ACLU of Virginia was made for this moment.

Fuel the fight for our freedoms. To defend Virginians' rights, we need your support.

Give Today
homepage hero image

The Latest

News & Commentary
Pastor Manuel and his wife Laura, wearing matching blue, smile warmly at the camera

Immigrant Voices: Freedom to be Pastor Manuel and Pastor Laura

Pastor Manuel and his wife, Pastor Laura, lead a church in Newport News. As Trump unleashes ICE, they find themselves not only providing spiritual support to their members, but also helping them navigate detention, deportation, and family separation. Here’s their story.
Initiative
a collage with photos of a diverse group of Virginians featured in We The People of Virginia storytelling project

We the People of Virginia

We The People of Virginia is the ACLU of Virginia’s flagship project telling a different story about Virginia: the vibrant, diverse, and resilient people who call Virginia home.
Know Your Rights
A person holds up a protest sign that says "America would be nothing without immigrants." To the right is a person holding another persons hand.

Know Your Rights: Interacting with ICE in the DMV

Make an emergency plan to protect you and your family in the event of a fire, natural disaster, or an encounter with ICE.
Action | Take Action
Over a blue abstract shape is a cropped graphic of lady liberty's hand holding up the torch. In the middle of the torch are protest signs that say, "reproductive freedom," "voting rights," "people not prisons," "LGBTQ+ rights," and "Stop the book bans." To the left is a green scribble.

Become a Member

We fight every day in the courts, in the legislature, and in our communities to create a Virginia for all. But we can’t do it alone.

Press Releases

Jul 31, 2026

Virginians’ license plate messages are not government speech but private speech protected by the First Amendment

“Today the Court of Appeals reaffirmed what courts across the country have already found: that messages conveyed on vanity license plates constitute private speech protected by the First Amendment,” said ACLU-VA Legal Director Eden Heilman.

Jul 23, 2026

In big win, appeals court affirms release of Georgetown peace scholar detained by ICE for his speech

“We are elated that the Fourth Circuit saw through the Trump administration’s blatant attempt to bend the law to their will and rejected their bid to re-detain our client thousands of miles away from his family in Virginia,” said ACLU-VA Legal Director Eden Heilman.

Jul 10, 2026

Virginia leaders cannot sit idle while ICE terrorizes Virginians outside hospitals

“Everyone – regardless of immigration status – should be safe to seek medical care, and nothing can justify what we see in that video,” said ACLU of Virginia Policy Director Chris Kaiser.

Issues We're Monitoring

Criminal Legal Reform First Amendment Rights Immigrants' Rights LGBTQ+ Rights Reproductive Rights Voting Rights View All Issues

Know Your Rights: Voting in Virginia

Voting is our right and our civic responsibility. Our democracy is stronger when everyone participates. Know your voting rights and make a plan to vote as early as possible.
Explore Your Rights
A photo of a general assembly room split in half by color: blue and white. One seat is circled, to indicate the strength of a majority. Above the photo is a ballot being held up by a ballot.

Featured Case

We are taking legal action to defend immigrants' rights, protect transgender people from discrimination, fight back against censorship efforts, and do so much more to defend civil rights and civil liberties across the Commonwealth.
An orange gavel over a white circle, with a light orange background.

Khan Suri v. Trump, et al.

Dr. Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown professor and postdoctoral scholar on religion and peace processes in the Middle East and South Asia, is legally in the U.S. on a research scholar and professor visa. He is an Indian national who lives with his U.S. citizen wife and three children in Rosslyn, Virginia. When he arrived home on the evening of Monday, March 17 following a traditional Ramadan meal celebration, he was taken into custody by masked federal agents without being charged with or accused of any crime. In just over 72 hours, he was shuffled to multiple immigration detention centers, ultimately landing in Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where he was detained until his release on bond on May 14.