This week in the S.C. Statehouse, lawmakers are going after abortion access, LGBTQ+ freedom, and the rights of students. Help us push back. www.aclusc.org/news/stateho...

1/3 House bill H. 5483, the classroom discipline bill, would give educators, administrators, and school staff increased and vague authority to discipline students in classrooms, including the use of “reasonable physical force”.

Join us for Second Chance Day on April 15th to learn about the challenges of reentry after incarceration and how you can support second-chance policies. Click here to RSVP www.scadp.org/event-detail...

Our legal director Cecillia Wang, a daughter of immigrants, is at the Supreme Court defending the bedrock American value of birthright citizenship. President Trump is no match for the 14th Amendment.

The SC House of Representatives is debating H. 4764, which would force many local law enforcement agencies to enter collaboration agreement with ICE. This bill would increase racial profiling and decrease public trust in law enforcement. Livestream: www.scstatehouse.gov/video/chambe...

South Carolina's anti-trans bathroom ban, H. 4756, was already a harmful bill that would create bathroom police in K-12 schools and colleges. Now it's been amended to allow outdoor porta-potties as a single-user "accommodation" for trans students.

“We need all of us to keep telling our stories, to keep sharing our joy, because to know us is to love us. So let people know you, even when it’s hard. We aren’t going away.” – Jace Woodrum, Executive Director, ACLU-SC

Let’s bring some No Kings energy to the South Carolina General Assembly. Learn more about bills attacking the rights of immigrants, trans youth, and police bystanders in this week's Statehouse Dispatch — and find ways to take action. www.aclusc.org/news/stateho...

SC lawmakers are fast-tracking a bill that would discriminate against trans students in K-12 schools and higher education. In this emergency podcast episode, we share the latest on H. 4756 and how you can take action to protect trans youth before it passes. www.aclusc.org/podcast/epis...

When ICE agents tear apart our communities, we take to the streets. When the Trump administration tries to silence dissent, we just get louder. Find a No Kings protest in South Carolina. aclusc.org/nokings

H. 4763 prioritizes the feelings of police officers over public accountability & bystanders' rights. South Carolinians would face 60 days in jail for standing too close to an officer with intent to cause "emotional distress." Tell your lawmakers to vote No: www.aclusc.org/nohalo

The ACLU of South Carolina is hiring an additional staff attorney to help develop and lead essential, emergent, and high-profile civil rights litigation. Applications received by April 24 will be prioritized for review and consideration. Details here: www.aclusc.org/jobs/staff-a...

The Senate is discussing the anti-trans bathroom bill H. 4756 on the floor now. Livestream here: www.scstatehouse.gov/video/chambe...

1/2 🚨 LAST STOP: The anti-trans bathroom bill H. 4756 is headed to the South Carolina Senate floor as early as Wednesday 3/25. Please contact your state senator now and ask for a No vote on the bathroom police. Send your message now. It only takes 2 minutes. action.aclu.org/send-message...

Update: The House Judiciary Committee voted 14-8 to advance a dangerous bill that forces local police to do ICE's work for them. Please contact your House representative and ask for a NO vote on H. 4764. We have a form to get you started: action.aclu.org/send-message...

Local law enforcement agencies should focus on local safety. Instead, some SC lawmakers want to force sheriff's deputies to do immigration enforcement for ICE. Today the House Judiciary Committee considers the Forced ICE Collaboration Bill, H. 4764. www.aclusc.org/legislation/...

Here is what is happening this week at the Statehouse: www.aclusc.org/news/stateho...

With the @aclusc.bsky.social I'm suing four SC state lawmakers in federal court (Luke S. Rankin, John McCravy, Craig Gagnon, and Mark Willis) for violating my First Amendment Rights. #scpol hotfeminism.substack.com/p/taylor-v-r...

Conversations with my mother often get me thinking. When I was recently telling her about all of the proposed laws that would harm transgender people, she wondered why lawmakers were spending so much time attacking a small population. When I couldn't stop thinking about our chat, I started writing.

"Heard enough news about trans people? Believe me, so have I." Our executive director Jace, who is trans, reflects on the barrage of bills targeting trans people this year in the Statehouse. scdailygazette.com/2026/03/23/h...

🚩 The Forced ICE Collaboration Bill (H. 4764) is up for a vote Tuesday 3/24 in the SC House Judiciary Committee. This bill goes beyond compliance with federal law and deputizes local police to do ICE's work. Write the committee TODAY and tell them to vote No. action.aclu.org/send-message...

We are going to court to represent Dr. Emily Taylor, a former professor at Presbyterian College. She resigned after lawmakers threatened the college’s funding because of an essay she wrote, a clear violation of the First Amendment. Learn more: www.aclusc.org/cases/taylor...

Matthew Ariwoola came to the University of South Carolina to do life-saving chemistry research. He isn’t letting the Trump administration stop him. Read about Dr. Ariwoola's story and our ongoing lawsuit seeking to uphold his rights: www.aclusc.org/news/keep-pu...

Anti-trans bathroom bills would harm all students, trans or not, whose appearance does not conform with gender stereotypes. Students would face the threat of being misgendered and harassed by self-appointed bathroom police. Tell your senator to vote NO on H. 4756: action.aclu.org/send-message...

