ACLU, professors sue Texas A&M over race, gender teaching limits. USA TODAY NETWORK Aug. 4, 2026 Updated Aug. 5, 2026, 7:19 a.m. CT * A group of professors is suing the Texas A&M University System over a new policy that restricts classroom discussions on race and gender. * The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU on behalf of the professors, claims the policy violates their First Amendment rights and is unconstitutionally vague. * This legal action follows a similar lawsuit against the Texas Tech University System and widespread protests by students and faculty. * The controversial policies stem from state legislation, like Senate Bill 17, which banned diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in Texas public universities. A group of professors sued the leaders of the Texas A&M University System in federal court, alleging that a new system policy restricting classroom discussion of race, sexual orientation and gender violates their First Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the national ACLU and Houston law firm Yetter Coleman filed the suit on Monday night, Aug. 3, on behalf of the American Association of University Professors and four faculty plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. "This policy directly harms Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+ and all other Texans who have historically been discriminated against by subjecting discussion of their rights, identities, and indeed very existence to heavy-handed censorship," said Chloe Kempf, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. The lawsuit challenged the policy as unconstitutionally vague and as violating the First Amendment by discriminating against certain viewpoints. This lawsuit comes after AAUP also sued the leaders of the Texas Tech University System on July 8 for the same reasons, amid a growing number of protests by students, faculty and staff at major Texas universities over state-imposed limits on controversial topics. "This policy has impacted my ability to do my job, my students' ability to learn, and my colleagues' ability to teach without fear of reprisal. The chilling effect of this policy is vast and immeasurable, and it poisons the very soul of what a university should be: a place where ideas are free to roam, and debate is uninhibited by the political winds," said Leonard Bright, lead plaintiff, professor and president of the Texas A&M College Station chapter of the AAUP. Chris Bryan, vice chancellor for marketing and communications for the Texas A&M University System, released the following statement to USA TODAY: "We believe this lawsuit is without merit and the System will vigorously defend its policies and procedures. The A&M System remains focused on the important work of supporting our students and fulfilling our duty to the state." Here's a look at how higher education works in Texas, the policies and the growing trend across the sector. How does higher education work in Texas? Texas academic and health care universities operate jointly in what is known as a system within the state, with seven: * University of Texas System - based in Austin. * Texas A&M University System - based in College Station. * Texas Tech University System - based in Lubbock. * Texas State University System - based in Austin. * Texas Woman's University System - based in Denton. * University of Houston System - based in Houston. * University of North Texas System - based in Denton. Under the Texas Education Code, the state legislature established a comprehensive framework that vests control of each of the system's component universities in its respective board of regents. Under the law, the governor appoints the nine regents of each system - with the consent of the Texas Senate - for staggered terms. From there, the regents are empowered to hire the chancellor and university presidents, and set policy and admission standards, among other things. Why was this censorship policy created? The system policy was adopted by the system's Board of Regents and went into effect in November 2025, affecting all entities and divisions of the 12 universities within the Texas A&M University System. The University of Texas adopted a similar policy in February 2026, and Texas Tech did the same in December 2025. The policy comes after the Texas Legislature passed Texas Senate Bill 37, enacted in 2025, which empowers politically appointed governing boards of higher education systems to review course materials to determine whether they comply with recent bans on diversity, equity and inclusion and gender identity topics. Then-state Sen. Brandon Creighton wrote the bill before he was selected by Texas Tech System leadership to serve as its current chancellor in November 2025. Creighton also authored what was known as Senate Bill 17 in 2023 during the 88th Texas Legislative Session, which banned diversity, equity and inclusion offices, hiring practices and statements in university syllabi starting Jan. 1, 2024. Texas students, faculty protest academic censorship. Last academic year, there were several protests from faculty and staff at major public universities in Texas, including the University of Texas and Texas Tech. On May 6, Texas Tech protesters wore mourning attire outside the site where the system's leadership was convening for its quarterly meeting, holding a mock funeral for academic freedom across the system. Tara Findley, a public relations major from Lubbock, told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the clothing symbolized what demonstrators see as the death of academic freedom at Texas Tech. "Academic freedom was murdered when certain topics were censored out of our curriculum, topics involving psychology, biology, social work, women and gender studies in the name of career readiness," Findley said. "It's partisan censorship." Days later, on May 20, the University of Texas students and faculty held their own mock funeral. Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at [email protected].

