
On Friday, Betty Ford died at the age of 93. As first lady, she was best known for her outspoken nature and willingness to voice an often controversial opinion on any number of hot-button issues. A Midwesterner who never cared much for political life, it hardly occurred to her that she should only publicly state her opinion when it aligned with her husband's views or the GOP platform.
Betty Ford was a tireless advocate for women's rights. Civil liberties supporters often cite her on the Equal Rights Amendment, which was designed to grant women full legal rights under the Constitution. While it ultimately failed, Ford's dedication was unquestionable. She continued to fight for it past her short term as first lady. When debate opened on removing the ERA from the GOP platform at the 1980 Republican National Convention, Ford walked out of the convention to join the National Organization for Women's protest.
Ford understood the particular importance of equal employment rights to American women. She often lobbied her husband to hire more women in influential government positions. More publicly, Betty Ford supported equal pay for equal work referring to it as at the 1975 International Women's Year Conference.
Born before women's suffrage, Ford understood what too many of us fail to: without equal employment rights enshrined through the law, true equality will continue to elude us. Too many women face systematic pay discrimination to allow outdated stereotypes about women's economic dependence on men to affect women's salaries. Thirty-six years after Betty Ford made her simple case for equality heard at the International Women's Year Conference, too many women are still paid less than men.
Throughout her life, Betty Ford showed a remarkable understanding of the challenges of gender discrimination. In 1975, , "this year is not the time to cheer the visible few, but to work for the invisible many, whose lives are still restricted by custom and code."
Unfortunately, her words are still relevant today.
Photo: Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library
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Press ReleaseJul 2025
Disability Rights
+2 Issues
勛圖眻畦 Statement on Final Passage of Massive Budget Bill Cutting Medicaid to Fund Abusive Deportation Efforts
WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives today gave final approval to H.R. 1, a budget bill that guts Medicaid and will wreak havoc on our communities, sending it to President Trumps desk for his signature. H.R. 1 is the biggest cut to Medicaid in history slashing approximately $1 trillion, which will result in at least 12 million people being removed from the program. The bill also cuts off access to Planned Parenthood services for Medicaid enrollees and restricts higher education opportunities, all to fund a dramatic and permanent increase to an immigration detention and deportation apparatus that denies due process and violates human rights. Following the vote in the House, Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer with the 勛圖眻畦, issued the following statement: This reckless monstrosity is the most harmful bill to pass Congress in a generation. Instead of strengthening Medicaid, theyve taken an axe to it. Instead of reining in ICEs abuses, Congress is throwing the agency billions more to terrorize our communities. When 12 million people are kicked off Medicaid, patients are no longer able to get lifesaving cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, disabled people lose access to essential care and autonomy, and ICE ramps up lawless raids in our communities, the American people will remember who caused this devastation to our health, rights, and dignity. We wont let them forget. -
Press ReleaseJul 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration Efforts to Completely Shut Down Asylum at the Border
WASHINGTON A federal court today blocked President Trumps proclamation aimed at completely shutting down asylum at the border. The 勛圖眻畦, National Immigrant Justice Center, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), 勛圖眻畦 of the District of Columbia, and 勛圖眻畦 of Texas brought the federal lawsuit on behalf of Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, and the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, which provide legal services to asylum seekers, and a nationwide class of people barred from seeking protection in the United States under this proclamation. The court rejected the administrations efforts to use the 212(f) proclamation, which falsely cited an invasion as justification to deny asylum protections expressly granted by Congress and summarily deport families and individuals to countries where they are at grave risk of persecution with no recourse. The groups successfully argued that Trumps action ignored protections put in place by Congress (and backed by the courts for generations) that ensure people have the opportunity to have their asylum claims heard. This proclamation is even more extreme than Trumps previous attempts to shut off asylum in his first administration, as this move leaves no avenue open for people to seek asylum. This is a hugely important