# ACLU *American nonprofit civil rights organization, founded 1920, with state affiliates in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.* The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), founded in 1920, is a nonprofit civil rights organization in the United States. Its affiliates operate in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and its budget was reported at $383 million as of 2024.[^1] In the [[Minnesota]] record, the ACLU appears chiefly through its state affiliate, the [[ACLU of Minnesota]]. With attorney John Sear, the affiliate filed *Suarez Varela v. Carver County Sheriff's Office* on March 5, 2025. The complaint alleges that the [[Carver County Sheriff's Office]] kept a man in custody on an ICE detainer request, not a judicial warrant, after the [[Minnesota Freedom Fund]] posted his $10,000 bail.[^2][^3] The case settled on June 26, 2026. The terms, the dollar amount and any required policy changes were not made public.[^4] According to Wikipedia's summary of its 2024 annual report, the organization describes its work as legal advocacy for civil rights, including immigrants' rights.[^5] The Carver County detainer suit is the matter that places the ACLU in this wiki's at-issue record. Its documented output is a settlement whose terms were not released.[^4] ## Who As of September 2025, Deborah Archer was the ACLU's president and Anthony D. Romero its executive director. The president chairs the board of directors, leads fundraising and helps set policy. The executive director runs the organization's daily operations.[^6] Nationally, the ACLU is two legal entities: - the American Civil Liberties Union, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization; and - the ACLU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Gifts to the foundation are tax-deductible and gifts to the 501(c)(4) are not. Only the 501(c)(4) may engage in unlimited political advocacy, including lobbying.[^7] The state affiliates carry the larger share of the work. Each runs independently of the national body, with its own staff, executive director, board and budget.[^7] The [[ACLU of Minnesota]] is the affiliate that brought the Carver County suit.[^2] It has also published a statement titled *Statement on the Suspension of Mary Moriarty*, concerning [[Mary Moriarty]].[^8] ## What The ACLU takes on matters in which it judges civil liberties to be threatened. It may represent a party itself, or it may file an amicus curiae brief where other counsel already represents the party. It also lobbies for positions adopted by its board.[^1] Its stated positions include: - opposing the death penalty; - supporting same-sex marriage and reproductive rights; - decarceration; and - separation of church and state.[^1] Wikipedia reports that immigrant rights, particularly for undocumented immigrants, is an area in which the organization frequently acts as an advocate.[^5] The ACLU's defense of the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, the Westboro Baptist Church and others has drawn criticism. The organization avows a nonpartisan stance, and it has been accused of partisanship by both liberals and conservatives.[^9] ## When The ACLU grew out of the National Civil Liberties Bureau. Crystal Eastman and Roger Nash Baldwin co-founded the bureau in 1917, during World War I. It concentrated on free speech, chiefly anti-war speech, and on conscientious objectors.[^10] On January 19, 1920, the bureau's directors reorganized under the name American Civil Liberties Union.[^10] Wikipedia describes the ACLU as the first such organization not tied to a particular group of persons or a single theme. In the 1920s its main concern was free speech, particularly within the labor movement. From the civil rights era of the 1960s onward, combating discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity or gender became a focus.[^10][^5] The leadership has divided over several questions: - 1937: defending Henry Ford's right to distribute anti-union literature; - 1939: barring communists from leadership roles; - 1968: representing Benjamin Spock's anti-war activism; - 1973: calling for President Richard Nixon's impeachment.[^6] ## Where The ACLU's headquarters is at 125 Broad Street, a 40-story building in Lower Manhattan, New York City.[^6] Every state has at least one affiliate, and so do Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; California has three.[^7] ## How much The ACLU's budget was $383 million as of 2024.[^1] In October 2004, the organization turned down $1.5 million from the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. The foundations' donation agreements had adopted USA PATRIOT Act language, including a clause barring use of the money for "underwriting terrorism or other unacceptable activities." The ACLU called the clause overly broad and ambiguous.[^11] Government bodies are generally shielded from monetary judgments. However, under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976, fee awards count as equitable relief, from which government entities are not immune.[^11] ## How many The board of directors has 80 members, including a representative from each state affiliate and at-large delegates.[^6] As an example of affiliate scale, in 2020 the New Jersey chapter argued 26 cases before the New Jersey Supreme Court, about a third of that court's caseload. That year the chapter had 28 full-time staff.