Table of Contents

1. Our Year at a Glance
2. Litigation Highlights
3. Policy & Advocacy Recap
4. ACLU of CT in the Community
5. Organizational Growth
6. Going Forward

One year into the Trump administration, the threat to our civil rights and civil liberties is no longer theoretical. It is here, it is escalating, and it demands action. Across the country, we are witnessing an intentional dismantling of constitutional norms, an assault on dissent, the concentration of power, and the use of government systems to intimidate, surveil, and silence. Connecticut is not immune. Assuming we are safe because of where we live is one of the greatest risks we face.

This past year also made something else clear: when people in Connecticut refuse to be complacent, we can push back. In communities across our state, neighbors showed up for one another. We showed up for immigrants under attack, for voters facing new barriers, for protesters exercising their rights, and for neighbors targeted simply for who they are. Together, we made it clear that authoritarianism will not quietly take root here.

Now, clarity brings responsibility. We know what this federal government is willing to do, and we know that half measures are not enough. Defending our freedoms will require sustained organizing, bold policy, strategic litigation, and a statewide movement willing to confront federal overreach head-on. The ACLU of Connecticut is prepared for this challenge, but we cannot do it alone and we thank you for your partnership.

This moment calls on every one of us to stay engaged, speak out, and ensure that Connecticut remains a firewall against federal abuses rather than a testing ground for them. The work ahead is urgent, and the stakes could not be higher.

We have work to do, and we need you to get it done. Together, we must continue to resist, defend, and build the durable protections our communities need–not someday, but now.

- Nichole Berklas, Board Member & David McGuire, Executive Director

Nationwide, the ACLU filed more than 220 legal actions against the Trump Administration in response to the federal government’s egregious overreach and abuses of power.

The ACLU Foundation of Connecticut welcomed a new Legal Fellow, strengthening and expanding our ability to respond to the ongoing civil rights threats coming from the Trump administration’s actions.

Here’s a quick recap of the year from our legal experts. You can read more about the following cases and others on the legal docket at www.acluct.org/cases.

• In Du v. DHS, we secured a critical settlement that stops the federal government from unlawfully stripping immigrant students of their legal status. This ruling also blocks the government from repeating this abuse and ensures these students won’t be penalized in future immigration decisions.
• Representing two protestors in Connecticut, we sued the commissioners of the Department of Transportation and Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection in Quinn v. Eucalitto to stop them from threatening or prosecuting overpass protestors exercising their free speech rights.
• We also continue our litigation efforts in Mustafa v. Byers to vindicate the right to access court records that show the moments when Justin Mustafa was injured by a prison guard, which the Department of Correction wants hidden from the public.
• We procured a major settlement in Friend v. Gasparino, securing a victory for our client Michael Friend who was exercising his First Amendment rights by simply standing on a sidewalk and displaying a sign to passing traffic.
• After intense advocacy from our legal team and Stop Solitary CT, the Attorney General’s attempt to seal a court filing–in which it included the sole visual record of how Mr. J’Allen Jones died in Garner Prison during a struggle with guards–was denied in Richardson v. Semple.
• In addition to all the work above, our legal team worked closely with partner attorneys and firms, providing more than 210 hours of technical legal assistance to our partners.

Despite having an ambitious vision and thorough goals for our legislative advocacy, our team had to swiftly pivot to respond to the rapidly changing political landscape. Little did we know at the time how critical this opportunity would be to strengthen our relationships with partners and take our collective advocacy to new levels with coalition work that was more intentional and collaborative than ever before.

