Research & Publications

Tenants’ right to legal representation in eviction cases is a civil liberties issue, a gender justice, racial justice, and economic justice issue. As part of the ACLU’s housing justice work, this Research Brief, No Eviction Without Representation: Evictions’ Disproportionate Harms and the Promise of Right to Counsel, written in partnership with the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, provides an overview of the devastating consequences of eviction and considers evidence on providing legal representation as a way to reduce evictions and mitigate these harms. Drawing from existing research and evaluation studies of these programs, this Brief presents research that documents the benefits of having access to counsel in eviction cases for families and communities. The Brief concludes with recommendations calling on federal, state, and local governments to support a right to counsel for renters facing eviction and further housing justice.

Behind Closed Doors: Abuse & Retaliation Against Hunger Strikers in U.S. Immigration Detention, a new research report from ACLU and PHR (Physicians for Human Rights), provides an in-depth, nationwide examination of what happens to people who engage in hunger strikes while detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Findings are based on an assessment of over 10,000 documents obtained through FOIAs, a review of ICE current policies, and interviews of formerly detained people who engaged in hunger strikes. The report covers during both Obama and Trump administrations and identifies over 1,000 hunger strikers across 24 states. It concludes with actionable recommendations for federal and state governments and medical professionals.

[Executive Summary in Spanish]

This ACLU research report, “Reckless Lawmaking: How Debt-Based Driver’s License Suspension Laws Impose Harm and Waste Resources,” documents the pervasive practice of using driver’s license suspension as a consequence for unpaid fines and fees.

Through policy analysis and individual interviews with those who had their license suspended, this report provides an in-depth examination of this common practice of debt-based suspensions and demonstrates how court ordered monetary obligations, or “fines and fees,” are inextricably linked to over-policing, criminalization, and mass incarceration. It provides detailed recommendations for policymakers and DMVs, calls for lawmakers to more accurately consider the value of continuing to fund government services through predatory fines and fees in light of the consequent harm, and proposes concrete policy reforms for states and municipalities.