News & Commentary

Today marks the opening of the 87th Texas Legislative Session — and it signals enormous opportunity and peril for civil liberties in Texas. With a tense national political climate, a pandemic devastating communities across Texas, and lingering racial unrest since the killing of George Floyd, this session will be one of the most challenging — and most important — we have seen in recent history. 

In the past year, many of us have made difficult choices to keep ourselves and loved ones safe from COVID-19. But throughout Texas county jails, incarcerated people have fewer options and depend on local leaders to enact precautions to keep them safe. 

Texas is no stranger to the issue of migration.

Shaw Drake, He/Him/His, Staff Attorney and Policy Counsel, Border and Immigrants’ Rights, ACLU of Texas

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In the past year, we’ve witnessed so many agonizing examples of the brutal reality of systemic racism. We’ve mourned the loss of more than 270,000 American lives from a deadly pandemic. We’ve seen a dramatic shift in the ideological balance at the U.S. Supreme Court, placing abortion access, LGBTQ equality, and voting rights in peril. And threats to our democracy seem to be mounting. 

Trans Awareness week runs from Nov. 13 to Nov. 19 and ends, officially, on Nov. 20, with Transgender Day of Remembrance.

In an unprecedented year, it’s only natural that we have an unprecedented election. It’s the first in our lifetimes to occur during a global pandemic, and one in which an unprecedented number of votes are being cast after being mailed to voters. While we’re used to watching the results roll in on live TV on election night, this time it may take some time beyond election night to call the winner.

With just about a week to go until Election Day, Texas is already seeing record-shattering voter turnout, with millions of Texans heading to the polls.

Carl Takei, Former Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU’s Trone Center for Justice and Equality

In early June