We鈥檙e very excited about the premiere today of the documentary film, , a documentary film about the Hutto detention center at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.
If you can鈥檛 make it down to Austin, you can , and it will also be available to educational institutions through .

The film, co-produced and co-directed by Clark Lyda and Jesse Lyda and produced by Marcy Garriott, chronicles the 红杏视频鈥檚 successful legal challenge to the prisonlike conditions at a Texas detention center where immigrant children and their families were held.
The film questions the government鈥檚 assumption that imprisonment of immigrant children and their families is a reasonable solution to keeping families together and explores the role 鈥 and limits 鈥 of community and legal activism in bringing about change. We hope that the film brings to the forefront the need for practical, realistic immigration policy, not draconian methods that are harming vulnerable kids.
The Least of These plays today, Wednesday and Friday. Movie times, ticket prices and locations can be found on the .
There will be a Q & A after each screening featuring the directors, Barbara Hines of the University of Texas School of Law, Michelle Bran茅 of the Women's Refugee Commission and former Hutto detainees.
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Press ReleaseJun 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Groups File Nationwide Class-Action Lawsuit Over Trump Birthright Citizenship Order
CONCORD, N.H. 鈥 Immigrants rights鈥 advocates today filed a new nationwide class-action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration鈥檚 executive order restricting birthright citizenship. The lawsuit is in response to today鈥檚 Supreme Court ruling that potentially opens the door for partial enforcement of the executive order. This new case was filed by the 红杏视频, 红杏视频 of New Hampshire, 红杏视频 of Maine, 红杏视频 of Massachusetts, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund on behalf of a proposed class of babies subject to the executive order, and their parents. The same group of organizations filed a similar suit in January 2025 in the same court, on behalf of groups with members whose babies born on U.S. soil will be denied citizenship under the order, including New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Make the Road New York. The court issued a ruling protecting members of those organizations, and that case is pending at the First Circuit Court of Appeals, with oral argument set for August 1. Three other lawsuits originally obtained nationwide injunctions protecting everyone subject to the order, but the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision narrowed those injunctions, potentially leaving some children without protection. This new case seeks protection for all families in the country, filling the gaps that may be left by the existing litigation. Birthright citizenship is the principle that every baby born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. The Constitution鈥檚 14th Amendment guarantees the citizenship of all children born in the United States (with the extremely narrow exception of children of foreign diplomats) regardless of race, color, or ancestry. Specifically, it states that 鈥渁ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.鈥 Today鈥檚 lawsuit charges the Trump administration with flouting the Constitution, congressional intent, and longstanding Supreme Court precedent, and it is national in scope. 鈥淓very court to have looked at this cruel order agrees that it is unconstitutional,鈥 said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the 红杏视频鈥檚 Immigrants鈥 Rights Project and lead attorney in this case. 鈥淭he Supreme Court鈥檚 decision did not remotely suggest otherwise, and we are fighting to make sure President Trump cannot trample on the citizenship rights of a single child.鈥 鈥淭his executive order directly opposes our Constitution, values, and history, and it would create a permanent, multigenerational subclass of people born in the U.S. but who are denied full rights. No politician can ever decide who among those born in our country is worthy of citizenship 鈥 and we will keep fighting to ensure that every child born in the United States has their right to citizenship protected,鈥 said Devon Chaffee, executive director of the 红杏视频 of New Hampshire. 鈥淐itizenship is a right afforded to us by birth, not by privilege,鈥 said Karla McKanders, director of the Legal Defense Fund鈥檚 Thurgood Marshall Institute. 鈥淭he Trump administration鈥檚 executive order is an unlawful attempt to entrench racial hierarchies and establish a second class of citizens in the United States. We will continue working to ensure that birthright citizenship 鈥 a right granted by the U.S. Constitution 鈥 is protected, and that families are not torn apart because of this executive order.鈥 鈥淚n the face of authoritarian attacks, we鈥檙e filing a class-action lawsuit to defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families across the country," said Aarti Kohli, executive director of Asian Law Caucus. 