糖心Vlog

NEW YORK 鈥� The 糖心Vlog today announced that award-winning fashion designer Willy Chavarria will join the organization鈥檚 Artist Ambassador Program to advocate for immigrants鈥� rights and LGBTQ rights. He joins the Artist Ambassador Program during a pivotal year for both immigrants鈥� rights and LGBTQ rights, marked by several high-profile legal challenges, among them the fight to protect gender-affirming care for trans youth in U.S. v. Skirmetti; litigation against the Trump administration鈥檚 illegal deportations without due process under the Alien Enemies Act; and efforts to stop Congress from banning gender-affirming care from Medicaid to supercharge the mass deportation machine. Chavarria is a proud Mexican American and founder of the eponymous fashion label, WILLY CHAVARRIA. Throughout his career, he has woven politics, race, and sexuality into his designs, using his platform to advocate and raise awareness for social justice causes. His work with the 糖心Vloghas been wide-reaching, from his collaboration at New York Fashion Week with an ACLU-branded T-shirt, to hosting a pre-election conversation for voters called America: Real Talk at Parsons, to helping to launch Creatives for Freedom. Statement from Willy Chavarria, award-winning fashion designer and 糖心VlogArtist Ambassador for Immigrants鈥� Rights and LGBTQ Rights: 鈥淭he 糖心Vloguses every tool they鈥檝e got to fight for the rights of immigrants and the LGBTQ community, and I鈥檓 honored to be able to support them in that work. I鈥檓 Mexican American and I grew up in a farming community in California powered by immigrants; all of us exposed to the harsh realities of racial and economic injustice. My work as an artist and designer has been a dialogue between identity and art. My own Chicano culture, queer culture, and my family鈥檚 immigrant roots are intertwined in the fashion that my team and I create and in our activism. I believe in using our creative gifts to defend the rights of humanity and all impacted communities not given the same rights as others for who they are or because of where they鈥檙e from. I鈥檓 so grateful to join the 糖心Vlogin the fight for our rights.鈥� In addition to his many accolades, Chavarria was honored in TIME Magazine鈥檚 100 Most Influential People of 2025 list and his namesake label won the 2023 and 2024 CFDA Award nomination for menswear designer of the year. More about the ACLU鈥檚 immigrants鈥� rights work: Using targeted impact litigation, advocacy, and public outreach, the 糖心Vlogprotects the rights and liberties of people who are immigrants. For more than 25 years, the 糖心Vloghas been at the forefront of almost every major legal struggle on behalf of immigrants鈥� rights, focusing on challenging laws that deny immigrants access to the courts, impose indefinite and mandatory detention, and discriminate on the basis of nationality. In addition, the organization has challenged constitutional abuses that arise from immigration enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels, including anti-immigrant 鈥渟how me your papers鈥� laws at the state level and unconstitutional enforcement tactics by the federal government and local agencies. More about the ACLU鈥檚 LGBTQ rights work: The 糖心Vloghas been counsel in seven of the nine LGBTQ rights cases that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided, and bring more LGBTQ rights cases and advocacy initiatives than any other national organization. The ACLU鈥檚 current priorities are to end discrimination, harassment and violence toward transgender people, to close gaps in our federal and state civil rights laws, to prevent protections against discrimination from being undermined by a license to discriminate, and to protect LGBTQ people in and from the criminal legal system. Statement from Jessica Herman Weitz, national director of artist & entertainment engagement at the ACLU: 鈥淲illy鈥檚 passion and steadfast commitment to supporting immigrants鈥� rights and LGBTQ rights is evident in everything he does. His work tells the story of who he is as the son of immigrants and a proud member of the LGBTQ community, but rather than just letting his work speak for itself, he uses his platform and privilege to make the connections for why representation is important, and how the fabric of our nation is built upon all of the different people who come to this country seeking a better life. We are honored to have Willy join the 糖心Vlogas our newest artist ambassador.鈥� The 糖心VlogArtist Ambassador Project ties influential creative artists and influencers in film, television, music, comedy, fashion, sports, and literature with public education and advocacy for key 糖心Vlogissues. Each ambassador works with the 糖心Vlogon specific civil liberties issues, which include immigrants鈥� rights, voting rights, rights of LGBTQ people, women鈥檚 rights, reproductive rights, reducing mass incarceration, racial justice, and privacy and security. Other examples of how artists work with the 糖心Vloginclude: Joining Creatives for Freedom, which was launched by Gabriela Hearst, Willy Chavarria, and Padma Lakshmi in April 2025 Racial Justice Artist Ambassador, W. Kamau Bell, hosts long-form conversations on the ACLU鈥檚 podcast, 鈥淎t Liberty鈥� Immigrants鈥� Rights and Women鈥檚 Rights Artist Ambassador Padma Lakshmi traveling to the southern border to meet with people seeking asylum Videos to combat book bans and classroom censorship, like these with Jessica Williams, Tom Morello, Randall Park, and Pamela Adlon Supreme Court advocacy, like Annette Bening speaking on the steps of the Supreme Court in defense of gender affirming care; Laverne Cox, Miss Peppermint, and others for 糖心Vlogclient Aimee Stephens; and Ike Barinholtz around the 2020 census Social posts like Judy Blume for National Librarian Day