decision. Not only will it save the lives of families fleeing grave danger, it reaffirms that the president cannot ignore the laws Congress has passed and the most basic premise of our countrys separation of powers, said 勛圖眻畦 attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the merits of the case. We are grateful that the federal courts continue to agree with us that the right to seek asylum is a fundamental protection provided by Congress and ingrained in U.S. law for decades. No president has the authority to unilaterally block people who come to our border seeking safety. The courts have repeatedly sided with us on this issue, and we will continue to fight cruel policies, under any administration, that harm individuals and families who flee persecution, said Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center. This decision is a win for human dignity and the rule of law. It sends a clear message: the government cannot use cruelty as a weapon against people fleeing violence. The courts blocking of the Trump administrations executive action underscores the inhumane and unlawful nature of this policy and strengthens our call to protect the right to seek asylum. The Texas Civil Rights Project will continue fighting for the rights of those seeking safety at our border, said Rochelle Garza, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project. We are grateful that today the court refused to accept the administrations reckless disregard for the legal right to seek asylum. Every day that the United States fails to uphold its asylum process puts women, children, and families fleeing violence at risk of exploitation and serious harm, said Jennifer Babaie, director of advocacy and legal services of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. We are pleased that the court has ruled in favor of people seeking protection at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Trump administrations invocation of a 212(f) proclamation to block all access to asylum is blatantly xenophobic. Both U.S. and international law are clear people have the right to seek protection at the border. We are grateful that the court has recognized this right and demand that the Trump administration comply and restart processing at the border immediately, said Laura St. John, the legal director for the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. As the court rightly affirmed today, the Trump administration cannot rewrite our immigration laws and invent its own extra-statutory system to block people from exercising their rights, said Edith Sang羹eza, senior staff attorney at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). Under our laws, any person seeking safety at our southern border has a legal right to apply for asylum. The government cannot wield racist, baseless claims of an invasion to demonize refugees and unilaterally strip them of that right. For over six months, the illegal border proclamation has wrought nothing but suffering and chaos, forcing people fleeing persecution back to peril and leaving others stuck in detention, struggling to navigate a made-up process. The administration should now comply with the courts order and immediately reinstate a fair asylum process at the southern border. Todays ruling makes clear three salient points that transcend immigration at the border and speak to who we are as Americans. First, we are a nation of laws. Second, the Trump administrations sweeping invocation of executive branch authority transgresses the bounds established by our Constitution and our legislative branch. And third, the judicial branch is what stands between us and anarchy. The Trump administration's prerogative is once again found to be unlawful. It is increasingly clear where the illegality lies, and it is not with the immigrant families upon whom this administration is inflicting unfathomable harm, said Javier Hidalgo, legal director at RAICES. Federal law unequivocally guarantees the right of refugees to seek asylum and the right not to be returned to face torture. President Trumps attempt to eliminate these life-or-death rights with the swipe of a pen and under false pretenses had no legal basis, as the court today made clear, said Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel at the 勛圖眻畦 of the District of Columbia. The court rejected the Trump administrations efforts to upend our asylum system in a key ruling for our nation, said Adriana Pi簽on, legal director for the 勛圖眻畦 of Texas. This attempt to completely shut down the border is an attack on the fundamental and longstanding right to seek safety in the U.S. from violence and persecution. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The ruling is here.Court Case: RAICES v. Noem -
Press ReleaseJul 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Human Rights
President Trumps Visit to Alligator Alcatraz Detention Facility Highlights Floridas Descent Into State-Sponsored Cruelty
