Immigrants' Rights
We believe the fundamental constitutional protections of due process and equal protection embodied in our Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to every person, regardless of immigration status.
The ACLU of New Hampshire is dedicated to protecting all immigrants – citizens and non-citizens alike – from unlawful imprisonment, discrimination and law enforcement abuses, and ensuring that they are afforded their due process rights to a fair hearing and access to legal assistance in immigration proceedings.
We work to ensure that:
- No one can be imprisoned in an immigration jail for prolonged periods of time without an opportunity for a hearing where they can seek release on bond.
- The conditions in which immigrants are detained are humane, and that detainees have adequate access to medical care, to visitation with their loved ones and to legal materials and assistance.
- No one can be deported without a fair hearing, legally correct decisions in immigration cases, and access to legal assistance, including especially vulnerable populations such as people with mental disabilities.
- Everyone can be secure in their homes and their workplaces and protected from unconstitutional searches and arrests by federal immigration agents.
- All non-citizens have equal access to naturalization and other important immigration benefits, regardless of race, religion or national origin.
- Local law enforcement agencies do not unlawfully engage in the business of federal immigration enforcement, including by arresting, incarcerating or confiscating property of an individual solely because of their immigration status.
The ACLU of New Hampshire’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, launched in 2018, works with over a dozen organizations using targeted impact litigation, advocacy, and public outreach to protect the rights and liberties of immigrant and refugee Granite Staters.
The Latest
Federal Court Blocks Trump Birthright Citizenship Order, Certifies Nationwide Class Protecting All Impacted Babies
The federal court in NH agreed once again that President Trump's executive order to restrict birthright citizenship is a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Issue Areas:
Immigrants' Rights
Groups File Nationwide Class-Action Lawsuit Over Trump Birthright Citizenship Order
New lawsuit comes in response to today’s Supreme Court ruling
Issue Areas:
Immigrants' Rights
NH federal court grants preliminary injunction to restore legal status of university student in New Hampshire
Court Victory: A federal judge in Concord granted a preliminary injunction restoring our client's F-1 legal status and allowing him to continue his studies.
Issue Areas:
Immigrants' Rights
ACLU-NH Statement on Announcement of SEVIS Record Reactivations
Many questions remain, including the criteria that will be used for these reactivations and whether this will apply to students who did not file lawsuits.
Issue Areas:
Immigrants' Rights
Cases, Campaigns & Legislation
Jun 27, 2025
Barbara v. Donald J. Trump
On June 27, 2025, immigrants rights’ advocates filed a new nationwide class-action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship. The lawsuit was in response to the June 27, 2025 Supreme Court ruling that potentially opened the door for partial enforcement of the executive order.
This case was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Maine, ACLU of Massachusetts, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund on behalf of a proposed class of babies subject to the executive order, and their parents.
The same group of organizations filed a similar suit in January 2025 in the same court, on behalf of groups with members whose babies born on U.S. soil will be denied citizenship under the order, including New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Make the Road New York. The court issued a ruling protecting members of those organizations.
Three other lawsuits originally obtained nationwide injunctions protecting everyone subject to the order, but the Supreme Court’s June 27 decision narrowed those injunctions, potentially leaving some children without protection.
This new case seeks protection for all families in the country, filling the gaps that may be left by the existing litigation.
Birthright citizenship is the principle that every baby born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. The Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantees the citizenship of all children born in the United States (with the extremely narrow exception of children of foreign diplomats) regardless of race, color, or ancestry. Specifically, it states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
This lawsuit charges the Trump administration with flouting the Constitution, congressional intent, and longstanding Supreme Court precedent, and it is national in scope.
On July 10, 2025, the Court preliminarily blocked President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship and provisionally certified a nationwide class that protects the citizenship rights of all children born on U.S. soil.
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