Charles Blackwell combines the skills of a top-notch investigative reporter with those of a crusading attorney, but he’s neither. The 28-year-old Farmington Hills resident, in fact, underwrites mortgages for a living. But it’s what he does when not on the job that makes him so worthy of admiration, and support. 

Mr. Blackwell is on a mission to hold public officials accountable. He’s also determined to protect his First Amendment free speech rights. In that regard, he has the ACLU of Michigan as an ally. 

An intensely curious person, Mr. Blackwell is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to get to the bottom of issues that capture his attention by filing Freedom of Information Act requests with various public bodies. By his estimation, he’s filed about 150 such requests over the past several years. When the recipients of those requests don’t provide the records he believes he’s entitled to, Mr. Blackwell takes them to court, serving as his own lawyer. 

The vast majority of the time, says Mr. Blackwell, he wins those cases. 

“I don’t have any formal legal training,” he says. “I have two associate degrees, one in business management and one in business information technology. But all my legal knowledge, I have learned on my own.” 

Mr. Blackwell is back in court again. This time, however, the issue isn’t access to information. Instead, it is access to the city of Inkster’s various Facebook pages that he’s fighting for. Both the Inkster Police Department and the Wimberly-Mayor City of Inkster Facebook pages deleted his postings and blocked his access after he began using social media to draw attention to allegations of corruption on the part of the city’s former recreation director and asking questions of the mayor about the issue. 

He sued in federal court, and, again representing himself, negotiated a preliminary injunction in April that allows him to post on the city's social media pages while the lawsuit is pending. As the case moves forward, however, he no longer will be battling alone. Earlier this month, the ACLU of Michigan joined in the suit on his behalf. 

Mr. Blackwell appreciates the help. 

“I would never think I’m better at this than someone who went to law school and does this work on a daily basis,” he says. “I’m happy to have the ACLU at my side as this case goes forward.” 

We joined the case because the stakes are so high. This is about much more than just Mr. Blackwell and his dispute with Inkster officials. 

“This case is extremely important because it goes to the heart of a person’s First Amendment right to engage with the government,” explains Bonsitu Kitaba-Gaviglio, deputy legal director for the ACLU of Michigan. “We think it is clear that the censorship of Mr. Blackwell’s political speech is unconstitutional.” 

While the law regarding public officials’ treatment of speech in public forums is firmly rooted in the Constitution, courts have increasingly recognized platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as the electronic equivalent of the traditional town square.  

Notably, in a lawsuit filed against Donald Trump after the then-president blocked critics from his personal Twitter account, which Mr. Trump frequently used to convey information related to his role as a government official, both a federal district court judge and a three-member panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined that Mr. Trump was violating the critics’ First Amendment rights.  

By the time the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, Mr. Trump was no longer in office, leading the high court to order the case dismissed as moot. But important legal ground had been laid. 

“When officials and agencies use interactive social media … they create spaces that play important functions in our democracy,” observed attorneys for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven people blocked from Mr. Trump’s Twitter account. “Their [public officials’] accounts can be sources of official information, channels through which citizens can petition their representatives for ‘redress of grievances’ (as the First Amendment puts it) and forums in which citizens can exchange information and ideas. The same reasoning that led the appeals court to hold that Mr. Trump couldn’t constitutionally block critics from his Twitter account makes clear that other government actors who engage in similar conduct do so at their peril.” 

Ms. Kitaba-Gaviglio sees Mr. Blackwell’s case as an opportunity to cement in place the rules public officials should be following when using electronic public forums.  

“These officials need guidance regarding what they can and cannot do,” Ms. Kitaba-Gaviglio says. “Mr. Blackwell’s case provides a foundation to do just that.” 

For Mr. Blackwell, the bottom line is clear: 

“No matter how much technology evolves, the core constitutional principles of freedom of speech should always apply.” 

Preventing Undocumented Immigrants from Obtaining State Driver’s Licenses and IDs Hurts All of Michigan 

Joel and I fell in love while attending high school in Mexico City, where we were both born and raised. Every night he would tell me stories about our future together to help me fall asleep as he rubbed my ice-cold feet with his to keep them warm. Yes, we were that couple.  

I knew we were going to grow old together as a married couple, overcoming obstacles as a team. And we faced many. In 2000, poverty, lack of healthcare, and cancer in my family forced us to migrate to the United States without documentation. Nine years after coming to Michigan, when our daughter was 12 years old and our son 5, our family was ripped apart. It happened because Joel, like all immigrants without documentation in this state, was prohibited from driving legally. 

