News

The ACLU-NC, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, and co-counsel Keker Van Nest LLP, filed a statewide class action lawsuit on Thursday. The class action lawsuit urges that immigrants are entitled to go before an immigration judge to request release while they fight their deportation cases. Read More

Today, ACLU attorneys sent a letter demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stop its deeply troubling practice of arresting people at Kern County Courthouses. Over the past year, ICE agents have taken advantage of unsuspecting individuals who were attempting to pay fines, appear for court appearances, get married or obtain restraining orders. Read More

The ACLU of California applauds Governor Brown for signing AB 4, the TRUST Act, a bill authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano. The TRUST Act creates a clear standard for when local law enforcement will respond to federal immigration detainer requests that result from the Secure Communities program (S-Comm). S-Comm requires local law enforcement to share the fingerprints of anyone they arrest with ... Read More

Today, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 60: The Safe and Responsible Driver Act. Starting in January 2015, California residents who learn the rules of the road and pass a driving test will be eligible to obtain a driver's license regardless of immigration status. The Safe and Responsible Driver Act is an important step forward for over one million undocumented drivers who live in California... Read More

Today, 51 leading legal scholars issued a detailed letter to California Governor Jerry Brown regarding the TRUST Act, a bill that seeks to limit deportations and rebuild community confidence in law enforcement.In the letter, the experts urge the Governor to uphold a key feature of the bill as currently written by ensuring that prior brushes with the nation's broken immigration system do not cause ... Read More

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today demanded an investigation into the unlawful and systemic targeting of Latinos for traffic stops and vehicle impoundments by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) in the Central Valley. Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union of California today called Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to veto AB1081, known as the TRUST ACT, a missed opportunity to protect Californians from unnecessary and unjustified detentions and deportations, but vowed to continue the fight to see it become law Read More

Major civil rights organizations have reached a settlement agreement with the Dinuba Unified School District (DUSD) to ensure that young English learners have an equal chance to succeed. The agreement, which was finalized at a school board meeting last week, comes as the result of a lawsuit filed in May by Dinuba parents and teachers. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Southern Californ... Read More

Yesterday afternoon, the California State Senate approved the TRUST Act (AB 1081-Ammiano) with a vote of 21-13. Assemblymember Tom Ammiano is the bill's author; Sen. Kevin de León served as floor manager for the vote and presented the bill to the Senate. Read More

Today, parents and teachers in Dinuba, CA filed suit against the Dinuba Unified School District and the State of California, charging that the school district and state are violating students’ fundamental right to equal educational opportunity. The lawsuit seeks to stop this Central Valley school district from denying basic instruction in reading to 1st and 2nd grade English learners and from usin... Read More

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding immigration enforcement audits of California workplaces by the federal government was filed today by The ACLU of California (ACLU), the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers International Union, The Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers International Union Local 164B, the Service Employees International Union U... Read More

The ACLU filed a class action suit against the U.S. government on behalf of adult immigration detainees, all of whom appear in immigration court shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles, regardless of their history or capacity for disruption. All adult detainees are shackled for the duration of immigration court proceedings in San Francisco. There are no existing legal channels to challenge appli... Read More