From Amarillo to Brownsville and Beaumont to San Antonio, we believe in a Texas that works for all of us — where each person has an equal say in the decisions that shape our future and everyone can build a good life.
1. Border and Immigrants’ Rights
We’re working to nurture thriving border and immigrant communities, as well as end our state’s cruel anti-immigrant policies.
After advocating during the last legislative session against anti-immigrant bills, we challenged the nation’s most extreme anti-immigrant law, Senate Bill 4, in the courts. The law is currently blocked. We also rallied at the State Capitol against S.B. 4 with 15-foot puppets, as well as trained hundreds of people in Texas about their rights.
2. Free Speech and Pluralism
We’re defending Texans’ right to protest and advocating for inclusive public schools that are free from censorship and discrimination.
We reviewed the 2022-23 dress codes of 1,178 of Texas’ 1,207 K-12 public school districts and found that over half were discriminatory. Over the summer, we sent letters urging 51 districts in violation of the CROWN Act to comply with the law, successfully pressuring 27 districts to revise their policies. We also participated in back-to-school drives to share resources and Know Your Rights materials directly with students and families.
3. LGBTQIA+ Equality
We’re stopping government overreach and working to protect all LGBTQIA+ Texans — especially trans youth.
We blocked the state government from enacting a ban against drag performances, which aimed to suppress the rights and voices of LGBTQIA+ artists. Achieving this victory helped affirm the First Amendment rights of all Texans to express ourselves freely.
4. Reproductive Freedom
We are working to destigmatize abortion and combat further restrictions on abortion and reproductive justice.
We launched the Texas Abortion Advocacy Network to train hundreds of local advocates on how to restore and expand reproductive rights across our state.
5. Smart Justice
We’re challenging the racism in Texas’ criminal legal system by lowering incarceration and arrest rates.
We held a forum with Harris County District Attorney candidates during the primary elections, where we got them to publicly commit to reducing racial disparities, lowering incarceration rates, and other criminal justice reform policies.
6. Voting Rights and Democracy
We’re countering efforts to suppress Texans’ right to vote and subvert the outcome of our elections.
We achieved a major legal victory for voting rights when a federal court struck down a provision of the state’s anti-voter law, Senate Bill 1, that restricted crucial get-out-the-vote efforts. This follows last year's win in this case where a district court ruled that the mail-ballot ID-matching provisions violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
To keep advocating for a better Texas, we need the support of every Texan who cares about protecting our civil rights and civil liberties. There are many ways to financially support the ACLU of Texas.
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