[^7] ## In the at-issue record Pair AI-Carver-096 (Block F, pair 96) sets the ACLU of Minnesota's March 2025 detainer suit against the Carver County Sheriff's Office beside its June 26, 2026 settlement, whose terms were not made public.[^2][^4] The pair states its own rationale: a resolution with undisclosed terms produces no precedent and no public standard. The pair is anchored to a March 2025 White House presidential action.[^12] The pair rests on a single news source.[^4] The project's negative-result search of the record located no DOJ Civil Rights Division action against Carver County government or its Sheriff's Office. It also located no federal [[consent decree]] over Carver County law enforcement.[^13] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - *Suarez Varela v. Carver County Sheriff's Office* named Sheriff Jason Kamerud. The plaintiff was represented by the ACLU of Minnesota and attorney John Sear.[^2][^3] - In *Carrillo v. Fabian*, No. A03-1663, the ACLU appeared as amicus. Counsel for the Commissioner were Attorney General [[Mike Hatch]] and Assistant Attorneys General Elizabeth Richter Schaffer and Jennifer A. Service.[^14] ### What - The Carver County complaint raises Fourth Amendment and Minnesota constitutional claims. It alleges continued detention on an ICE detainer request, not a judicial warrant. These are allegations; the settlement resolved them without public terms, dollar amount or policy changes.[^2][^4] - *Carrillo v. Fabian* addressed a liberty interest in a supervised-release date and applied a preponderance standard.[^14] ### When - February 13, 2025: the Minnesota Freedom Fund posts $10,000 bail.[^2] - March 5, 2025: the complaint is filed.[^2][^3] - June 26, 2026: the case settles.[^4] - July 28, 2005: the Minnesota Supreme Court decides *Carrillo v. Fabian*.[^14] ### Where - The Carver County suit concerned detention by the Carver County Sheriff's Office in [[Carver County, Minnesota]].[^2][^15] - *Carrillo v. Fabian* was decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court.[^14] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *American Civil Liberties Union* (rev. 1380651452, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead section — founding 1920, affiliates, 2024 budget, legal-assistance methods, stated positions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union [^2]: ACLU of Minnesota, press release on *Suarez Varela v. Carver County Sheriff's Office* (filed March 5, 2025) — parties, counsel, claims and allegations, bail posted February 13, 2025. https://www.aclu-mn.org/press-releases/carver-ice/ [^3]: CBS Minnesota, report on the Carver County Sheriff's Office ICE lawsuit by the ACLU (2025) — the suit's filing. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/carver-county-sheriffs-office-ice-lawsuit-aclu/ [^4]: CBS Minnesota, report on the settlement of the Carver County ICE lawsuit (2026) — settlement June 26, 2026; terms, amount and policy changes not made public. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/carver-county-ice-lawsuit-unlawful-settlement/ [^5]: Wikipedia, *American Civil Liberties Union* (rev. 1380651452), "Policy positions" section — 2024 annual report description; discrimination focus since the 1960s; immigrant rights. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union [^6]: Wikipedia, *American Civil Liberties Union* (rev. 1380651452), "Leadership" section — officers as of September 2025, roles, 80-member board, headquarters, internal debates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union [^7]: Wikipedia, *American Civil Liberties Union* (rev. 1380651452), "Organization and state affiliates" section — 501(c)(4)/501(c)(3) structure, affiliate autonomy and distribution, New Jersey 2020 figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union [^8]: ACLU of Minnesota, *Statement on the Suspension of Mary Moriarty* (n.d.) — the affiliate's published statement. https://www.aclu-mn.org/press-releases/statement-suspension-mary-moriarty/ [^9]: Wikipedia, *American Civil Liberties Union* (rev. 1380651452), "Support and opposition" section — criticism, avowed nonpartisanship, accusations of partisanship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union [^10]: Wikipedia, *American Civil Liberties Union* (rev. 1380651452), "History" section — National Civil Liberties Bureau (1917), reorganization January 19, 1920, 1920s focus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union [^11]: Wikipedia, *American Civil Liberties Union* (rev. 1380651452), "Funding" section — October 2004 rejection of $1.5 million; Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union [^12]: The White House, presidential action (March 2025) — White House anchor of at-issue pair AI-Carver-096. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Civil Rights Division* home page (searched 2026) — negative-result search: no Division action or consent decree concerning Carver County law enforcement located. https://www.justice.gov/crt [^14]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *Carrillo v. Fabian*, No. A03-1663 (July 28, 2005) — holding on supervised-release liberty interest; counsel; ACLU amicus. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/mn-supreme-court/1081318.html [^15]: Carver County, *County Sheriff* government page — the defendant office. https://www.carvercountymn.gov/government/county-sheriff