News

Download the Fall 2017 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives. Read More

San Francisco - The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) is pleased to announce that Free Speech for Equal Justice awardees from UC Berkeley have been selected. Awards amounting to $17,000 will be distributed to eleven student groups to bring a diverse range of speakers to campus to discuss racial justice, immigrant rights, LGBTQ inclusion, environmental justice, and other equal justice issues.La... Read More

F.E., a 17-year-old from Brentwood, New York, has returned home to his family after being detained for five months in jail-like facilities run by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Read More

The teenagers must be given notice of the reasons for their arrests, access to the evidence being offered against them, and a prompt hearing in front of a judge, in which the government would have the burden to justify continued detention.

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“These baseless threats are the latest in the Trump Administration’s campaign to coerce local police and sheriffs into serving as de facto immigration agents,” said Julia Harumi Mass, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of California. “Withholding federal money from cities and counties based on these reasonable local policies is both unlawful and unwise. Courts have already upheld the legality of ... Read More

On Nov. 6, the ACLU of Northern California sent a letter to Taylor Swift’s attorney refuting  meritless legal defamation and copyright threats against local blogger Meghan Herning. The ACLU’s letter requested a response by Nov. 13. Today Senior Staff Attorney Michael Risher, issued this statement:The deadline has passed and we have not heard from Ms. Swift or her attorney. Their failure ... Read More

The ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice released new public opinion polling today that shows consensus support for criminal justice reform across the ideological and political spectrum.

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San Francisco — The ACLU of California today released a report that identifies 146 officer-involved shootings by the Fresno Police Department between 2001 and 2016 and analyzes the department’s policies and practices related to use of force, transparency, and community relations.The report reveals a disparate impact of police shootings in low-income communities of color and shows how the departmen... Read More

Today the three California ACLU affiliates launched a coordinated campaign to urge five key California Republican House members to support a clean Dream Act by the end of 2017. 

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The ACLU of Northern California, Brianna Smith, a Visalia student activist, and ACT for Women and Girls based in Visalia, CA, are submitting public comments today regarding Visalia Unified School District’s proposed changes to the dress code banning “hate group” clothing being considered this evening by the School Board. ACLU Attorney Abre’ Conner, Brianna Smith, and students with ACT for Women an... Read More

San Francisco — The ACLU of Northern California today sent a letter to Taylor Swift and her attorney refuting their meritless legal defamation threats against a local blogger.On Sep. 5, PopFront editor Meghan Herning wrote a post titled “Swiftly to the alt-right: Taylor subtly gets the lower case kkk in formation.” The post is a mix of political speech and critical commentary, and discusses the re... Read More

Congress must pass a clean Dream Act before lawmakers leave town for their winter holiday recess. Due to the actions of President Trump immigrant youth are already losing protection from deportation. Congress must act now to provide them assurance they can stay in their homes and communities.

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