The Daily Beans Refried Beans | Know Your Rights (feat. Monica Hopkins) | 12/25/2024
Dec 28, 2025
Monica Hopkins, the Executive Director of the ACLU of D.C. and a veteran in civil liberties advocacy, discusses crucial issues affecting democracy today. She outlines the ACLU’s strategies against mass deportations and highlights the importance of understanding First Amendment rights, especially for protesters. Monica emphasizes the ACLU's preventative measures in monitoring and challenging harmful policies, the implications of D.C. statehood, and the ongoing fight for due process within the criminal justice system. Listeners will find valuable resources and ways to support civil liberties.
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Longstanding ACLU Leadership
- Monica Hopkins has spent 16 years with the ACLU, including leading state affiliates in Idaho and D.C..
- That tenure gives her a cross-jurisdictional view of civil liberties strategy and litigation.
Mass Deportation Is Logistically Hard
- Mass deportation plans would require enormous logistics and resources, not just policy declarations.
- Hopkins says those practical constraints create opportunities to slow implementation through legal and operational challenges.
Fight Bad Appointments Early
- Monitor appointments and raise public objections before nominees are installed to create legal and political hurdles.
- Use education and advocacy to stop unlawful or harmful administrative moves early.