MIAMI Following President Trumps visit to the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in Miami-Dade County. Bacardi Jackson, Executive Director of the 勛圖眻畦 of Florida, shared the following statement: As President Trump doubled down on his agenda of fear and division, were reminded that this cruel and inhumane stunt is part of a broader strategy to expand the abusive mass detention machine, and in turn, criminalize and disappear members of our communities. Building a prison-like facility on sacred indigenous land in the middle of the Everglades is a direct assault on humanity, dignity, indigenous sovereignty, and the constitutional protections we all share. Our laws both U.S. and Florida prohibit cruel and unusual punishment. Yet, this facility echoes some of our nations darkest history, all while trampling the very land that indigenous communities have long fought to protect. The facilitys opening also comes as Congress is poised to authorize $45 billion in funding to expand the harmful mass immigration detention machine, right on the heels of multiple deaths in detention facilities. This project dehumanizes people, strips them of their rights, and diverts public dollars from the services our communities need. What the state is proposing is not a mandate it is state-sponsored cruelty that would harm our neighbors, coworkers, and loved ones. We cannot stand by while Florida becomes a testing ground for policies rooted in racism, fear, and erasure.Affiliate: Florida -
Press ReleaseJul 2025
Free Speech
Immigrants' Rights
Georgetown Scholar to Remain Free After Appeals Court Rejects Trump Admin Bid to Re-Detain Him
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected the Trump administrations request for a stay of a lower courts decision to release Dr. Badar Khan Suri from detention on bail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him on March 17th in retaliation for constitutionally protected speech and association, and he spent eight weeks in detention, mostly in Texas. Upon his release in May, he returned home to his wife and three children in Virginia, where his lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of his arrest is proceeding. I am grateful for my freedom and for the time I have to spend with my family. I have faith that the American judiciary will protect my constitutional rights, said Dr. Badar Khan Suri. The Trump administration both appealed the ruling and sought a stay, which, if granted, would have allowed ICE to re-detain Dr. Khan Suri. With this decision, he will now remain free pending the Fourth Circuits consideration of the appeal. The governments opening brief is due on July 14. The Trump administration is trying to silence speech it doesnt agree with by targeting people like Dr. Khan Suri and Mahmoud Khalil, but ideas are not illegal, said Mary Bauer, executive director of the 勛圖眻畦 of Virginia. Americans dont want to live in a country where the federal government disappears people whose views it doesnt like. The First Amendment protects all of us regardless of citizenship from being punished by the government for our political speech. Dr. Khan Suri, an Indian national, is a visa holder whose wife and children are U.S. citizens. Prior to his arrest, Dr. Khan Suri and his wife, who is Palestinian American, were doxxed by groups that target advocates for Palestinian rights. Agents abducted Dr. Khan Suri outside his home because of his speech in support of Palestinian rights and his family ties to Gaza, then secretly transported him 1,500 miles away from his family and his attorneys, moving him between five different ICE facilities in three states in four days. The Fourth Circuit has prevented the government from re-detaining Dr. Khan Suri, recognizing what is at stake here: Dr. Khan Suris right to stand in solidarity with Palestinians, his continued freedom from punitive and retaliatory incarceration, and his freedom to be with his family and community, said Astha Sharma Pokharel, staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. He is challenging his arrest and detention under the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Separately, his immigration case, in which the Trump administration is seeking to deport him, is now also proceeding in Virginia. The appeals court has rightly denied the governments desperate and cruel attempt to re-detain Dr. Khan Suri over a thousand miles away from his family and community, said Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the 勛圖眻畦s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. We will continue to work to vindicate Dr. Khan Suris First Amendment rights so that others do not have to fear imprisonment for speaking out about issues that matter to them." Todays ruling adds to a string of losses for the Trump administration in cases in which it has arrested immigrant students and academics for criticizing U.S. support of Israels assault on Gaza. In recent weeks, federal district courts have ordered Dr. Khan Suri, Tufts Ph.D student R羹meysa zt羹rk, and Columbia students Mohsen Mahdawi and Mahmoud Khalil released from detention. Dr. Khan Suri is represented in his federal lawsuit by the 勛圖眻畦 of Virginia, the 勛圖眻畦, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the HMA Law Firm, and the Immigrants and Non-Citizens Rights Clinic at the CUNY School of Law.Court Case: Suri v. TrumpAffiliate: Virginia