We look back on the past year and reflect on the following achievements that we gained in collaboration with partners organizations, community organizers, and supporters like you:

• We helped pass expanded protections for immigrant communities through the Trust Act while continuing our advocacy for strengthened Connecticut protections for immigrants, limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, enforced protections in courts and communities, and opposed racial profiling and police misconduct tied to federal agencies.
• While pushing for the passage of No-Excuse Absentee Voting, we and partners successfully restored funding for the Connecticut Voting Rights Act and expanded access to the ballot for people who are incarcerated.
• We continued to protect the privacy of people in Connecticut, challenged efforts to increase government surveillance and the use of unrestricted license plate readers, and pushed to restrict the misuse of personal data.
• Our policy team monitored and supported bills that advanced LGBTQ+ rights and increased safeguards for LGBTQ+ people, especially for transgender youth.
• We advocated for legislation to make housing opportunities more accessible for people living with a record and urged for the funding of a permanent prison ombudsman, which is a critical role to understand what goes on inside of our prisons.

With our partners, we supported the expansion of accessible and affordable reproductive care, including gender-affirming care.

The desire to defend ourselves, our most fundamental freedoms, and our more vulnerable neighbors fueled key moments of intentional power-building and meaningful engagement–these are moments that make a movement last.

To foster these moments with communities across the state, the ACLU of Connecticut spoke to thousands of residents at rallies, gatherings, and other events across the state about the need to engage ourselves in activism to defy and resist an authoritarian government. These conversations often included providing folks with tangible resources regarding our Know Your Rights work, ensuring Connecticut residents knew their rights and felt empowered to use them.

Most notably, this year, we hosted over a dozen statewide town halls with thousands of attendees to hear from and engage with communities across the state, delivered dozens of Know Your Rights trainings to equip attendees with education around priority issues, and organized dozens of civic education events to engage folks in the resistance against the rise of authoritarianism.

Through these events, our team was able to not only connect with communities across the state but also empower people to take action with tools and resources regarding key issues like students’ rights, immigrants’ rights, free speech, protesting, transgender rights, and more.

We recognize that, and are constantly brainstorming ways to build and protect capacity. In 2025, we achieved major milestones not just in terms of issue-area outcomes but in vital capacity-building as well.

The first year of this presidential administration has left us clear-eyed: we must act in deliberate, united, and strategic ways with one another to defy this administration’s authoritarian agenda. We quickly learned how to prioritize, pivot, and triage as we experience a significant surge in requests from partner organizations amidst the numerous threats from the federal government. In response, the ACLU of Connecticut has adopted an integrated advocacy campaign model to achieve our goals, collaborate with partners, and serve our communities more effectively and efficiently.

In order to commit to effective and efficient partnership, we welcomed onto our team Joseph Gaylin (he/him), our new Legal Fellow, to expand our litigation capacity in light of this federal government’s abuses of power and Cristher Estrada-Perez (she/her/ella), our Community Engagement and Education Program Director, to launch new community-focused initiatives.

With this expansion, we’ve also upgraded our space and moved into a new building to promote a more collaborative, secure, and energizing space. Not to worry, we will receive all the mail you’ve sent us in 2025 but starting in the new year, all mail should go to the following address: PO Box 230178, Hartford, CT 06123.

ACLU Foundation of CT – 501(c)3 Financials:

• Expenses: $1,805,874
• Revenue: $2,633,308

ACLU of CT – 501(c)4 Financials:

• Expenses: $919,683
• Revenue: $713,707

The Trump administration is undoubtedly taking us further down the path towards authoritarianism, and we must come together to defy, resist, and disrupt this path in the coming years.

We the people must unite to defy the Trump administration and its authoritarian agenda, resist the federal government’s overreach and abuses of power, and disrupt the harm that is trickling into our communities.

With your courageous support and partnership, the ACLU of Connecticut will continue to defend and advance the following priority issue areas while holding the line on other civil rights issues in our state:

• Safeguarding & Advancing Voting Rights Protections
• Limiting Government Overreach & Increasing Transparency & Accountability
• Expanding Data Privacy & Limiting Government Surveillance
• Enforcing & Expanding the Rights of Immigrants
• Reducing the Scope & Role of the Criminal Legal System
• Protecting LGBTQIA+ Rights & Ensuring Access to Reproductive Care
• Upholding and Protecting Free Speech

The strength of our collective joy, resistance, and perseverance is not to be taken lightly. Going forward, we will continue to build and sustain our people power–and we need you.