Next week in the South Carolina Statehouse: Helping pregnant women in prisons, safe spaces for cops, and some budget shenanigans www.aclusc.org/news/stateho...

When the Department of Homeland Security terminated Matthew Ariwoola's status as an international chemistry student at USC last year, he worried his work was in vain. We sued ICE, and he kept conducting life-saving research. Now he is Dr. Ariwoola. Read more: aclusc.org/ariwoola

🎧 While I Breathe Podcast, Episode 20. A forced ICE collaboration bill advances, the mass deportation regime makes secretive moves in Columbia, and faith leaders across South Carolina proclaim a simple message: Immigrants are welcome here. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2...

We are halfway through South Carolina’s legislative season, which means it is budget week. In addition to moving bills through the Statehouse, legislators will be discussing the coming year’s budget, which can have an impact on our civil liberties. www.aclusc.org/.../statehou...

Sources tell us the Anti-Diversity Equity & Inclusion Bill S. 686 may be scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, March 11. The bill contains a broad prohibition that could endanger everything from medical research to teacher recruitment programs. www.aclusc.org/legislation/...

The classroom censorship bill H. 4757 is advancing quickly in the South Carolina Statehouse, and lawmakers need to hear from constituents who oppose it. Tell your state senator to let teachers teach. aclusc.org/teach

"I come before you today not as a civil rights leader but as a foster and adoptive parent." Read our director's testimony in opposition to Senate Bill 540, which would amend state law to allow harmful treatment of trans children. www.aclusc.org/news/im-a-fo...

Tell your members of Congress: Vote YES on the Khanna-Massie War Powers Resolution and end President Trump’s unconstitutional and unauthorized use of military force against Iran. Send your message now at aclu.org/war-on-iran-

Local police are surrendering local control, jeopardizing their budgets, and harming public trust by partnering with ICE. Learn more in the new ACLU report, Deputized for Disaster: www.aclusc.org/news/5-ugly-...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941-2026) was a champion for the civil rights of all people. He believed in the power of a rainbow coalition, a patchwork quilt of Americans from all backgrounds, cultures, faiths, and identities laboring for a better tomorrow. www.aclusc.org/news/remembe...

Here is what happening this week at the Statehouse. Check out the Statehouse Dispatch to learn more. www.aclusc.org/news/stateho...

Bills H. 4756 and S. 199 attack the rights and dignity of all women and girls, transgender or not. Take action today to stop the bathroom police. aclusc.org/bathroomcops

Thursday 2/26 at 9 am, state lawmakers will consider a bill forcing local police to sign collaboration agreements with ICE. Immediately afterward on the Statehouse grounds, we'll hold a press conference highlighting the damage done by these ICE agreements. Details: www.aclusc.org/press-releas...

Únase a los miembros de la comunidad y a los líderes de fe el jueves 26 de febrero a las 6 p. m. en la Iglesia Unitaria de Charleston para una vigilia interreligiosa como parte de nuestra semana de "Los inmigrantes son bienvenidos aquí.

Join community members and faith leaders on Thursday, February 26, at 6 p.m. at the Unitarian Church in Charleston for an interfaith vigil as a part of our Immigrants Are Welcome Here Week.

Happening Now: South Carolina House representatives debating a bill (H. 4762) that would force every public school teacher to display the Ten Commandments in their classroom. Livestream here: www.scstatehouse.gov/video/chambe...

🚩 Thursday, 2/26 at 9 am, the forced ICE collaboration bill is getting a subcommittee vote. H. 4764 would force every law enforcement agency that operates a correctional facility to enter a written collaboration agreement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“When police can kill so often, the only recourse for the public is to witness and watch and record. This law, while it does not outlaw, would make it harder,” said Courtney Thomas with the ACLU of South Carolina. @aclusc.bsky.social www.wltx.com/article/news...

Today, South Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill (H. 4763) that would criminalize standing too close to police and two bills (S. 199 and H. 4756) that would require policing of school and university bathrooms to keep trans students out of facilities that match their gender.

Aiken friends: Join us tonight (Monday, Feb. 23) for Building Peace: A Panel on Grassroots Immigration Advocacy in South Carolina.

Feb. 23-27, we will join local activists, communities of faith, and ordinary people expressing a common theme: Immigrants Are Welcome Here. Join us at an event in Aiken, Greer, Charleston, Sumter, or Columbia this week. Details here: www.aclusc.org/event/immigr...

The enemies of freedom are relentless. So are we. Here are 6 harmful bills that lawmakers will try to advance in the South Carolina Statehouse during the week of Feb. 23. Read more in the Statehouse Dispatch: www.aclusc.org/news/stateho...

See you at the Statehouse on Tuesday. Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Columbia friends: Come out to the Degenerate Art Project's Activism Resource Fair this Saturday, 2/21, 1-4 pm at Stormwater Studios. More info here: jasperproject.org/degenerate-a...

ACLU-SC Advocacy Director Courtney Thomas: “We owe pregnant women as much time and safety and comfort that we can afford them. This bill does that for some of the most marginalized people in our state.” scdailygazette.com/2026/02/19/s...

BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide. This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity.