Court Cases

Soon after the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump’s Executive Order seeking to do away with birthright citizenship was unconstitutional, he tried again, with a new Executive Order, issued on August 6, 2026, that directs executive agencies not to recognize the citizenship of an individual “when neither parent of that person is a citizen” and: a) “either parent of that person is an alien enemy, defined to include” a member of certain designated terrorist organizations; b) “either parent of that person is a foreign government employee,” including not only foreign ministers with full diplomatic immunity but also various other employees of foreign governments or international organizations; c) “either parent of that person engaged in a commercial transaction to purchase or access birthright citizenship for the person, or engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship”; or d) “the person is born in a territory or territorial waters of the United States where citizenship is not conferred by Federal statute.” On September 28, 2026, we and the National ACLU filed a new lawsuit challenging the new Executive Order. We allege that it is unconstitutional for the same reasons the first one was, and that it also violates the federal immigration statute, as Justice Kavanaugh opined was true of the first order. The plaintiffs are: “Clara,” a citizen of France; she and her husband work for international organizations in Washington, DC, and their son “Nathan,” who was born after the issuance of the new Executive Order. “Patricia” and her husband, European citizens who also work for international organizations in the United States, and who are expecting a child in spring 2027. “Edward,” a citizen of Australia; he and his Australian wife are expecting a child through surrogacy to be born in the United States in October 2026. We will soon file a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the court to prevent executive agencies from refusing to recognize the citizenship of our clients’ children and others similarly situated.

Deon Jones, a gay man, has been employed by the D.C. Dept. of Corrections for more than two decades, where he has endured pervasive acts of harassment based on his sexual orientation. The lawsuit describes how Sgt. Jones faced constant harassment from co-workers and incarcerated persons alike.

In December 2022, we filed a complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights alleging discrimination based on family responsibilities and seeking compensation for our clients and changes to the DMV telework policy so it does not disadvantage parents and caregivers.

Alicia Kirton, a FEMA budget analyst, was denied full-time telework status even though her work could be done remotely and a white man with the same job had been granted telework status for years.

The ACLU. ACLU-DC, and ACLU-MI filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Ahmad Chebli, a Michigan father of two who the U.S. government wrongly placed on the No-Fly List over two years ago, after he refused to become an FBI informant.