Blog

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that cities can cite and arrest people simply for being homeless, San Francisco has ramped up aggressive enforcement against homeless encampments. Read More

Indigenous students often face barriers when schools deny them the right to wear traditional regalia at graduation. This issue highlights a broader conflict between cultural identity and institutional policies. The blog advocates for respecting and celebrating Indigenous heritage during graduation ceremonies. Read More

Christine Hong, Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, and Laaila, an undergraduate in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and Environmental Studies, offer their firsthand accounts of the protests and their aftermath at UC Santa Cruz. Read More

Our new report corroborates what people detained immigrant have been saying for years: ICE is committing widespread human rights violations across its immigration detention facilities in California. Read More

For the third time in five years, California rejected a bill that would have greenlit government use of facial recognition across the state.  Read More

We are in unprecedented times. The race for the White House has taken dramatic and unexpected turns. At the end of its term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued final decisions with tumultuous results. Simply stated, there is nothing about this year that is “business as usual.” In that context, the ACLU has geared up across the country on multiple fronts. Here is a snapshot of how we plan to proceed. Read More

John Do is the ACLU of Northern California’s lead counsel for a lawsuit challenging the city’s costly and ineffective practice of destroying unhoused individuals’ belongings, and citing, arresting, and moving them without offering shelter. For Do, who grew up poor in subsidized public housing, ending homelessness is personal. “I’ve always seen homelessness as a direct result of decades of poor pol... Read More

Dozens of mentally ill people have died in California jails when they should have been in state hospitals receiving treatment. An ACLU lawsuit demands answers. Read More

With graduations behind us, the 2023-2024 academic year has concluded. It started just before the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and proceeded during Israel’s months-long military response and the ongoing war in Gaza. The year culminated with nationwide student-led protests and demonstrations, which prompted varying and escalating responses by university administrators. Now is a suitable time t... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California is closely monitoring the campus protests and the university and law enforcement responses in our region, particularly at California Polytechnic Humboldt. We are receiving and reviewing legal intakes from campuses across the region, including Stanford University and UC Berkeley. Read More

Automatic license plate readers collect and store highly sensitive information that can reveal where we work, live, worship, or seek reproductive health services. Sharing any ALPR information with out-of-state or federal law enforcement agencies has been forbidden in California since 2016. Read More

Companies and legislators are using misleading test scores to justify the expansion of facial recognition into our communities. That flawed approach understates the threat this dangerous technology poses to civil rights. Read More