In my new essay forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review, Joe Schottenfeld and I examine what civil rights administration actually does.

Our argument: the collapse of administrative civil rights enforcement is not just political. It is a structural.

Civil Rights Administration:
lnkd.in/eZywc_xe

I write something for Time magazine about how the attempt to dismantle birthright citizenship would hurt all of us.

ACLU President Talks Defending Birthright Citizenship | Making Sense | ACLU YouTube video by ACLU

The language of the 14th Amendment is clear. If you are born on this soil, you are a citizen. The Trump administration’s attack on birthright citizenship is an unconstitutional attack on who gets to belong in America. That question has never been neutral. @aclu.org
youtu.be/SL7f_iLvia4?...

ACLU President Talks Defending Birthright Citizenship | Making Sense | ACLU YouTube video by ACLU

The language of the 14th Amendment is clear. If you are born on this soil, you are a citizen. The Trump administration’s attack on birthright citizenship is an unconstitutional attack on who gets to belong in America. That question has never been neutral. @aclu.org
youtu.be/SL7f_iLvia4?...

The Beat featuring Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. | ACLU YouTube video by ACLU

I am so proud of the advocacy and public education work the ACLU is doing to protect birthright citizenship. m.youtube.com/watch?v=aNe4...

I have spent March at @rockefellerfdn.bsky.social ‘s amazing facility in Italy thinking about how to shift civil rights law & advocacy to better address the structural and generational injustices experienced by communities of color, as communities, and better address and prevent the collective harm.

The ways we apply and interpret civil rights laws rarely speak to community. When predatory infrastructure or decades of compounded neglect destroy a community of color, leaving people in a hollowed-out shell of what they built together, where is their collective remedy?

Thank you! It was wonderful to be with you.

ACLU President: Race Must Be A Factor In Looming Highway Bill Negotiations | Opinion Race-neutral transportation and housing policies built an environment in which segregation was embedded in concrete and asphalt.

As we reimand rebuild our infrastructure , equity must be a central consideration.

www.newsweek.com/aclu-preside...

Excited to have this piece out and contributing to the conversation about how we build and defend happy, healthy, and equitable communities.

Volume 92.8 is now live, featuring pieces by @sonofdavid.bsky.social; @deborahnarcher.bsky.social & Joseph R. Schottenfeld; Katrina T. Goto; Luke Henkel; Brandon Stras; and David Wang. You can find them all here: lawreview.uchicago.edu.

@deborahnarcher.bsky.social & Joseph R. Schottenfeld draw on public nuisance and common law torts to propose a community equity framework that recognizes the collective harms imposed on Black communities by inequitable public infrastructure and development.

Our government's response to Hurricane Katrina was a failure of civil rights and infrastructure policy as Black communities were left unprotected and forgotten.

As extreme weather events get more common, elected officials must root out the racial justice failures that enabled Katrina’s destruction.

The Greatest Tragedy of Hurricane Katrina Was Man-Made Hurricane Katrina reminds us how racial justice and infrastructure are intertwined, ACLU President Deborah N. Archer writes 20 years after the storm.

On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, ACLU President Deborah Archer argues for Rolling Stone that we must learn the lesson of investing in Black communities before it’s too late.

The Greatest Tragedy of Hurricane Katrina Was Man-Made Hurricane Katrina reminds us how racial justice and infrastructure are intertwined, ACLU President Deborah N. Archer writes 20 years after the storm.

20 years after Katrina, the message remains clear — infrastructure is a civil right.
Katrina exposed a structural failure: the erosion of infrastructure in Black communities reflected a deeper neglect of Black lives. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

'Predatory Transportation Projects': Review of Deborah Archer's 'Dividing Lines' | Law.com Chris Dunn reviews New York University School of Law professor Deborah Archer's book America's long history of building transportation infrastructure that tore apart communities of color.

Thanks to the New York Law Journal for the great review of Dividing Lines!

www.law.com/newyorklawjo...

Thank you so much!

Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality by Deborah N Archer Civil rights lawyer Archer debuts with a searing look at how government decisions about transportation, including where to locat...

Thanks to @publisherswkly.bsky.social for their review of Dividing Lines! www.publishersweekly.com/9781324092131

Is Brooklyn in the house?! I hope so. Join James Forman Jr. and me for a conversation about transportation injustice, systemic racism, and how we can move forward to build back better for everyone. June 9th at 6:30 pm - www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/cbh...

Chicago risks severe cuts to transit. Its poorest suburbs could be hit even harder The Chicago area is facing the prospect of bleak service cuts to public transit if Illinois legislators adjourn this weekend without plugging a $770 million hole in the transportation budget.

Chicago faces a $770 million transit budget shortfall, threatening severe cuts that would disproportionately impact low-income communities. These cuts could devastate mobility and economic prospects for folks who rely heavily on public transportation.
apnews.com/article/chic...

I appreciate Sarah Swan and @jotwell.bsky.social ‘s engagement with my recent co-authored article!

torts.jotwell.com/building-a-c...

Trump’s Infrastructure Funding Pause Impacts More than Highways America’s infrastructure is crumbling beneath our feet. We must reorient our thinking, writes Deborah N. Archer.

I shared some thoughts with Time magazine on this administration’s threats to transportation justice.

time.com/7287364/trum...

I’m excited to join the lineup for SXSW London. If you plan to be there, join me to talk about the current challenges to civil rights and civil liberties. @sxsw.com

Thank you for your help and support!

Thank you!

U.S. Restores Legal Status for Many International Students, but Warns of Removals to Come Immigration officials signaled that the Trump administration would continue to pursue efforts to terminate the legal status of the students, despite a wave of legal challenges.

We have to keep fighting back. It’s working!

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/u...

It was such a pleasure to join you!

Judge Limits Trump’s Ability to Withhold School Funds Over D.E.I. The administration was seeking to cut off money from public schools that allowed certain diversity and equity programs.

Incredible victory. Proud of the ACLU folks who fought for this win! @aclu.org

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/u...

Thank you, friend!

Thank you so much!