Onward toward justice

The ACLU of New Hampshire legal team emerged onto the marble steps of the U.S. Supreme Court into a sweltering April afternoon.

“YAAAH, NEW HAMPSHIRE!” someone yelled from the crowd rallying outside the court. People cheered.

The team was here for Trump v. Barbara — about the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship.

The president signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship the day he took office. Eighty minutes later, from New Hampshire, attorney SangYeob Kim quieted his nerves and hit “send” on a lawsuit challenging that order. (Update: The U.S. Supreme Court struck down that executive order on June 30th, reaffirming the constitutional protection of birthright citizenship.)

At a time of sustained attacks on civil liberties, the ACLU of New Hampshire consistently punches above its weight.

“Our New Hampshire affiliate is a rockstar,” said Kary Moss, who oversees support for state affiliates at the ACLU.

The ACLU of New Hampshire successfully blocked state and federal efforts to withhold funding from schools and universities over diversity, equity and inclusion. It has defeated attempts to limit voting access, stood firm on LGBTQ justice, fought for reproductive freedom, helped block attempts to ban books. It has successfully defended people from being deported to countries that are not their countries of origin, and secured the release of others wrongfully detained. When an ICE detention facility was proposed for Merrimack, the ACLU of New Hampshire’s organizing, communications and legal teams worked to secure and share critical information and support grassroots action to block the facility. And more.

Of the more than 140 suits the ACLU and its state affiliates brought against actions of the current administration in 2025, 27 originated in New Hampshire.

The case before the U.S. Supreme Court is a nationwide class-action. “Barbara,” is a New Hampshire woman who was expecting her baby when the suit was filed. Reversing the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee that U.S.-born babies are citizens would affect the lives of millions and fundamentally alter what it means to be an American.

The ACLU of New Hampshire was ready to act thanks largely to SangYeob’s consistent work in community and in court over eight years — and because Executive Director Devon Chaffee has been the architect of a thoughtful transformation across all aspects of the organization.

In the D.C. glare, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” drifted from loudspeakers. SangYeob (who helped prep the national team to argue the case, who routinely works 11-hour days, seven days a week, and who did not sleep the previous night) stepped in front of a TV crew to remind people that this case is about “American values, and what the constitution has promised to protect.”

The ACLU of New Hampshire legal team was on an early flight back to Manchester the next morning. They landed in a cold, steady rain — and kept working.