Research & Publications

Access in-depth resources and analysis published by the ACLU regarding our most pressing civil liberties issues.

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Research & Analysis

ACLU Digital ID State Legislative Recommendations

Around the country, state legislatures are embracing digital driver licenses — a nightmarish new electronic national identification system that has the potential to track everybody both online and off. In his new report, ACLU’s Jay Stanley lays out the risks of implementing digital IDs without safeguards and the need for state legislatures to pass legislation that protects our rights before going all in on digital IDs. He also provides guidance on what these laws should include.

Issue Areas: Privacy & Technology

Research & Analysis

Trapped in Texas: How Federal – and Now State – Immigration Enforcement Traps People Trying to Escape Texas’ Abortion Ban

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas’ report, Trapped in Texas: How Federaland Now State Immigration Enforcement Traps People Trying to Escape Texas’ Abortion Ban, explores how immigration enforcement severely limits undocumented people’s access to abortions. Because of the state's extreme abortion ban, Texans in need of abortion care are forced to travel hundreds of miles to the nearest clinic. But on top of distance, time, and expense required, noncitizens and those in mixed-status families in south Texas face an additional obstacle to travel — federal immigration checkpoints and with them, the risk of arrest, detention, and deportation.

Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

Research & Analysis

The Trump Memos Compilation

The ACLU's Roadmap for Protecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Under a Trump Administration.

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Research & Analysis

The Harris Memos Compilation

The ACLU's Roadmap for Protecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Under a Harris Administration.

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Research & Analysis

The Impacts of Anti-Transgender Laws and Policies: Evidence from Empirical Research

The ACLU’s research brief, “The Impacts of Anti-Transgender Laws and Policies: Evidence from Empirical Research,” reviews existing research on the impacts of laws and policies designed to restrict the rights of and limit inclusion of transgender and nonbinary people. The brief highlights emerging evidence on the effects of several types of anti-transgender laws, including those targeting health care, education, and public facilities. The research identified negative effects of these laws in several areas: health and wellbeing, health-care access, economics, education, and safety. The data reviewed in this brief is clear: anti-transgender laws and policies cause extensive harm to transgender and nonbinary people, the broader LGBTQ+ population, parents and educators, and entire communities.

Issue Areas: LGBTQ Rights

ACLU Magazine

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