Blog
We can be pretty sure that each new day will bring two things: new threats to our civil liberties, and new stories of people standing up for their rights and winning. Behind every court ruling is a person. Behind every landmark law is a movement. Read the stories and hear the voices that ground our work.
Be prepared. Know your rights.
Oct 23, 2025
On Thursday, the Trump administration sent federal immigration agents to the Bay Area. They fired flash bangs at peaceful protesters.
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No Courthouse Arrests
Oct 17, 2025
In the past month, we have sued the Trump administration twice to stop illegal arrests of immigrants by ICE.
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Where Do We Go From Here? Confronting the Legacy of White Supremacy in Trump Administration Policies
Aug 14, 2025
As an organization committed to racial justice and the rule of law, it is our obligation to put a spotlight on racism and its overzealous cousin, white supremacy. The Trump administration’s immigration policies are explicitly and implicitly fostering a belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that this nation will be better or stronger, whatever superlative fits, with m...
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Behind the Scenes: How the ACLU Won a Court Order Blocking Border Patrol's Racist Arrests Targeting Latinos
Aug 12, 2025
It was Jan. 7, 2025, in the middle of the citrus harvest season in California’s Central Valley. People who earn their livings picking fruit were going about their daily routines. All of a sudden, residents of Bakersfield and the surrounding area started disappearing.
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Defending Against Voter Suppression Efforts in California
Aug 11, 2025
While other states have aggressively rolled back voting rights, California long bucked the trend, making automated voter registration available through the DMV, printing voting materials in many languages, and restoring voting rights to Californians on parole. But recent developments demonstrate that California is not immune to Trump’s corrosive attacks on the integrity of the American electoral ...
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Drone surveillance is creepy, and it’s against the law
Jun 27, 2025
For the past six years, Sonoma County's code enforcement section has run an ever-expanding drone surveillance program. They’ve launched more than 700 low-altitude flights that monitor and record residents, their homes and the areas surrounding them.
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Four Decades of Data Reveal California's Death Penalty is Riddled with Racial Bias
Jun 26, 2025
California applies the death penalty disproportionately to people of color, especially when the victim is white. A recent, rigorous statewide study found that Black people are up to 8.7 times as likely to be sentenced to death as similarly situated non-Black defendants, Latino people are up to 6.2 times as likely to be sentenced to death, and defendants of all races are up to 8.8 times as likely t...
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ACLU Sues Sonoma County over Code Enforcement’s Runaway Drone Spying Program
Jun 04, 2025
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California has filed a lawsuit to block Sonoma County code inspectors from using drones to conduct surveillance of people's homes without a warrant.
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Legislators Head Home for Summer Recess — Time to Make Your Voice Heard!
May 30, 2025
Every summer, California legislators step away from their official duties and return to their home districts for Summer Recess, which this year runs from July 22 to August 18. This is our opportunity to meet with them in their local offices—before they cast their final votes on key bills.
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What does the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling mean for Venezuelan and Haitian TPS holders?
May 30, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to stay a federal district court's order that had preserved Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants. What happens next?
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We're Reminding Local Sheriffs: In California, You Can't Help ICE
Apr 25, 2025
California is home to more immigrants than any other state in the country. To limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities during the first Trump administration, the legislature passed the California Values Act (SB 54) which prohibits sheriffs and police departments from using resources to aid immigration enforcement, with some exceptions.
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What Private Citizens Can Do When Faced With a Constitutional Crisis
Apr 25, 2025
This constitutional crisis is unfolding on many fronts, and all of it demands our unrelenting vigilance and courage. Working together and using all the strategies available to us, Americans are mounting our own defense of freedom and the constitution.
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