2023, the ACLU launched its State Supreme Court Initiative to advocate for improved access to these courts and their cases.

To learn more about your state Supreme Court, find your court on our interactive map and read reports on key state court cases across the country.

The First Amendment protects your right to assemble and express your views through protest. However, police and other government officials are allowed to place certain narrow restrictions on the exercise of speech rights. Want to know what actions are protected? The ACLU’s Know Your Rights (KYR) guide empowers all individuals with clear, practical information about their constitutional and civil rights.

Before you hit the streets, read our guide and then test your civil liberties knowledge with the ACLU’s Know Your Rights quiz. If your rights have been violated, you can take action by finding your local ACLU affiliate and filling out their online form to report any civil liberties violations.

The ACLU's "How to Organize" resource offers ideas to help you engage and organize your community. Whether it's starting a group, joining existing coalitions, leading a protest, or activating a PTA, there are many ways you can take the first step to fight back.

No matter who is president, the ACLU’s advocacy and organizing teams are working to build a firewall for freedom – a barrier that stops the spread of constant attacks on our civil rights – in our communities. Want to join the ACLU in protecting our freedoms? Our volunteer teams are dedicated to mobilizing communities across the country in defense of civil liberties. Sign up now to receive immediate steps to begin taking action.

At the ACLU, we believe speaking up is key to a strong democracy. By using our voices, we can hold leaders accountable and ensure that everyone’s rights and liberties are protected. Curious about how to discuss issues like abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, free speech, immigrants’ rights, and more? The ACLU has suggestions for how to open dialogues in your community.

Do you want to know what speech is protected by the First Amendment? Check out our three-part “Ask an Expert” podcast series where Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, answers questions about the First Amendment, its protections, and its importance.

Elected officials are meant to represent the people they serve, and it’s essential that we make sure they hear our voices. Writing to your legislators is one of the most powerful ways to exercise your rights and influence policy. Whether you’re drafting a letter or posting a message online, contacting your elected officials is a protected expression of free speech that plays a vital role in influencing decisions that shape our civil rights and liberties.

Effective advocacy starts with clear, concise communication. Take a look at the ACLU’s writing tips guide to make sure you’re equipped with strategies for crafting effective and impactful messages.

Whether you choose to take action using the resources shared here, or in other ways – like donating to causes you care about, expressing yourself creatively, seeking out wellness resources, or coming together with loved ones – there is no right or wrong way to fight for our rights, our communities and our nation.

At the ACLU, we’d love to see how you’re getting involved. Take a photo or video of what taking action looks like for you, share it on your social media page and tag the ACLU (@aclu_nationwide) on Instagram, or @aclu on X, Facebook and TikTok.

Maribel Hernández Rivera is a hugger. Her natural warmth and compassion is rivaled only by her sense of preparedness. As a life-long advocate for immigrants’ rights, she has been working tirelessly for months to draft a plan to combat President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to deport millions of people, including members of Hernández Rivera’s family.

“When I think about [immigrants’ rights] I think about human beings. I think about my father and my husband,” Hernández Rivera says. “I think about how we can respect the humanity of the people whose lives will be impacted.”

Maribel Hernández Rivera

Hernández Rivera has worked in the ACLU’s National Political Action Department fighting for immigrants’ rights since 2021. She previously spent a decade advocating for immigrants’ rights with the New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Immigrant Justice Corps, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and more. While in law school at New York University, she was also an advocate for undocumented immigrants.

For Hernández Rivera, helping the immigrant community is a way to give back, and to ensure that no one feels unsupported in their journey. “When I first came to the states, I thought no one cared,” Hernández Rivera says, explaining how she felt isolated as an undocumented person. “I really want to show others that we’re never alone. There are people fighting for our rights.”

Hernández Rivera came to the states from Mexico in 1993 and settled with her family in Houston, Texas. As a child, she was fearful that if anyone knew she was undocumented, she’d be deported. Even as she excelled in school, learning English and going on to attend Phillips Exeter Academy and, later, Harvard University, she continued to plan for what she might do if she was forced to return to her home country.

Maribel Hernández Rivera

“I thought that if I was sent back to Mexico, I was going to work as a luggage carrier in the airport. In that case, knowing English would guarantee me a good tip,” she laughs.

While she jokes about it now, reality was much more serious for Hernández Rivera and her family. In 2006, her father died in a car accident while undocumented. The authorities never notified the family of his passing. Hernández Rivera was deeply hurt by the experience. “[My father’s death] really showed how immigrants are not treated as human beings,” she says.

Today, Hernández Rivera honors her father’s legacy by fighting for increased rights, dignity and compassion for the immigrant community. Many people come to the states fleeing violence, or seeking greater opportunity for themselves and the families they were forced to leave behind. But once in the U.S., Hernández Rivera points out, there exists few pathways for legal citizenship and the threat of deportation always looms large. In her own family, Hernández Rivera has seen just how quickly a new life in the states can be taken away.

Hernández Rivera’s husband, Giddel Contreras, has temporary protected status (TPS), which gives immigrants time-limited permission to live and work in the U.S. When Donald Trump was elected in 2016, he vowed to end TPS for millions. If her husband was deported, Hernández Rivera had to decide whether to go with him to Honduras, possibly facing the same violence that led to the deaths of some of his family members, or to stay in the U.S. and support her mother and step-father. Either choice would rip her family in two.

To her great relief, the first Trump administration was not able to eliminate this vital protection. Today, however, Trump has vowed to be more aggressive in his efforts to deport millions of people. Giddel’s TPS status expires this summer and Hernández Rivera finds herself returning to what she has done since she was a child: Making plans for how to survive uncertainty.

“Trump upended our lives the first time around,” Hernández Rivera says. “I know that the second time around, I have to be even more prepared.”

Hernández Rivera’s fight for her family’s safety mirrors her fight for all immigrants. At the ACLU, alongside her legal and advocacy colleagues, Hernández Rivera is working to build a civil rights firewall to protect residents to the full extent possible, including safeguarding asylum access, ending unlawful detention and mobilizing communities to take action. As a native Spanish speaker, Hernández Rivera helps communicate this plan to the communities most impacted by the Trump administration’s draconian policies. Whether it's sharing links on social media or doing an interview in Spanish, Hernández Rivera wants the word out that there is a movement fighting for the immigrant community.

“I get asked every day about how to get ready, what can I do?” Hernández Rivera says. “I must step up, for me, my family and my community. We have to be in this together. This is the moment to be 100 percent in.”

Our series, Behind the Fight for Our Rights, asks individuals defending our freedoms how they’re thinking about the next four years. Below, Hernández Rivera shares insight into her life – both professional and personal – under the Trump administration.

ACLU: What are you most looking forward to in the next four years?

HERNÁNDEZ RIVERA: I know it’s going to be a very difficult four years, but I also know our community is going to come together. I look forward to fighting side by side with our community.

ACLU: What is the biggest challenge you’re expecting in the next four years?

HERNÁNDEZ RIVERA: We know the Trump administration’s policies will be far more cruel than before. The biggest challenge will be losing loved ones to Trump’s deportation machine.

ACLU: What do you wish people knew more about the fight for immigrants’ rights

HERNÁNDEZ RIVERA: I wish people kept in mind that when we talk about immigration, we’re talking about parents, children, neighbors, and community members. It’s not easy to come to the U.S and it's not easy to fix your immigration status.

ACLU: What is one thing you wish you knew about the fight for immigrants’ rights

HERNÁNDEZ RIVERA: I wish I knew that those making the decisions cared about and understood the human consequences of their actions.