The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a special message for president elect Donald Trump: its members are ready to fight.
Should President-elect Donald Trump attempt to implement his unconstitutional campaign promises, we’ll see him in court.
— ACLU National (@ACLU) November 9, 2016
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The day after the election, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero told Trump the organization would be watching Trump throughout his presidency to ensure he does not enact the many unlawful promises he made during his candidacy. In his message, “If Donald Trump Implements His Proposed Policies, We’ll See Him in Court,” Romero cites Trump’s plan to remove the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, his promise to ban all Muslims from entering the country and keeping surveillance on the ones already living here, his attacks on women’s rights and his threats against libel laws and freedom of expression.
The president elect’s campaign promises not only go against American values but also go against the Constitution, Romero writes. Should Trump move forward with these plans anyway, Romero says, “you will have to contend with the full firepower of the ACLU at every step.”
Romero concludes:
“One thing is certain: We will be eternally vigilant every single day of your presidency. And when you leave the Oval Office, we will do the same with your successor as we have done throughout our nearly 100 years of existence. The Constitution and the rule of law are stronger than any one person, and we will see to that. We will never waver.”
The organization’s homepage on its website features a photo of Trump with the words “SEE YOU IN COURT” and a button to donate.
And its efforts have proven successful. The ACLU has found tremendous support from people all across the country. On Wednesday, Business Insider reported that the group had received 14,000 online donations, totaling $940,000, since Trump won the election.
“In terms of online donations in a single-day, it far exceeds anything we’ve seen before,” Mark Weir, chief development officer for the ACLU, told the publication.
The ACLU, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that currently has a 94.39 score on Charity Navigator, was also active during the presidential campaign. Its lawyers fought legal battles to defend voting rights for minorities, which were largely attacked by Trump’s supporters during his campaign. Trump told his supporters numerous times to watch “certain areas” for fear of the repeatedly debunked myth of voter fraud. The tactic is largely believed to be an effort to disenfranchise minority voters.
Other nonprofit groups have also released statements of concern since Trump’s victory on Election Day. The Advancement Project on Wednesday called for “love and support for one another.”
“As we enter a new chapter in the history of our country, our work becomes even more essential,” the group said in a statement. “The vitriolic manifestations of racism, sexism and xenophobia that took hold during this election cycle are a reminder of the long road ahead.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) said of Tuesday’s results that America now faces a “new reality” and that efforts must now be focused on making sure the “far-right extremists” and others who endorsed him do not hold power in his administration.
“Now, white nationalists and the alt-right are celebrating his victory,” wrote SPLC President Richard Cohen. “If he means what he says, Mr. Trump must make absolutely clear to them that neither their ideas nor anyone affiliated with them will have any influence or voice in his administration. That is the first thing he must do to begin binding the wounds of division that his campaign has caused.”