Before 2008, undocumented immigrants in Michigan were able to get a driver’s license and state ID.  Then the state Legislature changed the law, taking that option away from people like us. With public transportation lacking, Joel had to keep driving to remain working and supporting our family. 

Though it is too late for my family, Michigan lawmakers recently introduced a packages of bills that would restore a right that was taken away and give families a chance to stay together, instead of being torn apart because they are barred from obtaining driver’s licenses. 

A Family Fractured 

Our nightmare began with a phone call on a February morning in 2009. On the other end of the line was my husband. As soon as I heard his voice, fearful and quivering, I knew something was wrong. 

“I am in the Oakland County Jail,” he said. “I got pulled over, and because my license had expired, they arrested me.” 

I remember my heart both pounding and sinking. There was so much I wanted to say and ask him. Instead, I froze, paralyzed by the thought he would be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported. 

I sat there with the phone pressed against my ear long after he had hung up, thinking, “How are we ever going to survive this?”  

Our son’s first day of kindergarten was approaching, and in a few years our daughter would be graduating high school. How could we celebrate those and other milestones without Joel?  

The answer, we learned, was that we’d have to find some way to continue living without him, which is what we’ve had to do. Just as I had feared, jail officials did turn him over to ICE, and he was sent back to Mexico. In the 12 years that have passed since then, we haven’t seen him once.  

Because Joel was unable to renew his driver’s license, my children have had to grow up without their dad in their lives, and I’ve had to struggle to care for them alone, without my partner.  

The toll that’s taken on all of us has been terrible to endure. 

Living Without ID 

During the pandemic, most undocumented workers have been labeled “essential. ” Undocumented essential workers keep our state running, but at a terrible cost. Not only are we losing our loved ones to COVID; because we are blocked from getting a driver’s license, we continue losing them to deportation as well.  

How are essential workers supposed to get to work if we are not legally allowed to drive? How will we get vaccinated without an ID? 

Many people don’t realize how much they need a state ID until they don’t have one. A few years back, my son caught a terrible cold. I woke up to check on him in the middle of the night and noticed he was drenched in sweat, unable to sleep. I drove to a drug store that was open 24 hours to buy some cold medicine that would help him sleep. I was asked for a “valid” identification. Because my expired license did not count, I was refused service. I had to call my friend to come buy  over-the-counter medication for my son at three in the morning. 

That’s just one of many examples I can share from personal experience of why everyone – including undocumented immigrants – needs a driver's license or state ID. 

“It’s time to update Michigan’s laws with 16 other states and Washington, D.C. to allow undocumented residents … the ability to obtain a driver’s license or state identification card,” said state Sen. Stephanie Chang, who authored one of the pieces of legislation. “These bills are common sense because they will enhance road safety, grow our agricultural economy and protect human dignity.” 

Making Michigan More Prosperous for Everyone 

Fortunately, Michigan now has the opportunity to make life better, not just for me and my family, but for every immigrant Michigander. For that to happen, the Legislature needs to pass the recently introduced Drive SAFE (Safety, Access, Freedom and the Economy) bill package. Drive SAFE would require the Secretary of State to issue driver’s licenses to people who satisfy all other requirements for obtaining a license, regardless of their immigration status, and would do the same for state identification cards.  

There is lots of support for Drive SAFE’s passage in the immigrant community and the broader community. Without it, what happened to my family – and to many others who are not documented – will continue.  

There are plenty of reasons to support passage of this bill package. For one thing, it will make our roads safer for everyone.  

That point is highlighted in a new report titled Taking Our Foot Off the Brakes: Why Driver’s Licenses for All Makes Sense, released by the Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP). 

“20,000 more Michigan drivers would be insured and have passed driver’s tests” if the legislation passes, according to the report. “To register a passenger vehicle in Michigan, one must have auto insurance. Roads are safer and accidents are resolved more smoothly when more drivers have passed a standardized driving test and are insured. 

The report also details the financial benefits passing the legislation would have for the state. 

“Reinstating driver’s licenses for immigrant residents would boost state revenue by $13.5 million in the first three years and contribute $12 million in recurring revenue  …” the report estimates. “Over the course of 10 years, this policy would generate nearly $100 million for the state of Michigan. “ 

Whatever your motivation, we are asking for your help making Michigan a more safe, prosperous and, frankly, humane place for everyone. You can start by visiting the website Drive Michigan Forward and sign up to take action. 

My family and I will continue trying to heal from the lasting scars left by the current, cruel legislation as we look forward to the day our governor signs the Drive SAFE bills into law. It is a day that can’t come too soon. No one should have to endure so much heartache and trauma because a driver’s license is beyond their reach.