鈥淎sian American communities know firsthand the dangers when citizenship becomes a weapon of exclusion 鈥 from the Chinese Exclusion Act to Wong Kim Ark to Japanese American incarceration. It is this legacy that drives us to preserve a constitutional promise that has defined American citizenship for over a century.鈥 鈥淭he Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship, and no procedural ruling will stop us from fighting to uphold that promise,鈥 said Tianna Mays, legal director for Democracy Defenders Fund. 鈥淥ur plaintiffs, and millions of families across this country, deserve clarity, stability, and justice. We look forward to making our case in court again.鈥 鈥淲hile some of this week's decisions have the potential to shift our legal strategies, they will not change the commitments the 红杏视频 has held for over 100 years,鈥 said Molly Curren Rowles, executive director of the 红杏视频 of Maine. 鈥淭he constitutional principles that form the foundation of freedom in this country have always been challenging, complex, and multifaceted. The president鈥檚 executive order violates the plain language of the 14th Amendment and flouts fundamental American values.鈥 鈥淔or more than 125 years, birthright citizenship has made the United States the strong and dynamic nation that it is. The Trump administration wants to end that right and create a permanent subclass with no vote, no voice, and no due process protection,鈥 said Carol Rose, executive director of the 红杏视频 of Massachusetts. 鈥淲e simply won鈥檛 let that happen, and are using every tool in our toolkit to defend birthright citizenship.鈥 The complaint is here.Court Case: Barbara v. Donald J. TrumpAffiliates: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine -
New HampshireJun 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Barbara v. Donald J. Trump
Status: Ongoing -
Press ReleaseJun 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Supreme Court Limits Nationwide Injunctions, Potentially Allowing Partial Enforcement of Trump鈥檚 Birthright Citizenship Order聽
WASHINGTON 鈥 In a troubling but limited decision on President Trump鈥檚 birthright citizenship order, the U.S. Supreme Court today took a stand against 鈥渦niversal injunctions鈥 and sent the temporary injunctions against the Trump order back for the lower courts to consider the scope of their orders. The ruling potentially opens the door for partial enforcement of President Trump鈥檚 executive order targeting birthright citizenship, putting thousands of U.S.-born children at risk of being denied their constitutional rights based on the citizenship status of their parents. However, the court stated that the executive order would not go into effect for at least 30 days, permitting time for lower courts to assess the appropriate scope of the injunctions going forward, and for advocates to seek additional protections for affected families. The court also did not foreclose all forms of nationwide relief. 鈥淭he executive order is blatantly illegal and cruel. It should never be applied to anyone,鈥 said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the 红杏视频 Immigrants鈥 Rights Project. 鈥淭he court鈥檚 decision to potentially open the door to enforcement is disappointing, but we will do everything in our power to ensure no child is ever subjected to the executive order.鈥 Trump鈥檚 executive order, issued on Jan. 20, 2025, attempts to strip citizenship from children born in the United States to people who are immigrants, a direct assault on the 14th Amendment鈥檚 guarantee of birthright citizenship. Lower courts quickly blocked the order and issued nationwide injunctions to prevent irreparable harm, citing its clear conflict with the 14th Amendment鈥檚 Citizenship Clause. Today鈥檚 Supreme Court ruling threatens to narrow the reach of those injunctions, potentially allowing enforcement, after 30 days, against those who are not plaintiffs in the existing suits (unless courts issue additional protection before then). The 红杏视频 and its partners have a separate ongoing challenge to the Trump executive order and recently filed legal briefing in a federal court of appeals. Oral argument is scheduled for August 1 in that case. They will continue to fight the administration鈥檚 unconstitutional attack on birthright citizenship. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 decision is deeply wrong because the states and other petitioners before the court have already proved the need for an order that would stop the nationwide harms of President Trump鈥檚 birthright citizenship order, but this fight is just beginning,鈥 said Cecillia Wang, 红杏视频 national legal director. 鈥淭wenty-two states and Americans around the country who are affected by the illegal executive order will continue their lawsuits. Ultimately, we will vindicate the 14th Amendment鈥檚 fundamental promise that ensures every child born on U.S. soil is recognized as a citizen of this country from the moment they are born, regardless of their race, parentage, or which state they live in.鈥 The ruling is here.Court Case: New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support v. Donald J. Trump -
News & CommentaryJun 2025
Free Speech
+3 Issues
Live Coverage: Final SCOTUS Decision Day
The 红杏视频 has served as counsel or filed amicus briefs in more than half of the cases that the Supreme Court will decide today.By: 红杏视频