American Civil Liberties Union

American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004, USA

Hi ACLU Supporter –

In just a few hours, I’ll be arguing a critical case at the Supreme Court. Jennings v. Rodriguez will decide the fate of thousands of women and men who are languishing in immigration prisons across the country. It’s important – and I want to make sure you know what’s at stake.

At issue is the federal government’s practice of locking up immigrants who are challenging their deportation without the basic due process of a hearing to determine if their imprisonment is justified. Imprisoning people without a hearing is unconstitutional and un-American. We’ll prove that today in court.

Did you know that people fighting deportation can be detained for years while they defend their rights to remain in the United States? We don’t allow indefinite detention without hearings in any other part of our legal system – this cruelty is reserved for immigrants. Many go on to win their deportation cases, which means their detention was completely unnecessary.

The Trump administration has pledged to expand immigration detention to record-breaking levels and lock up more people than ever as part of its crackdown on immigrant communities.

Is that the country we really want to live in? To me, that’s not America. I refuse to let this country – a nation of immigrants – violate the rights of its people, whether they are newly arrived or have lived here for decades.

This case is personal for me. I come from a family of immigrants. I was born here, but my parents are Sri Lankan Tamils. When civil war broke out in Sri Lanka, our extended family fled to live with us in the U.S. I saw first-hand the pain of displacement, and I wish more people would view immigrants and refugees with empathy.

That’s what I’m fighting for today. This case began ten years ago. It’s been a long road, and we’re finally here.

Thanks for your support,

Ahilan Arulanantham
Legal Director at the ACLU of Southern California