What is the role of the ACLU in protecting undocumented immigrants' rights during ICE detention and deportation proceedings?

1. Litigation to stop unlawful detention and restore bond and due‑process rights

The ACLU repeatedly sues to contest policies that remove bond rights or authorize mandatory detention, framing those measures as violations of constitutional due process; recent complaints and class actions allege government reclassification of detainees to avoid statutory bond procedures and seek judicial relief to reinstate bond hearings ^{[3] [8]}. The organization’s court docket includes suits challenging mandatory no‑bond policies and seeking to enjoin practices that result in prolonged, indefinite detention without the ordinary procedural safeguards ^{[8] [3]}.

2. Challenging conditions inside detention and representing individual detainees

The ACLU represents individuals and small groups who allege medical neglect, abusive conditions, and unlawful treatment inside ICE facilities, bringing emergency petitions and civil suits to secure medical care, humane treatment, and relief from punitive conditions ^{[9] [10]}. Those individual suits are used not only to obtain remedies for clients but also to document systemic failures that can support broader remedial litigation and public advocacy ^{[9] [7]}.

3. Using FOIA and records litigation to expose detention infrastructure and deportation logistics

A sustained ACLU campaign uses Freedom of Information Act litigation to pry open records about ICE’s detention expansion plans, contracts with private prison companies, and “ICE Air” deportation flight operations—seeking documents the organization says reveal plans for mass detention and the logistical capacity for large‑scale deportations ^{[1] [5] [6]}. The stated purpose is to make agency operations transparent so lawyers, journalists, and communities can better defend people facing detention and deportation ^{[1] [6]}.

4. Targeting local and interagency practices—detainers, 287(g), and local collaboration

The ACLU challenges local cooperation with ICE that amplifies wrongful detention, including litigation over ICE detainers and criticism of programs that turn local police into de‑facto immigration agents; the organization has brought cases where U.S. citizens were wrongfully held under ICE detainers and warns about agreements that expand local enforcement roles ^{[11] [12] [13]}. This work signals an explicit agenda to limit immigration enforcement’s reach into local criminal justice systems, and to hold jurisdictions liable when they facilitate improper detention ^[12].

5. Producing legal advisories, coordinating national campaigns, and shaping public debate

Beyond courts, the ACLU issues practice advisories, runs live litigation coverage, and coordinates affiliate lawsuits to mobilize pressure against detention expansion and to inform attorneys and advocates about evolving detention law ^{[4] [7]}. These materials and campaigns are designed to both assist individual defense—by outlining constitutional arguments and precedents—and to shape public and political scrutiny of ICE policies, a dual strategy that blends litigation with public accountability ^{[4] [7]}.

6. Limits of available reporting and acknowledged tradeoffs

The public record assembled here is heavily drawn from ACLU press releases, FOIA suits, and case summaries; while these sources document the organization’s legal strategies and claims, independent assessments of long‑term success rates, resource constraints, or how often ACLU litigation changes detention outcomes nationwide are not comprehensively detailed in the provided reporting ^{[1] [6]}. The ACLU’s explicit advocacy posture and choice of high‑impact litigation reflect both civil‑rights goals and a political agenda to curtail detention expansion—criticisms that the organization’s activism overlaps with policy advocacy are visible in its own framing ^{[2] [7]}.