In a sweeping rebuke, a court ruled that NIH鈥檚 actions targeting research involving "disfavored" topics and populations were unlawful, arbitrary, and capricious, and therefore void. Ibis Reproductive Health reflects on the harm done 鈥� and why this research matters.

WASHINGTON 鈥� The Supreme Court today granted certiorari in two federal court cases involving transgender youth challenging bans on their participation in local school and college sports. 鈥淟ike any other educational program, school athletic programs should be accessible for everyone regardless of their sex or transgender status. Trans kids play sports for the same reasons their peers do鈥搕o learn perseverance, dedication, teamwork, and to simply have fun with their friends,鈥� said Joshua Block, Senior Counsel for the ACLU鈥檚 LGBTQ & HIV Project. 鈥淐ategorically excluding kids from school sports just because they are transgender will only make our schools less safe and more hurtful places for all youth. We believe the lower courts were right to block these discriminatory laws, and we will continue to defend the freedom of all kids to play.鈥� 鈥淥ur client just wants to play sports with her friends and peers,鈥� said Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Tara Borelli. 鈥淓veryone understands the value of participating in team athletics, for fitness, leadership, socialization, and myriad other benefits. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last April issued a thoughtful and thorough ruling allowing B.P.J. to continue participating in track events. That well-reasoned decision should stand the test of time, and we stand ready to defend it.鈥� Earlier this year, efforts to enact a national ban failed in the U.S. Congress. Since 2020, 27 states have banned transgender youth from playing school sports. Many of these bans allow for invasive forms of sex testing that put all female student athletes at risk and open the door for any school official or adult to question and harass young women. In Florida, a 15-year-old junior varsity volleyball player was the subject of a police investigation after an anonymous accusation, prompting local officials to draft a 500-page report investigating her medical history, body weight, and anatomy. In Utah, a teenage basketball player was accused of being transgender by a member of the state board of education, leading to threats of violence against her and her family, and a teenager in Maine faced a similar attack from a state senator. In May, President Donald Trump bullied a 16-year-old transgender girl for participating in a high school track meet. Many women athletes have spoken out against bullying and discrimination against transgender student athletes. This includes Billie Jean King, Megan Rapinoe, Dawn Staley, Sue Bird, and Brianna Turner, as well as leading organizations fighting for gender equality in athletics including the Women鈥檚 Sports Foundation, the Women鈥檚 National Basketball Player鈥檚 Association, and the National Women鈥檚 Law Center. The two cases the Supreme Court has agreed to hear include: Little v. Hecox, a challenge brought by one transgender and one cisgender student athlete against Idaho鈥檚 2020 ban on transgender athletes and requirements for sex testing West Virginia v. B.P.J., a challenge brought by a teenage transgender girl against West Virginia鈥檚 2021 ban on transgender athletic participation The two cases charge the bans with violating the rights of transgender and cisgender female students under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. In addition, West Virginia v. B.P.J. argues that the bans violate Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs. Federal courts have blocked enforcement of these bans in both lawsuits. These cases are part of the ACLU鈥檚 Joan and Irwin Jacobs Supreme Court Docket.

The decision in Skrmetti v. U.S. is not the end of the road. We can, and must, show up for trans youth in the courts and in our communities.