ACLU filings allege widespread misconduct by federal agents. Jul 31, 2026 at 08:56 AM PDT 05:18 min listen One of the nation's largest civil rights organizations says it has filed 54 federal tort claims, including 30 in the past week, each detailing allegations of property damage, excessive force and constitutional violations during immigration enforcement operations and National Guard deployments. In announcing the claims, the American Civil Liberties Union said policies of President Donald Trump's administration are causing violent and lawless practices by federal agents. "The claims are very individualized, very unique for each particular client, but what they do have in common is they all tell a story about what happens when this administration puts enforcement above - at any cost - the respect of our constitutional rights," Carmen Iguina González, the ACLU's deputy director for immigration detention, told Straight Arrow. Download the Straight Arrow app today to get the stories that matter free from manipulation, bias or agenda.(TM) Point phone camera here González said the filings are a required first step before suing federal agencies for personal injury or property damage claims. If agencies deny a claim, federal law allows a claimant to sue the government for damages. In a statement, the ACLU asserted that during Trump's second term, "federal law enforcement agents have terrorized communities and people in their custody with a blatant disregard for the law." Among the incidents the organization cited were the shooting deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine, both of whom were killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A DHS spokesperson told Straight Arrow in an email that the pattern of concern is "violent agitators attacking our law enforcement officers." It reiterated a claim that officers have experienced a sharp increase in assaults, which has been refuted. It questioned when the ACLU will acknowledge the harm done to officers and victims of crimes allegedly committed by unauthorized immigrants. "ICE law enforcement officers are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and our officers," the spokesperson wrote. "Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training." Claims reflect 'coordinated response' The ACLU didn't provide Straight Arrow with a full list of the 54 tort claims. The organization referred to a press release that lists the 17 states and the District of Columbia where the claims were filed. Straight Arrow was able to identify 33 claims filed across nine states and D.C. through a review of websites of ACLU affiliates. Some claims were filed against a specific agency, while others didn't appear to have the corresponding information. González said the ACLU has made attempts at filing claims against DHS, believing that the masked federal agents are from the agency. None of the claims have proceeded out of the administrative process. "This is the first time that we have seen this kind of coordinated response," she said. Army veteran, workers alleged assault. While nearly all claims were filed against DHS or its affiliated agencies, one involving Anna King, of Washington, D.C., is against the National Guard. Guardsmen arrested King on May 8 at her D.C. doorstep for allegedly assaulting other Guardsmen days prior. King, who had been protesting the Guard's presence in the city, had not been charged with the crime. Her claim centered on how she was arrested, asserting that members entered her property and "violently restrained her," according to a release from the ACLU of D.C. "The Guard members pinned her to the ground, kneeled on her back, and handcuffed her tightly, refusing to loosen the handcuffs after she complained," the release stated. "King suffered significant injuries from the incident, particularly in her wrist, which required surgery." In Washington state, a family of six filed claims against Customs and Border Protection for the "extreme harm" the agency inflicted when it kept the family detained with just access to a toilet. The mother, who was pregnant, received medical care only after losing consciousness due to the high temperatures in the cell, according to the ACLU of Washington. A claim filed in Illinois involved cemetery workers Darren Eichler and Daniel Greer, who on Oct. 7, 2025 spotted a man in a river and attempted to get his attention to check his health, according to the ACLU of Illinois. Federal agents shooed them off, and the two told the officers to leave the area and "stop harassing people." About seven agents approached the gated section where Eichler and Greer were working and used bolt clippers to enter after the workers refused to let them in. The workers were pepper sprayed and Eichler was transported to a local hospital with injuries relating to the spraying, according to the claim. Agents took Greer to a DHS facility without reading his constitutional rights or giving him a reason for his detention, the claim alleges, and he was given no medical assistance for the spraying. The workers were released without charges. González said that despite leadership changes in DHS, officers' conduct hasn't changed. After the two July shootings, ICE temporarily suspended most vehicle stops nationwide, but it is not clear how long the suspension lasted. "So the answer is no," González said. "These abuses continue, and our community members are suffering." Round out your reading. * What does low water at the Hoover Dam mean for power in the American West? * Could GLP-1 drugs become the first longevity medications? Scientists think it's possible. * ChatGPT told him he wouldn't face charges. Then came the arrest warrant. * How one small city built a second act as a bio hub inside empty cigarette factories. * If permanent Daylight Saving Time is so popular, why is it dead in the Senate? Krystal Nurse is a general assignment reporter for Straight Arrow based out of Detroit, Michigan. She covers a wide array of topics, unafraid to ask hard questions to help the public understand the story at hand. Why this story matters. The ACLU has filed 54 federal tort claims alleging property damage, excessive force and constitutional violations by federal immigration agents and National Guard members, a required legal step before suing the government for damages. Legal process already underway. Federal tort claims are a mandatory precursor to suing the government; if agencies deny them, claimants can pursue damages in federal court, according to the ACLU. Incidents span multiple states. Claims were filed across 17 states and D.C., involving U.S. citizens and non-citizens who allege injuries, unlawful detention and property entry by federal agents. Constitutional rights allegedly violated. Individual claims allege agents entered private property without consent, detained people without stating charges and denied medical care, according to ACLU filings. Straight Arrow fear no fact.(tm). Don't just take its word for it. Center-rated reporting. According to media bias experts at AllSides Transparent and credible. Awarded a perfect reliability rating from NewsGuard Sources. * ACLU Deputy Director for Immigration Detention Carmen Iguina González * American Civil Liberties Union * ACLU of DC * ACLU of Illinois