Issues

The ACLU believes that authentic, effective community investment in redlined and segregated neighborhoods is about so much more than building affordable housing. It is important the create economically strong and diverse communities, that provide more housing affordable to low-income households. The ACLU of Maryland is working with both local and national partners to achieve this goal. More must be done in communities to eliminate racial and spatial disparities in housing, wealth and life opportunity. For example, the assisted housing occupied by Black people is nine times more likely to be located in a highly disinvested area than the assisted housing occupied by white people. Read more about the legislation, nonprofits, programs and research we have done on housing mobility.

ACLU of Maryland's housing work focuses on attacking segregation and exclusion, and housing mobility and opportunity.

The ACLU of Maryland is dedicated to fighting for the rights of immigrants throughout the state of Maryland to ensure that our immigrant community is protected from police abuse, criminalizing the mere presence of immigrants of color, denying immigrants the opportunity and right to an education, and much more. Our country’s immigration laws define who our federal government allows into the United States, and guides how federal agencies enforce those laws at our national borders, ports of entry, and within the interior of the U.S. However, in order for federal immigration agencies to target the immigrant community and otherize their existence in this country, they rely on local and state agencies, primarily law enforcement agencies, to help them identify and begin the deportation process.

The ACLU of Maryland works to ensure that the justice system does not penalize children on the basis of gender, race, economic status or disability. Children are too often deprived of their liberty not because they pose a threat to public safety, but because they demonstrate a high level of need. The justice system for children must not expose them to abusive conditions of confinement, subject them to intrusive surveillance, or criminalize normal adolescent behavior. We seek to ensure that justice system responses to children are fair, equitable and rehabilitative.

ACLU of Maryland's legal justice system work focuses on due process, justice for children who are incarcerated, police practices, and prisoners' rights.

The ACLU of Maryland is dedicated to making our state a place that respects all identities, relationships and families. We fight for the right of LGBTQ+ individuals to live openly and receive fair treatment in employment, education, housing, public accommodation, health care, and government programs.

ACLU of Maryland's open government work focuses on transparency and the Maryland Public Information Act.

The ACLU of Maryland has fought for decades against police abuse and for policing that is equitable, transparent and democratic. In the courts, in city halls, in the legislature, the ACLU of Maryland has challenged racial profiling, broken-windows policing and police surveillance.

The ACLU of Maryland is dedicated to ensuring that civil liberties are protected as technology advances.