ACLU’s Cecillia Wang: Defending Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Hostile Times episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 23, 2025 · 1H 2M

ACLU’s Cecillia Wang: Defending Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Hostile Times

from Commonwealth Club of California Podcast · host Commonwealth Club of California

Join Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the ACLU, to hear the latest on the organization’s legal strategy to defend civil rights and civil liberties, including the ACLU’s cases against the Trump administration. Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, the ACLU has filed more than 77 lawsuits on issues ranging from birthright citizenship, ideologically targeted immigration arrests and detentions, racial profiling by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, discrimination against transgender Americans, and termination of federal scientific research grants on disfavored topics such as COVID vaccines or gender and racial disparities in health outcomes. "Win or lose, it matters when we stand up in court to fight for freedom, due process, and the basic notion that the president is not above the law," Wang has said. The first woman and the first woman of color to serve as the ACLU’s top lawyer, Wang was formerly director of the ACLU’s Center for Democracy and its Immigrant Rights Project. This on-stage conversation will explore: Current controversies in constitutional law, civil rights and civil liberties, and where our country—and the Bay Area—stand in historical context How the upcoming Supreme Court term could impact civil rights What ordinary citizens can do to help protect our rights and freedoms and U.S. democracy Join us for this compelling conversation with one of the leaders on the national front lines of fights over immigration, abortion, voting rights, transgender rights and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Nov 23, 2025

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ACLU’s Cecillia Wang: Defending Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Hostile Times

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